Aging Parents and Elder Care

Any caregiver, either a professional or a close relative can face many challenges when faced with taking care of an elderly person, or parent. This can be especially difficult if a crisis develops with the person.

Maybe your mother has fallen and broken a bone, and requires urgent hospital attention, followed by rehabilitation in a nursing home. Maybe you are the only member of your family in a position to help, or have been ‘elected’ by your family as the best suited person to carry out the caring role.

If this kind of situation develops, then decisions have to be made quickly in relation to the elderly person being cared for .in terms of what to do next. Following the necessary hospital treatment, what kind of after care does the person need? Is physical therapy required? What types of medicine will need to be administered?

It is important for the caregiver to be fully acquainted with the medical condition of the senior person on leaving hospital. It is better to discuss such matters with the doctor or obtain information relevant to the condition from the internet. There are many books available which will help the caregiver, and equally many organizations which will happily give advice and help with the caring situation.

At this stage it is advisable for the prime caregiver to meet with the rest of the family, try to get as many other members involved as possible. This will ensure that the entire family is agreeable to any decisions which have been made by you.

All families have people with different personalities and values. It is essential that everyone is in agreement with the plans and decisions made by the prime caregiver in relation to his or her mental well being, and the welfare of the aged person.

If the condition of the person being cared for is serious, then the care giver, in conjunction with the family, should ensure that all of the personal documents belonging to the person are up to date, and safely secured.

The questions need to be answered in terms of a last will and testament, which will clearly define the disposal of the assets of the aged person. Has a person been positively named who will ensure that the wishes of the person will be carried out? Has the elderly person expressed his or her desires as to just how an end of life situation should be dealt with?

The matters relating to the health insurance of the elderly should be investigated, and that powers of attorney have been correctly designated for the administration of on going finances, and health care procedures.

Sadly, in many families, quarrels develop over money matters, and it is vital for both the comfort of the caregiver, and the well being of the aged person that all such matters are clearly defined and settled in every ones mind.? If there is any confusion with regard to these matters then it is often best to consult an Attorney who specializes in elderly care law.

Tags: Care, Caregiver, Challenges, Crisis, Decisions, Elder4ly Person, Family, Hospital, Money, Need, Parent, Personal Documents, Personalities, Relative, Testament, Treatment

8 Ways To Help Care For Your Elderly Parents

Today, improvements in living standards and advances in medical care have given us increased life expectancy and longer life-spans, now many people are living well into their eighties and nineties. This results in a large proportion of middle-aged people having to care for their elderly parents.

Providing care for an elderly parent or friend can be an extremely difficult task, both emotionally and physically. It involves a lot of time and effort and often creates stressful situations and decisions within the family.

Please find below 8 helpful tips to consider when caring for your elderly parent or friend.

1. Get the whole family involved - Try not to make decisions alone, get your whole family involved in discussions in making decisions. Involve your parent or person who requires the care if possible, it's important to take into consideration their wishes, opinions and feelings during this process.

2. Prepare in advance - It's important that you prepare for the future as early as possible, making arrangements for legal documents such as wills, financial documents, insurance policies etc are up to date and kept in a safe place.

3. Assessing you parents needs - Identifying your parents needs is crucial, look into the different areas where they maybe struggling to cope, such areas may include grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning the home, personal hygiene. In some cases it may become impossible to care for your parent your self, in such cases you may have to look for some Home Care help or in some situations re-housing your relative in a residential or nursing home maybe the right choice.

4. Keeping track of things - Keeping a good record of your parents medical history, medicines, allergies and allergic reactions is a good idea, this will be helpful when discussing things with your doctor.

5. Educate yourself - Speak to your parents doctor about instructions for giving medicine and tablets, such as when drugs should be taken, how often, what are the best foods to eat and avoid when taking the tablets etc.

6. Don't try and do it all yourself - Sharing the responsibility of giving care at home with other members of your family will make sure things run more smoothly, it's important a single person is not over burdened with the physical and emotion stress alone.

7. Be aware of any warning signs - Always look out for any warning signs such as weight loss, forgetfulness, poor attention, reduced mobility or physical impairment.

8. Don't be afraid to seek for outside help - Providing care can be very stressful both physically and emotionally and is an extremely demanding responsibility. If you are unable to continue to provide the help needed for your parent anymore then there are many options available to you such as, nursing services, home care, local agencies, residential homes, respite care and nursing homes. A good idea is to ask the advice of your local GP for information on local agencies which can help assess you and your parents needs.

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Caring For Your Elderly Parents - Keeping Them Safe While They Still Live At Home

We will not stay young forever no matter how hard we try and how many anti-aging agents and treatments we use. It is inevitable in the end that aging is going to win. This holds true for your parents as well. As you age so do they, just with a couple of decades head start. It's important to remember that your parents as they get older are going to need a little more help and you may need to be there for them, just as they were there for you when you were growing up. It's important to remember that your parents are going to want to stay in their own homes for as long as they can and you should try your best to make sure they can do that by trying to help provide them with a safe environment so that they can do this.

Make sure that you know what all of your parents medical issues are and understand that they may have multiple so it's important that you know about all of them. You also should know who their doctor is so that you can contact the doctor in case you need to. Remember, that even though a lot of things are changing for your elderly parents, as long as they can take care of themselves, such as simple daily activities, they should be allowed to be able to stay in their own homes.

You should also go to their home and check out their living environment. Make sure that you check out all of the rooms they have and will be having activities in. According to whatever ailments they might have, you may have to make a few minor adjustments in order to make some areas safer than others, especially in the bathroom where slips and falls are quite common especially with the elderly. Add safety bars in the shower or tub and if they happen to have stairs that have no railings, then consider adding some railings for them to make it easier for them to navigate. Also make sure that there is good lighting in the entire house and that all of their locks on their doors are in good working order.

If their home is cluttered, it's a good idea to make sure that you try to clear some of the clutter away for them. Take out any throw rugs that might be in the way of their walking paths because they could easily trip on a rug that might be rumpled up and this could end in an unnecessary injury. If they are using a walker, cane or even a wheelchair, make sure there is plenty of room in the home to be able to maneuver in the house with these objects.

Check and make sure that all fire hazards are taken care of. Make sure that their stove is in good working condition and is safe to cook on. Cut down on them having to cook meals every day on the stove by occasionally cooking for them or making extras at home and inviting them over or taking them a few meals cooked a head of time that all they will have to do is warm up in the microwave. You should also convince them to stop using space heaters if they are, these can be huge fire hazards.

Make sure that you call them often or just stop by on occasion to make sure they are doing OK and to see if there is anything you might be able to do for them. Never just assume that everything is going great just because they haven't called you. They may be too proud to ask for help or unable to get to the phone to call for help.

If you notice any kind of mental or physical changes in them, it's important that you call their doctor right away, it could be nothing but then again it could be very serious. The elderly tend to have quick and sudden changes happen to them and without warning so it's important to pay close attention and get help if needed.

Keep all of their important phone numbers posted wherever there is a phone so that they do not have to be searching for a number when they need to get someone to help them or need advice on something.

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