Parents are the sole guardians and caretakers of every child. They are the ones who get you ready for school or stay at home whenever you return sick from school. But when parents get older, it becomes difficult for them to carry out their daily chores with ease. When the roles are reversed and you find yourself doing the same chores for your children as your parents did for you, it is also important that you start thinking about your parents.
Since the transition from adulthood to old age can be a difficult time for your parents, it is your turn to take measures to help your parents lead a happy old age life. To help you determine whether your parents require elder care services, take a look at this guide below.
Is there a decline in your Parents Physical Abilities?
When you realize that your parents are finding it difficult to perform their daily routine chores or are diagnosed with early stages of Parkinson or Alzheimer’s, the minor physical inabilities you see in them are usually subtle and often go unnoticed. Aging can often make your loved ones forget their keys in the door or leave behind a pot on the stove that ultimately gets burned. When you notice that there is more expired food kept in the refrigerator than it used to be earlier or find that your loved ones do not take much interest in maintaining their physical appearance, these simple gestures that usually go unnoticed often signal that your mom or dad are struggling to keep pace with their daily routine.
While these lapses in hygiene and housekeeping may sometimes be due short-term memory loss, it may also indicate that your parents are avoiding these activities due to physical weakness. Similarly, early signs and symptoms of diseases, such as Parkinson can also prove desertions to your parent’s health.
Most aged parents neglect early symptoms of an ongoing disease as long as they can do their daily chores and live independently. They often hide their physical disabilities (rigid muscles, hand tremors, slow movement, and impaired posture) from their children, giving them the impression that they are perfectly fine.
Ignoring minor physical incapability’s of your parents can often prove to be disastrous and can result in admitting your parents in the hospital. In addition, nearly one in three aged adults (65 years and above) experience falls, causing fatal and nonfatal injuries.
It must be remembered that although any senior and not just Parkinson or Alzheimer’s patients can meet with accidents, most of them avoid talking about their accident to their healthcare provider.
Do you see minor personality changes?
One of the most common problems seen in seniors or older adults is depression. While depression may be caused due to various reasons- death of friend or family member, stress or due to entering a retirement age, it can bring about changes in the personality of your loved ones. However, while some seniors recover quickly from the emotional setback, most of them fail to do so. Common depression symptoms in seniors to look out for are-
· Avoid attending their usual social events · They will stop driving , but will not tell anyone · May avoid taking part in conversations · Will avoid inviting friends and family for company · Will not keep the refrigerator stocked, but instead order food from outside.
Just like any other kind of diseases and illnesses, treating depression as soon as possible will help keep depression at bay in the life of a senior. Common types of depression treatment include psychotherapy and medication.
Are you overdoing?
It is commonly seen that a family member is usually a senior’s first caretaker. In fact, nearly 29% of the Americans take the responsibility of caring elder or chronically disabled, ill member of the family. It usually begins with small daily chores like doing some laundry, bringing home cooked food or driving the elderly to doctor’s appointment whenever required.
However, it must be noted that since caring for the loved one is a huge responsibility, it can sometimes leave the caretaker feeling stressed or tired. When a family member spends nearly 20 hours a week to take care of his loved one, he does not find time for himself, making it difficult to handle physical and emotional stress and manage work and family. As a result, a stressed caretaker may feel angry and frustrated or feel lonely when taking care of the elderly or seniors.
Overdoing your duties towards your seniors can sometimes affect the health of the caretaker which can impact the caregiver unknowingly. If you are one of those people who are worried about the health and well-being of your loved ones or feel pulled in different directions while playing the role of the caretaker, it is highly recommended that you consider taking help of elder care services.
Talking to your loved ones about getting help
It is never an easy task to explain to your loved that you think that they require help. Although it may be difficult, taking the step of explaining to your parents the importance of care services can help prevent untoward mishaps and allow them to lead a more fruitful and happy life ahead.
However, there may be some seniors who may resist in accepting elder care services and would try to make excuses to delay or avoid help as along as possible. If you tend to get into such situations, reading out this guide as to why seniors refuse to take any help and what you as a caretaker can do about it can help them get a better understanding of the services and make your task of convincing them easier.
Are you finding it difficult to take care of your parents?
If you one of those people who are struggling to take care of your loved and require some help, use Elite Home Healthcare services. Using these services will not only help get experienced caretakers to take care of your parents, but will help you find local caregivers according to your budget and requirements. So what are you waiting for- start searching today.
