Author: mpardeshi

How to select an In-Home caregiver for loved ones with dementia?

We always want to give only the best for our loved ones as they did when we were young. Choosing a professional nursing caretaker can be daunting and tiring. When your loved one is suffering from dementia, it is an exceedingly difficult stage for both of you. A lot of us might be uncertain of how to deal with our loved ones suffering from dementia. That is when we need expert help from professionals. 

Watching their mental health deteriorate is extremely saddening and painful. It becomes difficult to manage your home when you are a working individual. That is when you entrust your loved one who might be suffering from dementia to a professional nursing caretaker. Trusting your loved one with a professional home nursing services is assuring. You can be mentally and physically more present at your place of work. 

A report suggests that every year, 10 million new cases of dementia are diagnosed worldwide, suggesting that one new instance is diagnosed every 3.2 seconds. Dementia is a non-curable disease. It only goes on increasing with time. Anxiety and paranoia are the most common symptoms observed during this phase. Caring for the elderly with dementia is problematic because it needs education, patience, and understanding. Families generally lack the expertise and skills to comprehend age-related diseases and fail to care for their loved one. It is also heartbreaking to see your loving parents psychologically degrade. A qualified nurse at home may be of great assistance since they understand the illness and have all the necessary abilities and expertise to deal with dementia patients. According to a medical report, persons who have a home care services facility at home live longer lives. Receiving emotional, physical, medical, and specialized care in the comfort of their own homes allows seniors to enjoy a better and longer life Because no one can replace the comfort zone of one’s own home.

It is important that you do a thorough groundwork before consulting any home nursing services. Because you need a professional who is experienced to manage the patients who are suffering from dementia. Verify their experience, certificate, run a background check and so on. Bonding is another factor that is important between your loved one and their nursing caretaker. The tie and connection between a caregiver and the elderly can only be developed through time. Because no connection unfolds in a day or two, patience and time are important considerations. 

Dementia patients experience mood changes. They may be fine at one moment and restless and depressed at the other. Abundant patience and kindness are required. Being frustrated or annoyed over little reactions is not going to help. Dementia requires enough understanding and patience from their nursing caretaker so that your loved ones feel relaxed, and you will be relieved. The more consistent a dementia patient’s life is, the better. Routine is critical because it allows persons suffering from this horrible disease to stay independent and in charge of their life.

A nursing caretaker who regularly shows up for their planned shifts will not only enhance their patient’s general attitude, but they may also improve their dementia symptoms. It is critical that the caregiver you employ understands the significance of this. This guarantees that your loved one has the stability they require from their in-home specialist to flourish and remain healthy for a longer period.

How To Take Care Of Bedsores

If you are a person who is completely tied up with your day-to-day work and must juggle between the office and house errands. Then having a nurse at home who is available 24/7 to take care of your elderly or your bedridden loved one, from looking after their personal hygiene to ensuring that they feel comfortable is a positive advantage to your fast-paced lifestyle. It is extremely difficult and saddening to watch your loved one as a bedridden patient. Bedridden patients need your utmost care, support, and undivided attention as they completely are helpless and look upon their loved ones. Having a nursing caretaker can make you feel at ease, as you rest assured that your loved ones are monitored and safe with them.

There should be intensive care and constant monitoring for your loved ones as they are highly prone to bedsores and other skin related infections due to their unavoidable conditions. Ensure that you keep their skin healthy and sanitized daily. Make sure either you or your nurse at home follows strict personal hygiene for your elderly. Keep a check on their linens. Make sure to put a fresh one frequently. When you understand that your loved ones have limited independent mobility because of their conditions ensure that you or your nurse at home use effective methods to get the airflow to all the parts of their body. Start with smaller tasks like lifting the arm up for 10 seconds at a time, assisting if needed and working up to the full capacities of your loved one.

