Aging is a cycle - you start as a baby that can do nothing for itself. As you age, you are able to start caring for yourself until you reach a stage of self-sufficiency. After a time the trend reverses itself and you begin to need increasing amounts of help and support to look after yourself. Everyone knows this but evaluating when a person needs external support to live in comfort and safety is not easy to do. If it a loved one, it is especially hard to acknowledge that he or she is no longer the person of the past and now care is essential. Family member often feel guilty when the take a decision on getting a caregiver for an elderly loved one - is it the right thing to do or are they just taking the easy way out? Here are some guideline to help you in deciding if an elderly loved one is now in need of home care.
Appearance Is Important
Pay attention to how the elderly look? Are their clothes clean and pressed? Do they appear to be bathing and observing normal personal hygiene. If you feel that their personal standards of neatness and cleanliness have dropped, there is cause for concern. Also look at the home. Is it neat and clean? Is everything working or are there blown bulbs, torn upholstery, leaking faucets and so on? If the cooking utensils are scorched, it could be a sign of the pots being put on the stove and forgotten. Are the beds being made regularly? If the house is not well kept, that is another cause for worry.
A lowering of both personal and home making standards could indicate dementia, depression, physical impairment or a number of other age related problems.
Memory Loss
Everyone forgets things from time to time and occasional bouts of forgetfulness are common at all ages. A slight memory loss with advancing years is to be expected and is nothing to worry about. The condition can at times be temporarily exacerbated because of medication. But if the memory loss is constant and affects the quality of life and the safety of the elderly person, then it is time to worry. For example, are bills being paid on time? Is grocery shopping being done regularly and properly? Is medication being taken as prescribed? Is the route to a regularly visited place difficult to remember? These and other such symptoms are indications of the development of Alzheimer's or other such memory related conditions which come with old age.
Moving Around
Are the seniors finding it difficult to walk on uneven surfaces? Is climbing stairs difficult? Do they stumble and fall down more than before? Is driving becoming difficult? Is remembering the way home a problem? Are the reflexes very slow? If the answer to any of these questions is "Yes" the seniors should have someone to walk with them and drive them around or d their errands for them.
A Loss Of Spirit
If an elderly person who was previously very cheerful and full of life shows signs of becoming quiet, depressed and disinterested in what is happening around him or her, it is a sign of age related depression which could have a number of causes. When this happens people stop taking an interest in their own well-being and this can lead to serious physical and mental health complications.
Deciding that a loved one can no longer function with care and support is not an easy thing to do. But to do nothing can result in increasing the extent of the problem and even to placing the elderly in danger.
Appearance Is Important
Pay attention to how the elderly look? Are their clothes clean and pressed? Do they appear to be bathing and observing normal personal hygiene. If you feel that their personal standards of neatness and cleanliness have dropped, there is cause for concern. Also look at the home. Is it neat and clean? Is everything working or are there blown bulbs, torn upholstery, leaking faucets and so on? If the cooking utensils are scorched, it could be a sign of the pots being put on the stove and forgotten. Are the beds being made regularly? If the house is not well kept, that is another cause for worry.
A lowering of both personal and home making standards could indicate dementia, depression, physical impairment or a number of other age related problems.
Memory Loss
Everyone forgets things from time to time and occasional bouts of forgetfulness are common at all ages. A slight memory loss with advancing years is to be expected and is nothing to worry about. The condition can at times be temporarily exacerbated because of medication. But if the memory loss is constant and affects the quality of life and the safety of the elderly person, then it is time to worry. For example, are bills being paid on time? Is grocery shopping being done regularly and properly? Is medication being taken as prescribed? Is the route to a regularly visited place difficult to remember? These and other such symptoms are indications of the development of Alzheimer's or other such memory related conditions which come with old age.
Moving Around
Are the seniors finding it difficult to walk on uneven surfaces? Is climbing stairs difficult? Do they stumble and fall down more than before? Is driving becoming difficult? Is remembering the way home a problem? Are the reflexes very slow? If the answer to any of these questions is "Yes" the seniors should have someone to walk with them and drive them around or d their errands for them.
A Loss Of Spirit
If an elderly person who was previously very cheerful and full of life shows signs of becoming quiet, depressed and disinterested in what is happening around him or her, it is a sign of age related depression which could have a number of causes. When this happens people stop taking an interest in their own well-being and this can lead to serious physical and mental health complications.
Deciding that a loved one can no longer function with care and support is not an easy thing to do. But to do nothing can result in increasing the extent of the problem and even to placing the elderly in danger.
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