Nursing, Wound Care and Post-Hospitalization Care for Seniors
As elderly populations continue to grow exponentially, family members experience a host of issues that need addressing. Your loved one may have spent time in the hospital and now needs assistance at home. Mom may have fallen and scraped her knee. What wouldn't have caused you alarm five years ago may have you worried now as you notice how poorly Mom's skin reacted to the fall.
Without help to remain independent, you may find that your senior is readmitted to the hospital. Choosing a personal support worker ensures that your loved one has the best chance of living their life on their terms, especially after a hospital stay.
How Wound and Post-Hospitalization Care Helps Seniors
Seniors have special needs when they are wounded. They don't heal as well and as fast as when they were younger. Additionally, you will find that outside help is often necessary after a hospital stay. Doing all this requires effectively communicating with your loved one and understanding the challenges that come with caring for the elderly.
1. Treating Wounds on the Elderly
As the body ages, the skin becomes more susceptible to injury. The body also takes longer to heal. These factors mean that swift and proper treatment of your senior's wounds is critical. Without it, wounds may become chronic and impede your loved one's quality of life. It's helpful to keep these suggestions in mind:
- Immediate action is necessary: Treat each wound quickly, from slight scrapes to large cuts. Infection can come on quickly, and health issues may cause Mom or Dad to heal slowly or not at all. Remember to stop the bleeding, remove dirt and debris, clean the wound, and cover it with a sterile bandage. Finally, seek medical assistance as soon as possible.
- Some wounds may become chronic. If your senior has underlying health issues, they are at greater risk of developing a chronic wound. For example, Dad's diabetes can hinder healing. He may experience a diabetic ulcer, infection, and inflammation.
- Proper senior skincare is a must. Wounds that don’t seem to heal fast enough may occur due to many different factors. Common factors include diabetes and immobility. You must ensure your aging family member has appropriate cushioning to prop themselves up. The use of mild soap and talcum powder helps keep the skin healthy and limits chronic wounds.
The next time Mom scrapes her hand, be sure that you treat it appropriately. Even minor wounds can cause significant problems later. Sometimes, injuries are much harder to handle on your own, such as when your loved one has surgery. That's when it is vital to engage the services of a home care professional.
You may also want to learn about The Importance of Wound Treatment in Senior Citizens
2. Post Hospitalization Care for Seniors
Your fiercely independent father may not like being tied down in a hospital. After being discharged from the hospital, he may find himself back home without proper support. A professional in-home caregiver helps the elderly quickly regain their independence with their services. Without it, many factors can potentially contribute to Dad needing to return to the hospital, including:
- Compromised immune system: The stress of healing at home with no help may affect the immune system. Your loved one needs rest. They may feel the need to pick up with their pre-hospital day-to-day life before they are ready, and this may be damaging.
- Sleep deprivation: It's hard to sleep in a hospital with all the noise and lights. Yet, there is comfort in knowing help is only a call away. At home, that may not be the case. Your father's bed may be hard to sleep in, or poor pain management may keep him from sleeping.
- New medications: One thing that always seems to follow a hospital visit is a new list of medications. They may have side effects preventing Dad from resting, or they might make him dizzy and disoriented.
Healing at home after a hospital visit makes sense with experienced assistance from caregivers. They can recognize warning signs or symptoms and ensure you are alerted to these changes in your senior.
Read more about Reasons to Hire a Professional Senior Caregiver after your loved one returns from hospital.
3. Nursing Tips for Taking Care of the Elderly
Communicating a doctor's directives to your elderly mother may be impeded by many factors. She may be hard of hearing or have dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Yet, it's vital to your loved one's quality of life that you be able to talk about what is happening to them and what their doctor expects. It takes some soft skill-building, but it is possible to:
- Have the right body language: Threatening body language will be met with resistance. This is the opposite effect of what you need. Learning techniques such as maintaining eye contact and sitting directly opposite your loved one will aid in communicating well.
- Learn patience: You may feel like you are talking to a child when you must repeat yourself. This goes with the situation but can be helped by slowing down when speaking and pronouncing your words clearly.
- Become an active listener: Mom will appreciate what you have to say when you actively listen to what she has to say. This includes eye contact, affirmative nods, and asking clarifying questions without interrupting.
Not only does proper communication help both of you in discussing what is required for healing, but it builds your relationship, as well. You will always face challenges, though.
Here some Tips for Better Communication with Seniors after your loved one returns from hospital.
4. Nursing Challenges to Understand When Caring for Seniors
Caring for your aged loved one has many benefits. There are also quite a few challenges. You can enjoy many more rewards when you understand the top challenges facing your senior:
- They face mental health issues: The physical limitations are apparent, but what about Mom's mental health? For instance, she will likely suffer from depression if she doesn't engage with others for months at a time.
- They face health problems from social isolation: Not only can your mother suffer from depression, but if she remains socially isolated, her physical health may suffer. Common health problems include infection, cognitive decline, dementia, and elevated blood pressure.
- They face death and loss continually: Dad's buddies will start dying, or worse, he may have to witness your mother's death. He will constantly face the fact that he or another close friend may pass away.
Serving your elderly parent does have so many rewards, yet the challenges may threaten to overwhelm you. With help from a professional home caregiver, you can meet these challenges head-on.
Learn mor about Challenges You May Face as a Caregiver
Support for You and Your Senior begins with Home Instead
We all need help from time to time. Home Instead Kitchener-Waterloo, ON understands the needs of seniors and their families. We have well-trained home care workers dedicated to assisting with nurse directed care, companionship, home help, and other home care services. You don't have to feel alone when you enlist our help. Contact us today! Let's work together to develop the best plan to assist your aging parent.
Call us at (519) 571-1665 to schedule a no-obligation, in-home consultation. Learn more about the compassionate, quality senior care we deliver every day to families in Kitchener-Waterloo, Breslau, Conestogo, Elmira, St Jacobs, and surrounding areas.