Repositioning them is another important factor that should not be neglected to avoid any sort of skin irritation or bedsores. Keep a check on their skin to ensure there is no indication of any early signs of bedsores. You or your nurse at home must make sure to see that there is no dampness or moisture making any direct contact with your loved one. So, make sure to dry them out properly after a bath as wet skin trapped against a bed will not dry and may increase the risks of skin irritation and sores. Also make sure you stay alert on the common parts where bedsores are likely to occur e.g., ankles, heels the hip area and the tailbone.

Make sure the place is reasonably well lit as per the need, the necessities are right at their bedside, and the place is always well ventilated, fresh, and dry. Reduce noise levels as far as possible. Take extra precautions during this pandemic. Always ensure their and your safety.

The trained nursing caretaker will take care the proper nutritional care. They will monitor and record the meals to ensure they are getting in proper nutritional value and having balanced meals. Make their environment lively, comfortable, and fresh. So, they feel peaceful in that environment around them. It is also extremely important to deal with the bedridden with utmost patience and care. Having a male ward boy nurse at home will help your elderly feel comfortable while taking them to use the washroom if they are able to make movements. A man’s physical strength is undoubtedly strong which will make them comfortable while relying on their strength for movements.

At last, in a day try to engage with your loved ones however busy your schedule may be, make sure you remove some time for them. Making them feel loved and wanted keeps the environment positive and helps them in all good aspects. Positivity is the leading key to a good environment where your loved one will feel safe, wanted, and comfortable.

The future of Home Health Care

Who does not like a service that provides care in this ageing world? Many health services focus only on care and timely services. Out of which home health care services are highly rated. Because many of the patients prefer to recover in their homes instead of a hospital bed. The atmosphere in one’s home is more preferred and is proven good for a patient’s speedy recovery. Patient care services give your loved ones a feel-good factor that stimulates a healthy mind resulting in aid in their recovery.

Hiring the future to your doorstep i.e., a professional from Elderly Care Services will help your loved ones enjoy a much better-quality life. As they will be in a familiar environment around their family and their home where they have lived for many years. This is extremely effective if your loved one is suffering from dementia or they are bedridden. For the elderly who are suffering from dementia, it is challenging to care for them which requires knowledge, patience and understanding. Families, generally, lack the experience and skills to understand the age-related conditions and fail to care for their beloved ones properly. Also, it is quite painful to view your beloved parents deteriorate mentally. Handling your work life and personal life can be tedious at times. Qualified nurse at home can provide a lot of support, as they understand their condition and have all skills and experience to deal with dementia patients rightly.

A sudden need of any urgency and you are relieved, your caregiver is there at that moment to ensure their needs are being met. Because they are available 24/7, making you and your loved ones at ease. Also, it is very natural for you to worry about your parents, as they grow older, you think about how they will get along from day to day. There are numerous advantages of having a trained, trusted, and responsible nurse at home. They can make the elderly recover from an ailment, injury, post-surgery hassle-free and easy. This caregiver will also help the elderly with physiotherapy sessions at home, making it the future of all health care services. An elderly who is bedridden or unable to move freely will find it difficult to use the washroom or maintain personal hygiene which is taken care of by a trained nursing caretaker. Having a trained caregiver will ensure any mishappenings like falls, and injury and ensure their safety. Home health care services are not only for the elderly. Anyone can benefit from it.

A medical survey has revealed that people who have a home nursing services facility at home live a longer and happier life. Receiving emotional, physical, medical, and specialized care in their comfort zones helps senior citizens live healthier and longer life. Because no comfort zone can replace one’s own home. Especially when your loved ones may be attached to a particular couch, favourite meal, a favourite chair, a favourite routine, or a favourite view from a specific corner of the house etc., home health care take their comfort to another level. The comfort of your loved ones is solely the responsibility of every professional home nursing services. Summarizing all the above points does prove that home health care services are indeed the future that is awaiting us!

Summer safety tips for seniors: How to help older adults stay healthy when it is hot outside?

