Daily care tips for the elderly

Daily care for the elderly does not require complicated high-end equipment. The core focus is on three points - reducing the risk of injury as much as possible, maintaining the ability to live independently as much as possible, and always taking care of the dignity of the elderly. All tips are centered around these three, and they are more effective than any fancy tutorials.

To be honest, when I helped my mother clean up my grandma’s house, I heard the staff of the community’s aging renovation said that the whole house must be covered with non-slip mats and all the edges and corners are covered to be safe. However, just a week after the mat was laid, my grandma almost fell when she stepped on the edge of the mat. Later, when I went to the hospital for rehabilitation, the nurse in charge said that this was a typical case of "too much is not enough". "——The edges of large-area anti-slip mats become warped after being used for a long time, which makes them more likely to trip the elderly than smooth floor tiles. The most commonly used anti-slip measures are to stick a silicone anti-slip mat in the shower area that is completely edge-sealed and does not move when attached to the floor. All the elderly in the house wear anti-slip slippers with tight heels and deep textured soles. This is much more reliable than spreading mats all over the house. Oh, by the way, there is another point that many people ignore. Don't move the coffee table and TV cabinet at home casually. The elderly have memorized the movement lines in the house. Suddenly moving things will cause collisions. My uncle Zhang's house next door moved the coffee table half a meter to accommodate the newly purchased massage chair. The old man got up at night and directly bumped into it, requiring three stitches. It was a big loss.

After talking about safety, the most troublesome thing is taking medicine. There were pill boxes with compartments that were popular on the Internet before. I bought two for my grandpa, but he found the compartments too small to see clearly. He had to wear reading glasses every time he picked medicine. Later, he found it troublesome and stopped taking them. Later, we asked the nurse at the community hospital for a solution. We used three wide-mouthed enamel cups of different colors, a red one for the morning medicine, a blue one for the noon medicine, and a green one for the evening medicine. Every day before going to bed, my grandma would divide the medicine for the next day and put it on the dining table where he could touch it when he sat down. Even if he had a poor memory, he would know it was time to take medicine when he saw the cup, and he would not forget whether he had taken it like a sealed medicine box. By the way, there is also a controversial point here. Some people say that they are afraid that the elderly will take medicines indiscriminately, so they have to put away the medicines and give them to the elderly when they are ordered. However, some doctors who do cognitive intervention for the elderly say that as long as the elderly do not have cognitive impairment, try to put the medicines within their reach. This will make them feel that they can control their lives, which will actually improve their compliance with taking medicines. This depends on the condition of the elderly at home. There is no standard answer.

There is also daily cleaning. Many people think that the elderly love to be clean and have to wash themselves every day. My neighbor’s aunt used to use shower gel to wipe the body of my bedridden wife every day. As a result, the old man’s back was so itchy that he could not sleep all night long. He went to a dermatologist and the doctor said that the elderly have a sebum film. Thin, using cleaning products every day will damage the skin barrier. In winter, using shower gel once a week is enough, and wipe with warm water the rest of the time. After wiping, be sure to apply a layer of moisturizer to areas that are prone to dryness, such as calves, back, and elbows. This can save a lot of trouble of itchy skin. If you meet an old man who is bedridden, don't pull his arms and legs when he turns over. Find an old pure cotton sheet and fold it into a wide strip and put it under the old man's waist. When you want to turn over, lift the sheet on both sides. This saves effort and will not scratch the old man's paper-thin skin. This was taught to me by my distant cousin who has been a caregiver in a nursing home for ten years. The old people she took care of using this method almost never had bedsores. Oh, and there’s also the matter of diapers. Don’t think that everything will be fine once you put them on. No matter how much water you absorb, you have to change them every two hours at most. Otherwise, not only will you easily get diaper rash if you keep them in for a long time, but you will also run the risk of urinary tract infection. Don’t be too troublesome. It’s the elderly who will suffer if something goes wrong.

Many people take care of the elderly and just focus on eating, drinking, and taking care of themselves. In fact, emotions are the most easily overlooked aspect. Many people used to say that if the elderly cannot learn to use smartphones, they should not use them to avoid being deceived. I thought the same way before. Until my grandpa, he always sat on the balcony in a daze. Later, I taught him how to make video calls and how to look at photos of his great-grandchildren. Now he uses his mobile phone every day to take pictures of his family group of spider plants. He also video chats with his old colleagues when he has nothing to do. He is in much better spirits than before. In fact, you don’t need to teach them how to watch short videos or make payments. Just teach them two or three functions that they can use. Don’t think they are slow to learn, just teach them a few more times and they will be fine. Also, if the old man can still eat and dress by himself, even if it is slower, even if the table is full of food, don't go to help. My cousin said that she has seen many old people who can move on their own, but their children help with everything if they find it troublesome. Within two months, they are completely inseparable from others. Being able to do things by themselves is not only a sign of ability, but also confidence for the old man.

In fact, after all is said and done, there are no universal nursing tips. The temperaments and habits of the elderly in each family are different. Some people like to be clean, so you should follow them more, and some people are afraid of trouble, so don’t go through those complicated procedures. If you have nothing to do, ask a few questions, "Are you comfortable doing this?", which is more useful than the standard answers on the Internet. After all, the essence of our nursing care is to make the elderly live comfortably and with dignity.