How to Educate Yourself about Cognitive Diseases and Their Effects on Your Elderly Loved One
November 22, 2016
Elderly Care in San Jose CA
As your elderly loved one ages, she may find herself dealing with a cognitive disease. These types of illnesses, such as dementia, can have some significant effects on your loved one's health.
Learning as much as you can about these illnesses can keep you ahead of the care game.
Start with Your Loved One's Doctor and Other Health Care Providers
In the very beginning, your loved one's doctor and other health care providers are the first source of information for you about her condition. Her doctor can give you specifics about your loved one's current status and can help you to determine a plan of care for her future. Other health care providers, such as senior care providers, can help you to navigate issues as they crop up on a daily basis.
Read Books and Do Some Research
But doctors aren't the only source of information for you. You'll want to head to the library or the Internet to find books and research about your loved one's health conditions. Much of the research information you'll find is likely to be very timely and can include relevant tips and ideas for helping your loved one to enjoy a fuller life. As you learn more, you can bring that information back to her doctor to process it together.
Join a Support Group
Another excellent source of information is support groups that focus on the different types of cognitive diseases. Often you can find people at the meetings who have been helping their elderly loved one for quite some time with the same cognitive disease. That means that you've got a little bit of an eye on the future for your own loved one and can spot potential issues ahead for her care.
Keep Notes on What You're Learning
As you learn more and more from this variety of sources, you'll need to find a way to keep track of all the information. You might want to set up a notebook or a file on your computer where you have easy access to information when you need it. All the information in the world can't help you if you can't locate what you need when it's necessary.
As your elderly loved one's condition changes, you'll be able to keep up as you learn more about the disease.