Pleasant weather is all that is needed to make the most of the day. But the dramatic summers can be a bit annoying for your elderly. As, our ability to cope with the effects of hot temperature, high humidity and the hot sun goes down as we age. Especially if your elderly is bedridden, then all that sweat adds to skin problems and irritation. When you are not available for your elderly, to help them during this season because of the busy errands that you must run throughout the day, having a nurse at home will make you at ease. You then rest assured that your nursing caretaker is available to play your role. 

During this sweaty and warm climate make sure to keep your elderly always hydrated when you are around and even when you are not. They may not even know how heat is affecting them. As, the ability to sweat decreases with age. 

So, their loved ones or nursing caretakers need to not only remind them to drink water but bring it to them during heat waves. 

  • Especially elderly who are suffering from dementia are highly prone to dehydration as their brain may keep them from being able to communicate their distress. 
  • Fresh juices (like orange, watermelon, apple etc.), smoothies, water, milk, tea/ coffee once in a while, kaadha for immunity booster etc., can be given as per the need and requirement. 
  • Avoid drinks to dehydration like alcohol or caffeinated drinks. 
  • Ask your nurse at home to sponge, shower, or bathe them on a regular basis, especially during summers. 
  • Make sure to keep their rooms always ventilated. 
  • Schedule their walks either early in the morning or at the later parts of the day.
  • Comfort is the utmost thing one must keep in mind. 
  • It starts from the atmosphere around you to the clothes that your elderly wear around throughout the day during their hottest times. 
  • Make sure that you or your nursing caretaker ensures to change our elderly’s clothes regularly and let them wear light-coloured loose clothes. 
  • Try to keep the house as cool as possible. 
  • Close the windows and blinds during the day, then open the windows in the evening when the temperature cools down sufficiently. 
  • AC is important for older adults with respiratory conditions like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) because heat and humidity can aggravate their breathing. 
  • Keep all their medications up-to-date and safely stored.
  • Avoid any heat exposure during the daytime. 
  • Summers reduces one’s appetite. Light meals are good, but it is important to get in those nutrients, especially since senior citizens are prone to a lack of nutrients and essential vitamins. 
  • Make sure to give them plenty of fresh fruits and salads which will, in turn, keep their body’s water level intact. 
  • Avoid any activities that may cause heat exhaustion among your elderly. 

Last but not least ensure that you spend at least an hour with your elderly, removing that one hour from your daily busy errands is extremely crucial towards the mental health and happiness of your elderly. Also, hiring a professional from elderly care services can help you when you cannot manage time out of your daily chores for your elderly.

Intensive Care at Home: A win-win for patients and healthcare industry

A home is a place where people can be themselves. Nothing compares to the comfort of one’s own home. Patient care services assure you of this comfort. Trained professionals at your doorstep in your own comfort zones. Research shows that patients tend to recover better and faster when they are in familiar surroundings, especially their own homes rather than being constrained to a four-wall space.

Hospitals are severely overburdened especially in personalized and critical care. A survey says that 8.3% of total health spending in developed countries such as the US, in India constitutes a mere 3.6% depicting massive headroom for growth. Home healthcare will solve problems by allowing hospitals to focus on critical care needs while also establishing patient care services for both pre-and post-recovery at home. Doctors are also turning up to home healthcare and growing more supportive of home health care services. Receiving one-to-one attention and having a tailored care plan according to the patient’s special needs makes the treatment more effective and builds trust among the nurse at home, the patient, and their family. 

As per research, home healthcare or elderly care services can replace up to 65 % of unwanted hospital visits, cost up to 40% less than hospitals, and lower hospital operational costs by 20%. A hospital ICU patient pays around Rs. 35–50K per day, while a similar setup at home costs around Rs. 7.5 –10K per day. Studies have shown that recuperation time reduces by 15% when the patient is at home rather than at a hospital. Home nursing services are also growing in popularity for chronic disorders that require ongoing care like (neuro, stroke, paralysis, ortho, cardiac, diabetes, infertility, and so on), as well as for specific segments (senior citizens, special needs children, patients recovering from surgery etc.) A few years from now patients might get complex tests and diagnostics done at home itself. This will take the real care onto the next level benefiting both: the patients as well as the emerging home health care services in our country.

