10 Signs Your Loved One Needs Elderly Home Care
elderly home care
For many, deciding when or if your loved one needs elderly home care is one of the toughest decisions you will ever have to make. Chances are, the senior citizen in your care isn’t going to ask to go to a facility or seek in-home senior care. Most seniors would say that if given a choice, they would want to stay home.Perhaps your other family members are arguing about what is the best course of action for your mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa. Sometimes having others around to help make the decision is a blessing, but when families don’t agree, it just adds stress to an already stressful situation.The most important thing to consider is where the senior citizen lives in relation to his or her caregivers. Of course, if the older adult lives with or near a family member who can provide daily assistance, then the aged person may be able to stay at home longer.Yes, there are many factors to consider before moving your loved one into an elderly care home. How do you know when it is time?
1. Unable to Perform Essential Daily Functions
Can the senior in your care dress himself or herself? If not, are you able and willing to assist with this task every day?Can your loved one use the restroom independently? If not, is there someone who can always be by the side of the senior citizen at home to assist with these essential functions?Is the senior in your care able to prepare and eat simple meals without assistance? If not, is there someone to help with this task?Can your loved one shower independently? If not, can you safely assist in the cleaning of your loved one?If the senior in your care is unable to complete these daily tasks independently, and if you or others are not able to meet these needs, it may be time for your loved one to receive elderly in-home care.
2. Mobility Becomes a Problem
Can he or she move from the bed to a chair unassisted? Can he make the walk from the chair to the toilet? If he can’t move throughout the house independently, and there is no one there who can assist him 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it may be time to check into local facilities.
3. Not Eating Well
The daily process of purchasing, preparing, and eating food often becomes too difficult for people as they age. Sometimes their sense of smell and taste decreases, and this may cause them to eat or drink food that is unsafe.If food preparation is one of your loved ones only issues, you may consider signing up for Meals on Wheels. This fantastic program helps seniors stay independent as long as possible by removing cooking out of their daily tasks. Even though the program provides one good meal to the senior each day, this may be enough calories to provide your loved one with adequate energy so that he or she only needs to eat a light evening meal.If your loved one is experiencing unexplained weight loss, this may be a sign that he or she is not eating enough daily. This may be a sign that it is time to transition to an in-home caregiver where food can be monitored.
4. Daily Doctor or Medical Appointments Increase
As the senior citizens’ health decreases, their need for specialists and doctors increase. Perhaps your parent needs to see a physical or occupational therapist, a wound care specialist, and a medical doctor once a week. Maybe your parent requires daily dialysis or chemotherapy.
5. Begins to React to Care Aggressively
Sometimes a senior citizens’ body remains healthy, but their minds may deteriorate. If your loved one suffers from dementia, their personalities may change, and a mild-mannered person may become aggressive. This aggression can manifest into destructive behavior. When this happens, for the safety of you and your loved one, it may be time for in-home senior care.
6. Wandering
Maybe you’ve taken the car keys away or disabled your loved one’s vehicle. Regardless, there is little you can do to keep your loved one from walking out the door and wandering away. Perhaps your loved one may step outside the door intending upon returning and get locked out accidentally. If this occurs during extreme temperatures, the results may be horrible.
7. You Can't Keep Up Caring for Your Loved One
If you can’t physically keep up with the demands of caring for your loved one, it may be time to seek an elderly in-home care provider.How is your back health? Are you able to lift and move your loved one? Caring for a person who can’t move is physically demanding, and not everyone has the ability to perform those tasks. Employees at care facilities have the equipment and training to help them to perform these tasks.
8. Inability to Take Medication
If the senior citizen is not able to take the necessary medication correctly, it may be time to get professional senior home care. While you may help your parent fill his or her weekly pill container, your mom or dad still may forget to take the pills. Even though the pill containers are marked with the day, sometimes seniors may forget what day it is and take more medication than what is safe for their bodies. If this is the case, it may be time for your loved one to receive elderly home care.
9. They Tell You It's Time for Elderly Home Care
If your loved one asks to go to a facility or get an in-home caregiver, listen to him or her. While most of the time senior citizens don’t want to leave home, sometimes they realize that they aren’t able to live by themselves safely. If your loved one is social, maybe they want to be around others their own age. Perhaps they will look forward to the interactions that a care facility or in-home caregiver would provide.
10. Your Health is Deteriorating
If you aren’t able to meet your own obligations or maintain your health, it may be time to hire a senior caregiver. Sometimes family members are torn between providing help to their parents while still being a parent themselves. Both relationships are important. Perhaps spending time with one leaves your feeling guilty that you are not spending quality time with the other.We have other responsibilities besides caring for our family. Most of us need to work to support ourselves financially. If you are unable to meet your financial obligations, it may be time to call a reputable senior care agency.
Is it Time to Consider Elderly Home Care?
Regardless of your decision, you may doubt whether or not you made the right choice. Instead of spending time feeling guilty and second-guessing yourself, try to have as many positive interactions with your loved one as you can. Time is precious.If you've made the decision to find an elderly home care provider, consider 1776 Senior Care. We offer comprehensive senior care services in DuPage County, IL. Get a free quote today.
