words Al Woods
Aging is an inevitable part of life. Most of the time, people don’t think of the different effects that aging has on the well-being of their elderly family members, maybe due to those family members living on their own and mostly being able to survive with minimal issues.
There comes a point in time, however, when aging takes its toll and suddenly those people that seemed fine and had lots of time ahead of them, need constant care and attention from those around them.
Here are some ways to make sure that you are doing your best to ensure the well-being of your elderly loved ones.
1. Take Them to a Nursing Home
While this may seem like an extreme solution, and many people have tried to take care of their elderly loved ones before resorting to a nursing home, there is no doubt that it is a very popular and viable solution to ensure that your elderly family member is well-cared-for. Since in today’s world, people are busy with their careers and family, nursing homes have become the solution many people seek when looking for the best way to get care for their elderly loved ones. More often than not, a nursing home has been better prepared and allows its residents to have a steady lifestyle, in which they are still able to socialize with others their age and be taken care of. Having your loved one in a nursing home removes a lot of the worry you would usually feel when you are not able to be there for them due to other responsibilities. If your family member has medical issues that prevent him or her from going about their lives as usual, then you should seriously consider looking for a nursing home. Make sure to check these adult family homes before making your decision, to ensure that your loved one is comfortable and taken care of. Ask about their medical staff, the types of activities and services available, and all other relevant details in order to make an informed decision.
2. Get an Aide to Take Care of Them
If you do not want to have your elderly family member stay in a nursing home because you do not want them to feel uncomfortable or because you cannot find a good nursing home near you, then you can do the next best thing. Having an aide or a healthcare worker staying with your elderly loved one is going to ensure that they feel comfortable since they are not going to be leaving their home to live in a strange place, but it will also give you peace of mind and guarantee that they are cared for.
3. Ensure Their Safety By Proofing Their Home
This may seem like a weird thing to do, but it is going to be important, especially if the elderly person you want to keep safe has a mental illness such as dementia or Alzheimer’s, which could cause them to do things such as turn on the stove and forget about it. Even if you have an aide around, or you plan on taking care of your elderly loved one yourself, going around their home and making sure that they cannot accidentally hurt themselves while you are not around is going to make your life much easier. At least it will allow you to stop worrying about them when you are not around.
4. Help with Chores
While you might be very aware of how much your loved one has aged and become fragile, they might not realize that and try to do chores around the house without much thought to how some of these chores can be quite dangerous to them. For example, you might find them trying to lift heavy items or going up a ladder to fix one thing or another. If you help them with chores, then they are less likely to get hurt doing work around their home than if they go at it all alone. If you are too busy or cannot be there for all the chores they need to get done, then you might want to look into hiring someone to do chores such as cleaning, maintaining the house or even meal prepping.
5. Set a Schedule and Checklist for Medication
Setting a schedule for medication is going to save you a lot of time trying to figure out and remember whether the elderly person you are taking care of has taken their medication or not. This is not just going to be helpful to keep track of whether they are taking medication that they need, but it will also ensure that you are aware of when a certain medicine is running low and needs to be picked up at the pharmacy.
Having a steady supply at all times will prove to be crucial in case of an emergency where your loved one needs their medication urgently and you cannot get it immediately. People often shop on pricepropharmacy.com for their elderly loved ones to make sure that they never run out. This provides peace of mind and keeps them on-schedule at all times.
These five suggestions are bound to help you ensure the wellbeing of your elderly loved one for the longest possible time. Remember that even if they seem strong and capable, they are still fragile and need to be cared for. The earlier you are able to take action and get the care your elderly family member needs, the more you’ll have ease of mind.