Home nursing services is a win-win combination for both patients and for various stakeholders, as it is emerging out in the Indian markets. For patients, it offers complete personalized professional care at their own homes offering lower convenience with low pricing as compared to hospitals. And for hospitals, it frees up beds faster allowing them to focus on patients with more severe health conditions. If you are a busy person who needs to conduct house and workplace chores, having a nurse at home who is available 24/7 to take care of your elderly, from personal cleanliness to ensure that they feel comfortable, is a benefit to your fast-paced existence. For patients who are bedridden, home nursing services are the best-personalized services that one can get. As we always want to give only the best for our loved ones.

Even you are relieved that your loved ones are comfortable in an atmosphere that they want to be in. Keeping you rest assured that they are under constant monitoring and under the experienced professional’s guidance, care, and support.

How to care for a bedridden patient?

If you are a busy person who must run house and office errands then having a nurse at home who is available 24/7 to take care of your elderly, from looking after their personal hygiene to ensuring that they feel comfortable is a positive advantage to your pacing lifestyle.

Being a working guardian and juggling to balance your work and personal life becomes difficult and tedious at times. Taking care of your bedridden elderly is a huge responsibility and should be done with utmost care and patience. Having a nurse at home to take care of your elderly is the best way to help yourself and your bedridden elderly. It’s extremely painful and disheartening to see your elderly parents bedridden. But ensuring that they are stable and comfortable is solely our responsibility.

Looking after their grooming and hygiene is extremely important to avoid any fungal infections, allergies, or diseases. A trained nursing caretaker will look into their daily bathing, dental care, making them wear their fresh clothes, keeping a check on their trimming of fingernails and toenails, haircut, and grooming. Bedsores (also known as pressure ulcer) are extremely common in bedridden patients, but the good news is that it is preventable. If the elderly spends majority of his/her time on the bed, ensure that you reposition them every few hours. If they can move on their own, then encourage them to move and readjust themselves quite often. Also make sure you stay alert on the common parts where bedsores are likely to occur e.g., ankles, heels the hip area and the tailbone.

Ensure that their bed linens are regularly changed and laundered. The trained nursing caretaker will take care of the proper nutritional care. They will monitor and record the meals to ensure they are getting in proper nutritional value and having balanced meals. Make their environment lively, comfortable, and fresh. So, they feel good in that environment around them. It is also extremely important to deal with the bedridden with utmost patience and care. Having a male ward boy nurse at home will help your elderly feel comfortable while taking them to use the washroom if they can make movements. A man’s physical strength is undoubtedly strong which will make them comfortable while relying on their strength for movements.

Let your children often visit your parents, talk to them, which will lighten the mood and make in a happy atmosphere for the bedridden elderly. A happy and positive and cheerful atmosphere is extremely important for them. Take some time out of your daily schedule and talk to them bout your day. If possible, try having a meal next to them or with them. Even you can read out the newspaper to them or play on their favourite songs. Never zone them out completely, don’t let them feel lonely. Make sure the place is reasonably well lit as per the need, the necessities are right at their bedside, and the place is well ventilated at all times. Reduce noise levels as far as possible. Take extra precautions during this pandemic. Always ensure their and your safety.

Apart from the above-mentioned points, one should also take expert advice, medical opinion, or help from professional home nursing services in case any other challenges are faced in caring for the elderly parents or other family members at home.

Why Choose Nurse At Home Instead Of Old Age Home?

Family is that one bond that lasts forever. No matter how old you become, no matter what your achievements are, no matter how far you are from them, your parents will always love you for who you are. When you cannot always be available for your old parents that is the time when you trust someone. And that someone will take your place when you are not available for your parents. That’s where caregivers/ caretakers come into the picture.
A sudden need of any urgency and you are relieved, your caregiver is there at that moment to ensure their needs are being met which will be lacking at an old age home. Because your caregiver is available 24/7, making you and them at ease. Also, it is very natural for you to worry about your parents, as they grow older, you think about how they will get along from day to day.

