Caring elders at home

Eldercare means considering a family member's emotional, mental and physical well-being. They play an important role in shaping our lives. It won't be wrong to say that most of the elders worked hard all their lives to upbringing their children. Hence it is necessary for family members to take care of elders to get a stress-free and secure retired life.

But taking care of elders are sometimes drain you physically and financially. The hustle and bustle of the current lifestyle make it nearly impossible to spend time to care for the elders at the home.

what's important in caring for the elders most?...

• 1.Care-taker should be emotionally matured
• 2.He/She should be an empathetic personnel

Keeping the elder person at home is a wonderful thing to do. But it is important to know that it is the toughest and stressful job of your life you have ever come across. So if you are caring for elders at home, it's essential to pace yourself.

Things to be considered

ADL's (Activities of Daily living)

It is necessary to look after the dignity, physical and emotional well-being of our elders at home is maintained effectively. Elders will ofter look into to do their works by themselves. The basic ADL activities are typically listed as:

• Self-feeding
• Functional mobility
• Dressing
• Bathing or Showering
• Personal Hygiene (includes brushing/styling hair, shaving, grooming activities)
• Toilet Hygiene (includes getting to the toilet, self-cleaning, getting up from the toilet)

if they have any difficulty in being mobile or having any health issues it makes them impossible to take care of these. So they might be needed appropriate help, proper equipment and accessories to help them to do their daily tasks.

Exercise and Diet

It's good to accompany the elders for morning and evening walks. It will not only make them feel refreshed but also would serve as an opportunity to spend some time with them and paying attention to diet is equal importance. They may not able to consume much at their age. hence it is important to feed them a nutritious and a healthy meal

Remember to be conscious of the medical prescription before giving food to the elders, Sometimes even though it is a healthy food, some elder people will have a condition of not to have that particular nutrient.

Visit them often

If you live far away or close by, ensure that you visit them often as much as possible. The time you spend with elders will make a lot of difference to them both physically and mentally. Elders always love to enjoy some time with you.

A few words of love and encouragement from their loved ones (children, grandchildren or family members) could lift their moods and spirits.

Elders and Hearing & noise issues

Even a normal person would become grouchy if everyone around is shouting or talking loud. So, avoid taking elders to those kinds of places because they will easily get frustrated

Sometimes it happens opposite way around, elders not only get irritated when the environment is loud but also if they couldn't able to hear what the surroundings are speaking.

This Situation can be handled with some ideas,

• Get their attention: Put your hands on their shoulders, or speak their name to get their attention, before you give any important information
• Reduce background noise: Turn off music or television. when in restaurants and social gatherings, sit away from crowded areas.
• Speak clearly: People with hearing loss hate mumbling. Face the person and enunciate clearly. Speak at a speed slightly slower than normal.
• Speak loudly: Speak a little louder but don't shout
• Repeat yourself: People with hearing loss just nodding as though they understand, even they didn't hear you properly

Our elders have all lived through times of incredible change, some including wars and new technologies unimaginable 70-75yrs. They've seen friends and loved ones born and die, and they may be struggling to find peace within themselves.

Health care is not the only thing that's needed for elders. They need more than that.

Few of what they will be expecting,...

• Respect
• Your Company
• Involvement
• Financial independence
• Social & Personal engagement