When Is it Time to Think About Senior Home Care?
May 23, 2024
Watching a beloved family member age is a complicated situation. When that family member needs more help, family caregivers may feel as if they don’t know what to do. Senior home care is a great option, especially for seniors who want to age in place and hang onto as much independence as possible. When is it time to campaign for senior home care help?
ADLs Are More Difficult
Activities of daily living are simple activities that most people do every single day, like taking a bath or shower, getting dressed, and using the bathroom. If seniors are starting to struggle with these daily activities, they may start to avoid them or do them in a different way than they have in the past. This could lead to injuries and other issues.
Hygiene Is Suffering
If seniors are having more trouble with ADLs like showering and changing clothes, they might start wearing the same clothes every day or make decisions like no longer bathing or brushing their teeth. At first, this might not be obvious, but eventually, they may start to have skin issues or have trouble with dental health. Home care services can help with these tasks, alleviating potential health issues.
Seniors Are Having Memory Trouble
When seniors get forgetful or confused more often, it can be a sign of cognitive trouble. It could also be a sign of loneliness or depression, however. The important thing is that memory trouble is a symptom, so it’s important to determine what that symptom means. Talking to healthcare providers and digging deeper is the first step. However, senior home care services can be there to offer support as seniors need it.
Isolation Is More Common
Seniors may start becoming more withdrawn or isolated as they experience changes in their lives. This isn’t healthy in the long run, because seniors do need social engagement. Aging can make this more difficult, either because of health issues or because of issues with practical concerns like transportation. Home care providers automatically reduce isolation for aging adults, but they can help with the practical problems, too.
Household Tasks Are Getting Ignored
When life is getting more difficult in general, it’s a lot more difficult for aging adults to keep up with household tasks. If mail is piling up, surfaces and rooms are getting more cluttered, and seniors are living in dirty homes, that needs to be addressed. Senior home care can keep up with these tasks, ensuring seniors live in healthy and clean homes.
Family Members Are Exhausted
Family caregivers are often already doing a lot and yet their seniors need more help on a consistent basis. It’s not realistic for family caregivers to expect to keep up with aging adults’ needs indefinitely. They need help, and senior home care services can step in and offer both respite help as well as practical assistance.
There may be even more signs for individual aging adults that they need more help. What matters most is that family caregivers pay close attention to what changes their aging family members are experiencing so that they can line up help from senior home care services.
If you or your loved one is looking for Senior Home Care in San Jose, CA, please call Familiar Surroundings Home Care.
Santa Clara County: (408) 979-9990
San Mateo County: (650) 353-9777
Santa Cruz County: (831) 480-3990