There are numerous advantages of having a trained, trusted, and responsible caregiver at home. They can make the elderly recover from an ailment, injury, post-surgery hassle-free and easy. This caregiver will also help the elderly with physiotherapy sessions at home. An elderly who is bedridden or unable to move freely will find it difficult to use the washroom or maintain personal hygiene which is taken care of by a trained nursing caretaker. Having a trained caregiver will ensure any mishappenings like falls, injury and ensure their safety in that feeble age of theirs. In addition, the elderly who stay at home tend to be physically and mentally healthier compared to old age homes.

For the elderly who are suffering from dementia, it is challenging to take care of them which requires knowledge, patience and understanding. Families, generally, lack the experience and skills to understand the age-related conditions and fail to care for their beloved ones properly. Also, it is quite painful to view your beloved parents deteriorate mentally. A Qualified nurse at home can provide a lot of support, as they understand the condition and have all skills and experience to deal with dementia patients rightly.

A medical survey has revealed that people who have a home nursing services facility at home live a longer life. Receiving emotional, physical, medical, and specialized care in their comfort zones helps senior citizens live healthier and longer life. Because no comfort zone can replace one’s own home. Especially your parents may be attached to a particular couch, a favourite chair, a favourite routine, or a favourite view from a specific corner in the house. Besides, relocating can be very stressful. Also, they are left with all the memories of us in that place, when remembered would make them feel nostalgic and happy which will lack at an old age home.
Because ‘IT FEELS LIKE HOME’, with a responsible and trusted nurse at home. You will definitely want to give your parents the best just like they did when you were young! So, consider these points before making a decision.

How can you help your senior family member bond with a caregiver?

Building a bond and relationship between your caregiver and your elderly is extremely essential. Establishing this bond and relationship will encourage open and honest communication which will work both ways out. Firstly, when you decide to bring in a nurse at home, it is very important to hire a professional from a Home Nursing Services Agency, who has experience in taking care of the elderly. If your elderly is suffering from dementia, ensure you hire a professional who has dealt with such patients rather than a newbie.

Caregivers often observe things that no one else does. So, make sure you listen to their observations and points with an open mind. The positive energy that you give to a caregiver that relationship will be awarded back! As it is important that even your caregiver feels at ease in the surroundings and when they deal with the elderly. You may also engage with some personalized activity session frequently between your caregiver and your elderly like watching some movie classics together, reading out their favourite book or poem to them, if your elderly can walk without support then going out to outdoor garden walks together, observing nature together etc., also the hobbies can always vary according to the elderly’s lifestyle and choices. This will create a bond of friendship and openness between the two and make their bond grow stronger. Because having a good companionship is a huge part which is required to fill the gap between the two.

As it is said, “Building relationships encourages independence, which has a positive impact on overall happiness.” Having cheerful and positive energy between the nurse at home and the patient, in turn, will aid in a fast recovery if your elderly are suffering from certain ailments or post-surgery recovery. Respecting and understanding each other’s personal space is also very important. It’s important for one to understand that caregiving or having elderly care services at home is one of life’s most difficult jobs. So, one must respect the person who is assigned to take care of the elderly and make sure you be polite to them. As they deal with these patients with the utmost care, empathy, and patience. They go through a lot more than you think.

The bond and the connection between a caregiver and the elderly can be achieved only over a period of some time. No relationship happens in a day or two so patience and time are the factors that one must keep in mind. As Pablo Casals says, “The capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest significance.” When handled in the right way, caring for a loved one can bring meaning and pleasure to you, your nurse in service and your elderly. Staying calm and relaxed and taking time to connect and know each other will release stress-free hormones which will reduce stress and aid to a good mood and speedy recovery. As one’s environment is also an important factor while creating that bond between your caregiver/nursing caretaker and your elderly.

Once that bond is made between your elderly and your caregiver, it will make them at ease and create a relationship of trust, empathy, and transparency.