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Month: May 2022

Getting Help with Caring for Someone Who Has Dementia

Posted on by Craig Bass
Personal Care at Home in Fishers IN
Personal Care at Home in Fishers IN

Are you a family caregiver for someone who has dementia? If so, it is crucial that you have a plan in case you get sick, become disabled, or can’t take care of your elderly loved one for any other reason. Personal care at home can be invaluable to the care of your senior as they progress through the stages of dementia.

Talking to a Lawyer

It would be a good idea if you worked with a lawyer to ensure that you had the following in order:

  • Living trust
  • Durable power of attorney for health care
  • Finances
  • Estate

It would also be a good idea if these things were in order for your elderly loved one, too. Getting this stuff in order now helps to prevent a variety of issues later on, too.

Consulting with Friends and Family

If you are currently caring for your elderly loved one on your own, it is vital that you find other people to help sometimes, too. This doesn’t mean that you have to give up caring for your elderly loved one completely. It just means that you need a break at times, even if you aren’t hurt or sick. Family members, friends, and personal care providers can help with your loved one’s care. If your elderly loved one doesn’t receive personal care at home services, this may be something you want to get set up.

Keeping a Notebook

Another one of the best tips for caring for someone with dementia is to keep a notebook. There are numerous ways that this notebook can come in handy, as long as you are including the proper information in it. Some of the things that should be put into this notebook include:

  • Current behaviors/problems
  • Emergency phone numbers
  • How to calm your elderly loved one
  • What type of assistance they need from grooming to toileting
  • Favorite activities
  • Favorite foods and drinks

While you don’t want the notebook to be overwhelming for whoever is going to look at it, you do want to make sure there is plenty of information in it to inform everyone involved in their care. It would also be a good idea for each person who is caring for your elderly loved one to make a few quick notes every day, during their shift, about any changes or improvements to your elderly loved one’s condition. For example, there may be medications that are helping to stabilize some of your elderly loved one’s symptoms. While these won’t be better forever, even some improvement in the meantime is good.

Personal Care at Home Can Help

Do you care for someone who has dementia? If so, it is vital that you get the help you need from home care assistance as the disease progresses or you become unable to care for their changing needs. Personal care at home is vital to your parent’s safety while aging in place.

Sources
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-caregiving-caring-yourself

If you or an aging loved one is considering personal care at home in Fishers, IN, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care today. 317-550-1276

Heart Health Should Be a Priority Every Day

Posted on by Craig Bass
In-Home Care in Greenfield IN
In-Home Care in Greenfield IN

Heart health should be something that your elderly loved one focuses on all year round and not just every once in a while. There are so many senior citizens who struggle with heart disease and other heart-related conditions. While some heart conditions are genetic, that doesn’t mean there aren’t still things that can be done to improve overall heart health. If your elderly loved one needs help making healthy lifestyle choices that can improve their heart, be sure to share these tips with them regularly. When you can’t be there to ensure your parent follows through, an in-home care provider can step in and help your parent make positive steps toward improved heart health.

Moving Should Be a Priority

One of the leading reasons for heart health issues in the elderly is lack of movement. Studies show that living a sedentary lifestyle is one of the most common causes of heart disease and heart attacks. Luckily, this is something that can be easily changed. If your elderly loved one really isn’t an active person right now, they don’t have to jump up and run a marathon. You and home care providers can get them moving by starting to have them take a short 5 to 10-minute walk each day. They can slowly increase the amount of physical activity they get daily until they are at a healthy amount of about 30 minutes a day.

Eating Heart-Healthy Foods

Another one of the ways that your elderly loved one can take care of their heart is by eating a heart-healthy diet. This is one of the keys to living a healthy, happy, and longer life. Studies show that senior citizens who avoid trans fats that are commonly found in margarine, fried fast foods, and packaged goods have much better heart health than those who don’t. This doesn’t mean just because your elderly loved one eats fast food once a month they are going to have heart disease. It just means the more they can avoid it, the better their heart health could be. If your elderly loved one is looking for someone to make this lifestyle change with them, maybe it is something that you could consider for your own heart health, too.

Sleeping Well at Night

Does your elderly loved one seem to take a lot of naps during the day? If so, does this keep them up at nighttime? Maybe there is another reason they aren’t sleeping well at night. Did you or your elderly loved one know that sleep issues are one of the main causes of heart health problems in the United States? If your elderly loved one isn’t sleeping well, now would be a good time to figure out why, so they can hopefully fix the issue before it causes problems with their heart.

Conclusion

These are some of the many different things that should be considered when it comes to your elderly loved one’s heart health. The more of these things that you and in-home care providers can help your elderly loved one to stick with, the better it can be for their heart health.

Sources
https://health.gov/myhealthfinder/topics/health-conditions/heart-health/keep-your-heart-healthy

If you or an aging loved one is considering in-home care in Greenfield, IN, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care today. 317-550-1276