Don't Put it Off! March is National Procrastination Week
February 24, 2023
It’s a surprise that National Procrastination Week ever actually occurs, but this tongue-in-cheek holiday week is a great reminder as a caregiver for a senior to not procrastinate about those important healthcare prevention steps you should take for your senior.
Being a caregiver of an aging senior can be overwhelming and the day-to-day responsibilities can make it hard sometimes to get around to those much-needed and very important preventative care tasks. The good news is many of these you don’t have to do yourself if you’re feeling overwhelmed. You can have your senior care provider or another family member bring your loved one to the appointments.
The first step to prevent further procrastination is to get these tasks on the calendar. Some will need appointments made with a professional, others can just be walk-in visits when you have time. By getting them on the calendar, you can help yourself avoid the trap of procrastination by thinking you’ll just do them later. If you have a senior care provider, work with them to see what times and dates work with their schedule so that perhaps they can provide travel assistance.
Let’s look at just a few areas that often fall into that procrastination area. Use this list to check your loved one’s calendar and make sure that you haven’t put any of these off too long.
Regular Dental Visits
It can seem easy to put these off when there don’t seem to be any issues or pain related to your loved one’s teeth and gums. But regular dental visits are an important part of keeping not only your loved one’s teeth healthy but also detecting any mouth-related diseases or abnormalities that should be treated sooner than later.
Regular Eye Exam
Even if your loved one still has 20/20 vision, she should be visiting an optometrist at least yearly to check for cataracts, glaucoma and to review her vision. She will most likely need someone to drive her if part of the visit is dilating her pupils to check for any abnormalities. This a great one to have your senior care provider provide travel for.
Annual Physical Exam
Depending on your loved one’s health, you may have more doctor visits than you can count. Or you might never need to go. Both of these can lead many people to procrastinate on those standard yearly annual physical exams. But these exams are very important for your loved one’s health. They are a great opportunity for your loved one to connect with her doctor and discuss any new concerns she might have.
Shots
Don’t forget about those boosters and shots that can help keep your loved one from dealing with the flu, COVID-19, or shingles. All of these will not only make your loved one miserable, but they can also lead to more serious consequences that could lead to hospitalization or death.
So, use National Procrastion Week to help you stop procrastinating and get some of these important visits on the calendar.
If you or your loved one is looking for Home Care in San Jose, CA, please call Familiar Surroundings Home Care.
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