At some point, you will find yourself taking care of your parents just as they took care of you. If for instance, may God forbid, your parent slips in the bathroom, would you be in a position to handle that situation? Most likely, just like anyone else, you would be trying hard to look for an emergency number or call their insurance company. With all daily activities, it would be tough to handle the elderly, but you must be prepared to face it. The various ways of taking care of your elderly parents include:
Taking Care of Their Health
Helping your parents do regular exercise severally, as a way of remaining proactive, in a week is essential since it can make them functionally younger by ten or fifteen years, according to research by American Heart Association. Work with a pharmacy, doctor or a nurse who will keep an eye on their medication and health. Ask the pharmacist the possible side effects that your parents are likely to observe when using certain medicines. Simply, you should understand their medical needs and how frequent they should visit their doctor. If they want to travel, get them help behind the wheel, and if the help is met with resistance, you can involve other people like their doctor.
Helping Them with Their Emotional Needs
Many elderly parents always want to show how well they can manage their own lives, but the need for companionship is necessary, even for those that have a spouse. Feeling lonely have serious health results among the elderly. Research done by the University of California shows that loneliness increases the chances of dying among the elderly by 45%. Emotional contact can work well with the elderly, such as a word of encouragement. A smartphone with several applications, such as video chat which can make communication physical, is also essential if your parents live outside your region. Even if communicating is important, the physical visit is equally crucial, but if that is not possible, you can have a worker, for example from carepilot, to come home and offer your parents trusted and quality companionship.
Preparing Their Home
It is important to make sure that the home that your parents will be living is a haven. Some of the renovations needed include:
Install bathroom rails for support
Lowering shelves for them to access items in them
Ensuring the house well lit
Removing any hazard on the floor
Installing home security system that can give the caregiver an overview of your parents’ home
These changes are easy to do, and they can give the caregiver the confidence of being left alone with your parents.
Love and take care of your elderly parents, for they loved and took care of you while they were still strong, it is your turn now and your children turn to do the same is coming. You will live a happy life once you remember what you did for them, and remember that your parents will not live forever; taking care of them is a blessing.
