The growing age of your parents and their ailments can be hard to manage. But it is not supposed to be impossible. There are simple yet effective tips that you can follow caring for elderly parents like:
- Being thoughtful of what they exactly need. You don’t want to spend time offering fruitless help.
- Checking on your parents regularly so they feel heard and you can give them the assistance they need.
- Ensuring an active lifestyle, so they move their body.
- Helping them have a social circle because you don’t want them to feel left out and lonely.
- Offering a safe and elderly-friendly housing arrangement that supports their illness and does not make it difficult for them to move around without fear.
- Keeping your mental and physical health in good condition before offering care.
- Seeking help from professional elderly care services like SenOcare if you fall short in helping your elderlies at any point.
Did you know that every three senior citizens in India suffer from some chronic disease? Union Ministry of Family and Health Welfare published a report- Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI), in January 2020 that shed light on the fact that around 23 per cent of the older population in India suffer from multimorbidities.
In a time of growing diseases and discomfort, caring for our parents, the people who have helped us shape our life, has become essential more than ever. Parents put their hard work, time and money into our upbringing. It becomes a responsibility of all to ensure that their parents lead a stress-free and easy life. If you have ageing parents at home and are worried about how to look after them, these tips for caring for elderly parents come in handy to reduce the stress of supporting them.
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Understand the requirements of your parents
Before you construct a plan for helping your parents, check with them about their needs. At times they might not know what exactly they are looking for, which might overwhelm them. Take out time to understand their ailments and requirements. To help solve their troubles, provide them with the following:
- Support of their loved ones
- A safe environment at home
- A doctor available for emergency calls
- Mobility actives
- Physical hygiene equipment
- A balanced and nourishing diet
Check the amount of support your elderlies are receiving in all the factors mentioned above and where they are lacking. For example, your father had a pacemaker to control his irregular heart, then gave specific attention to his stress level, medicine and meals. Always appoint experienced assistance if you are not living with him. The point is to ensure that the specific requirements are always met.
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Keep a close check on your parents’ health
One of the primary tips for taking care of the elderly is to ensure that you keep a daily or weekly journal of their health. Access the conversations they have with you or each other about how they feel. Many times they talk about their symptoms in everyday talks. If you live far from your parents and cannot visit them daily, getting a helping hand from professional elder care services like SenOcare can be beneficial. Such services provide top-notch medical care facilities by an educated staff trained to look after the elderlies.
The daily journal of your parents’ health can help the doctors understand the patterns of sickness and help them better.
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Healthy parents are engaged and active parents
Everyone enjoys living an independent and carefree life. This is no different for elderly parents as well. This should not stop you from giving your parents the extra care that they rightly deserve. Ensure that your parents have an active social group; it can be a religious group of their inclination or a group of their retired friends. The key is to keep the conversations and activities going. Again, SenOcare is your go-to place for hiring a helper to visit them and accompany them for activities.
Sports, meditation, and good nutrition strengthen a healthy body and mind. An activity as small as a leisure walk around the housing society or nearby parks can be very beneficial.
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Build easy access and a safe house for your parents
Another from the list of elderly care tips is to ensure that your home is free from any objects with sharp corners, slippery flooring, or unattended. Your safety concern should be your top priority. You can easily do this by some essential structural modifications like:
- A staircase railing- a fall from the stairs can cause many injuries. For safety, you can add full-length staircase railings on both sides.
- Safe bathroom setting- aged elderlies might require a wheelchair or a walker. Ensure that the bathroom flooring is not slippery but supports safe walking. You can add new tiles or flooring for this.
- Well organised seating arrangement- add more chairs and cushions throughout the house to shorten the extended period that elderlies have to stand.
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Look after your needs and abilities
Everyone leads a different life and lifestyle, which might not resonate with everyone. Before you pounce on taking responsibility for your parents’ mental and physical needs, ask yourself how you manage your requirements. Check if you:
- Look after your physical and psychological health
- Live a close proximity to your parents to help them
- Pay enough attention to your requirements
- Have enough resources and means to extend a helping hand
Your health is of utmost requirement. You must follow all the healthcare steps and precautions for yourself as well. You can have a daily routine of workouts, a meal planning system and healthcare insurance for yourself.
Conclusion
We all want our parents to lead happy, disease-free, and long life. However, it is not always possible to do so. And it is not selfish if you are not in a position to provide the care with your parents require. You can always seek professional help for your elderly health and safety, as this also counts for being a supportive child. It’s wise to assess your position early in the process to make arrangements in time. Feeling burnt out and emotionally drained will leave you exhausted in no time. Instead of putting yourself in a challenging situation where you will be helpless for yourself and your parents, choose a healthcare service that’s more like a friend to you in your tough time.
You may even like: Important Tips to the Elderly by Senior Care Services