When Does Senior Home Care Become Necessary?

At some point, we all reach the age where we’re old enough to need help. Aging is inevitable, and it’s the time when we need the ones we love around us the most—not just because we need their presence but because we need someone to look out for us.

As we grow older, routine things we were once comfortable doing become more difficult. If you’re someone who has an aged person at home, you would know that they have difficulty with many things, like walking a flight of stairs or eating food. You would also know how difficult it is to help someone like that, and as heroic as it is, how taxing it can be on a caretaker.

More often than not, we feel, out of love, that we’re enough to make ends meet. And maybe, to an extent, we are. But at one point, it becomes important to reach out for help. If you’re experiencing a loved one age and are conflicted about taking that step, this article will give a good insight on when it’s the time to do so and how to breach the topic with your loved ones.

Signs To Look Out For:

Before anything else, it’s important to recognize you need an extra hand. These signs can be different for everyone, and they pertain to you as much as they do to your loved one. There comes a time when professional help becomes a must.

In many cases, behavioral signs may start to show and signal a cognitive decline. In other cases, your loved one might be experiencing a physical decline in movement. It’s important to look out for them both for your good and theirs. Some signs to look out for include:

Behavioral Changes:

These changes may be gradual and only noticeable over time:

• Mood changes
• Not finding joy in what they once loved
• Imagining things, being delusional, or hallucinating
• Aggression/agitation
• Misunderstanding things and situations
• Odd sleeping patterns

You might also notice:

• Their house or bedroom is messy
• They keep expired food items
• They forget to take their medicines on time or at all
• They’re generally unorganized in other aspects of their routine life

Cognitive Changes:

Signs of cognitive decline you should look out for include:

• Decline in logical and reasoning
• Time blindness
• A constant state of confusion
• General forgetfulness

It’s also important that you realize cognitive decline can have many underlying meanings and hints towards conditions like Dementia and Alzheimer’s. In this case, it’s very important you consult with a medical professional.

Physical Changes:

Physical changes can include the following:

• An inability to or difficulty in standing or moving around
• Persistent weight loss
• Bruises or wounds (which might indicate embarrassment in telling you)
• Bad hygiene and a lack of grooming

If you feel burnt out, tired, or agitated because of the help you’re giving, it might be a sign that you’re finding it difficult to commit to a duty like this fully. If you also find yourself not being able to meet all the duties your loved one needs, that might also be where you can consider home care.

Understanding The Kind Of Help Available:

If you notice any of these signs, it’s important to understand your options first and foremost. Home care is never a one-size-fits-all solution and must be tailored to your loved one’s unique needs. Moreover, home care in one city might look different from one in another. So, if you’re looking for options when it comes to home care in Wake Forest, NC, discuss your options with different service providers and do your research.

Home care normally comes in the following domains:

• Household help such as housekeeping and meal prepping
• Personal care such as grooming and hygiene
• Feeding, cooking, or delivering meals
• Routine work such as paying bills and managing professional tasks

Healthcare services are also available to help elderly patients with things like nursing, medication, physical therapy, and speech therapy. Generally, you might need to pay for home services, and different government and insurance programs could cover it for you. In other cases, you might also find volunteer-based community services.

Approaching the Topic:

Approaching home care with your loved one can be a very difficult conversation. Older adults are not very easy to convince when it comes to taking help from others. They might even feel like a liability or a burden to you. It’s very important that you ensure the conversation doesn’t steer that way.

One way to do this is to start with smaller tasks. You can consider asking your loved one if they’re okay with taking help with laundry instead of something that’s of a much more personal nature, such as grooming or bathing. An older person might also perceive help from a stranger as a dynamic that might take their independence away. In that case, you should try to assure them that there is no such thing and if nothing else, it will help them feel even more at ease and give them more freedom if someone can dedicate help towards anything they want to do, such as grocery shopping.

Finding The Right Help:

Before you entrust a service provider with the responsibility of caring for your loved one, ensuring they’re the right people is very important. Always consider a few factors before opting for any service, along with a background check to see if they abide by legitimate practices:

• Do they have the necessary qualifications needed? Do they have the relevant training needed to care for an older adult? Or the needed certifications and licenses?
• Do they have prior experience similar to a case like yours?
• Do their services coincide with what you need? How do they handle confidentiality?
• How flexible are they with their timings? And how readily can they be available on an ad-hoc basis?
• What does their pricing structure look like? And what are the charges for add-on services on some days?

Home services exist for a reason, and it’s perfectly fine to opt for help if the situation calls for it. If it allows a better balance and better care for your loved one, it’s a good investment, and your loved ones will see it in time, too.