Home Care: 4 Steps for Helping Your Senior Improve Her Diet

Posted in Home Care, Malnutrition |

January 6, 2022

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Home Care: If you’ve been wondering how you can help your elderly family member to eat better more consistently, you’re not alone.

That’s a big concern for a lot of family caregivers because it directly relates to keeping your senior as healthy as possible. It can take a little bit of trial and error to find the system that works best for your senior, but a combination of these ideas can be really helpful for you and your home care provider.

 

Home Care: Senior Malnutrition

Home Care: Senior Malnutrition

 

Set up Reminders in a Variety of Ways

It can be really easy for your senior to forget to eat. That sounds silly, but if she’s not following routines that help her to hit all the health marks, it’s really easy to do. Also, seniors often have a tough time eating alone or cooking for just one person. Those are all factors to consider. Offering reminders about eating and offering to share meals with her can be a huge help.

 

Help Her to Stock Up

Another factor that contributes to an unhealthy diet can be that it’s tough to keep healthier foods on hand. Often they’re foods that are more difficult to prepare and they can have a shorter shelf life. When you or elder care providers are helping your senior to stock up on healthy foods, that’s half the battle. Preparing the foods is another part of the process altogether.

 

Make Some Freezer Meals

You might also consider making meals that your senior can freeze and then reheat when she’s ready to eat. By freezing single-serving containers of healthy meals, your elderly family member is able to have just as much convenience as offered by prepackaged frozen foods. The big benefit besides convenience is also that you’re able to control what’s in the meals.

 

Hire Home Care Providers

Bringing in caregivers can be an excellent way to support your senior in so many of her needs as they change. Home care providers can offer companionship, help with household tasks and personal care tasks, and assist with cooking healthy meals. They can also be part of helping to remind your senior to eat as often as she should be eating.

All of these steps and others that fit your senior’s needs can be part of the process of helping her to eat healthy foods more often. The pieces all fit together and help to ensure that your senior is able to stay as healthy and as strong as possible.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care in Elba, AL, please contact the caring staff at Wiregrass HomeCare today. Call us at 334-539-5900.

 

July is UV Safety Month- Help Your Senior Loved-One Stay Protected!

Posted in Caregiver in Elba AL, Home Care in Elba AL |

July 2, 2019

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July and the rest of the summer months pose significant risks from excessive sun exposure. This is why UV safety month is a great time to refresh your knowledge about the dangers of things like sunburn and the possibility of skin cancer from excessive solar radiation.

 

Home Care in Elba AL: July is UV Safety Month

Home Care in Elba AL: July is UV Safety Month

 

The purpose of UV safety month is to focus on providing information related to staying safe while exposed to the sun.

Senior care is also especially important when considering UV safety, as the elderly tend to be much more susceptible to health problems. This is especially true if older people are fair skinned or taking certain medications that can exacerbate the effects of UV radiation. Decreased immunity that is associated with the elderly and infirm also puts certain individuals at a higher risk of damage from the sun.

How to protect aging skin?

One important tip is to stay in shaded areas as much as realistically possible during the middle of the day. From about noon to 4 or 5 pm is when the sun will be strongest in most areas, so the skin can burn quickly and the elderly can get dehydrated and stressed from intense heat and sunlight.

There are a number of skin care products that also give protection. Most doctors recommend that any kind of sunscreen or lotion should be SPF 15 or greater and should be reapplied every few hours as the protection starts to break down.

Clothing such as hats or long sleeves can make a big difference when someone will be outdoors for extended periods of time. Ideally, most exposed skin should be covered in order to minimize the possibility of burning, especially around areas such as the head, neck, and back.

Sunglasses can protect against cataracts and other harmful effects of UV rays entering the eyes consistently. Many sunglasses now are specifically designed to block UV rays and protect much of the face and forehead. Unfortunately, exposure to the sun and UV rays is believed to be one of the main reasons seniors begin to lose their vision.

 

Aftercare

After someone has been exposed to the sun, it can be helpful to take some precautionary measures even if no noticeable burns are visible. Remember that sunburn may not appear until several hours later or even the next day. Aloe Vera and other related products can moisturize and heal the skin after intense sun exposure. Water and sports drinks can help maintain hydration, while alcohol should be avoided immediately after sun exposure to prevent further dehydration. If someone is actually sunburned, a cold towel or over the counter pain relievers can be used to minimize the symptoms and discomfort. In cases where an elderly person seems to be severely burned or in a lot of pain, they may require a visit to an emergency room to prevent further health complications. A home care service provider can help you with this, by taking them to the doctor if you are unable.

 

Remember to be safe and have fun

While sun exposure can really be harmful, by following just some of the basic rules outlined above, your time outdoors can be enjoyable and worry-free. As long as you are making an attempt to be safe, remember to relax and make the most of the beautiful summer weather.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care in Elba, AL, please contact the caring staff at Wiregrass HomeCare today. Call us at 334-539-5900.

Source

Precheck.com