How to Tell When Your Senior Needs Assistance at Home

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how to tell when your senior needs help at home one

You may have noticed your senior family member is having more difficulty at home. They may need senior assistance.  This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in need of a nursing home, or assisted living placement.  A better, more affordable option is professional home care.  The benefits of professional home care versus placement in an institution are:

  • Home care can save you money in the long run.  Professional in-home care can delay nursing home placement by 1.5 years.   A nursing home costs a minimum of $250 a day, and the average cost of a professional home caregiver is an average of $20 an hour.  This comes out to a savings of more than $49,000 in that 1.5 years.
  • Home care will allow your loved one to maintain their independence and privacy as long as possible.
  • Home care decreases risk of your loved one becoming ill.  When institutionalized, the risk of coming into contact with other residents who are ill, is unavoidable.  This puts your loved one at risk for contracting these various illnesses, including MRSA, when in institutional settings.

Signs to Look For

When wondering if your senior is ready for additional help, some of the signs may be subtle at first.  You may first begin to notice little things.  However, as these little things begin to compile, it’s time to take a closer look:

  • Do you see signs of altered eating habits with weight loss or gain weight gain?  Common causes of weight loss include trouble getting to the grocery store, not remembering to eat, or a lack in financial resources.  Common causes of weight gain include a slowing down of physical activity possibly due to an injury, increased chronic pain, or diabetes.  Weight gain can also be caused by indulging more in unhealthy snacks throughout the day.  Excessive indulging could be caused by some forms of early dementia that decrease impulse control.

 

  • Are there signs of neglected personal hygiene?  Sometimes it’s difficult for seniors to reach all the places that need to be bathed, or hold their arms up long enough to wash their hair.  Some of the signs of personal hygiene neglect are greasy hair, smelling unbathed when you hug them, crumpled clothes, clothes that don’t match, or bad breath.

 

  • The housekeeping is lacking compared to what it was 6 months or a year ago.  Perhaps the carpet on the stairs is no longer getting vacuumed, or there are crumbs on the kitchen counter that was once always clean.  Maybe you notice the laundry piling up, or your loved one wearing the same clothes day after day.

 

  • Are you seeing your loved one exhibit unusual behaviors?  Sometimes seniors may lose track of time if their sleeping patterns are off.  They may suffer from insomnia which can further intensify symptoms of dementia, causing them to wander at night, wake you or their friends up in the middle of the night to ask a strange question such as, “Is it Tuesday today?”  They may find themselves wandering outside of their home in confusion.  Perhaps you haven’t seen these first hand, but neighbors or friends have expressed concerns.

 

  • Is he or she more forgetful?  Your loved one may successfully cover-up their forgetfulness in conversation, sohow to tell when your senior needs help at home two it’s important to look for other signs of forgetfulness.  For example, does their medication count making sense?  Are they running out of medication before it’s time to refill, or is it time to refill, but there are many more pill left?  This can be a sign they’re doubling up on their doses or forgetting to take their medications altogether.  Are they forgetting to turn off the burner, or leaving items in the oven to burn?   Perhaps they’re missing appointments.  Other signs include not paying bills, or paying them twice.

 

 

  • Are you exhausted?  If you’re giving lots of hands-on support to help your loved one care for themselves at home, this is a good sign to start looking for other options.

 

What to Do if You Notice Any of the Above Signs

If you’re noticing any of the above signs, the first step is talking to your loved one’s doctor to make sure no medical intervention is needed.  Many of these early signs are naturally related to the physical decline of aging.  However, if some signs of dementia are present, there may be medication that can slow down the progress, depending on what’s causing the dementia.  Once your loved one is getting any medical treatment needed, it may be time to consider in-home health care or non-medical home care.

Which Home Care is Best for You

There are two types of in-home care, medical and non-medical.  Non-medical is ideal for an older adult who needs help around the home.  In addition to physical assistance, a home health companion can also how to tell when your senior needs help at home threeprovide your loved one emotional and mental support.  Having a companion for conversation, benefits your senior by keeping their mind alert and active.

Home health companions are also available to stay overnight.  This can be especially useful if your loved one gets up often in the middle of the night and begins to wander, make phone calls, or is at risk of falling.  The home health company will be flexible in providing you the care you need.  For example, if you need a home health companion only one hour a day, or 24 hours a day, they will work with you.

Terminology to Be Familiar With

When approaching your medical team with questions about home health care, you may hear the terms, ADLs (activities of daily living), and IADLs (instrumental activities of daily living).   ADLs include:

  • feedinghow to tell when your senior needs help at home four
  • toileting
  • bathing
  • grooming
  • dressing
  • transferring to and from wheelchair
  • walking safely

IADLs consist of:

  • managing finances
  • transportation such as driving them around, or arranging public transportation
  • grocery shopping
  • meal preparation
  • housekeepinghow to tell when your senior needs help at home six

Benefits of Home Care

Professional home care can be a wise addition to your senior’s support system, allowing them to remain comfortably, at home, longer.  The added benefit is that it also gives you much needed time for your life, and the energy to spend more quality time with your loved one.

I’d love to hear how your needs have been met with home care.  What positive experiences have you had with a home health agency?

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About Pam Witt

Pam Witt is a licensed RN and has more than 32 years of experience in the caregiving, home care, home health and healthcare industries. She has more than 10 years of successful marketing experience with one of the largest healthcare software companies in the world. Pam’s philosophy is that “life is a gift” and it should not be wasted. Pam’s main objective through the NAPHC and ProfessionalHomeCare.org is to make a positive impact in the home care, home health and home hospice industry by providing the best information and training available.

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