Research demonstrates that the elderly want to stay in their homes as long as possible. Yet the older a loved one gets, the more difficult independence becomes. We believe companion care can help. Over the coming weeks we will discuss how companion caregivers can help overcome 10 major challenges faced by the elderly and by their families and loved ones. Please contact us at 888-791-8449 or Stay at Home if you have questions or would like more information.
Proper nutrition and hydration are a challenge for many senior citizens. When you’ve spent your life feeding others, living alone can be a letdown, and the kitchen can stop being a happy place. On top of that, meals, which were once a social occasion, get kind of lonely.
For many, then, food and drink stop being a priority. To make matters worse, many seniors lose their sense of thirst, and all of us tend to get more forgetful as we get older. As a result, “nutrition” for many becomes nothing more than an occasional snack.
Unfortunately, the consequences of malnutrition can get very serious long before your loved one appears gaunt. Dehydration is a major reason for hospital admissions among the elderly. In addition, many medications cause dizziness if they are not taken on a full stomach, leading to falls that result in even more hospital admissions.
A companion caregiver can ensure that your loved one gets proper meals and adequate water. If your loved one wants a social meal, we sit and gab; if not, we discretely make ourselves scarce. We also watch that medications are taken properly: on an empty stomach, on a full stomach, in the morning, in the evening, or whenever they are called for.
It really doesn’t take that much effort to ensure that a senior living alone gets proper food and water, or gets companionship during what really ought to be a social occasion. We would love to be the ones making that effort.