Throughout our life, eating fresh and healthy food is essential to our wellbeing. In case of seniors, nutrition is one of the major prerequisites for better health and longer life. That is why experienced Los Angeles senior home care experts take extra care when planning and preparing seniors’ meals. But if you are your senior loved one’s caregiver you know that sometimes no matter how much effort you put into cooking or how tasty the meal is, seniors refuse to eat.
Lack of appetite can sometimes be a symptom of a dangerous medical issue or a side-effect of a medication. Other times it’s a reflection of the seniors’ mood or just stubbornness. In any case, inadequate nutrition is linked to numerous dangerous conditions. Therefore, it’s up to caregivers to make sure their senior loved ones or clients get their daily dose of energy and healthy nutrients.
But how can you do that when your senior loved one refuses to eat?
A stroke occurs when the blood and oxygen supply to the brain cells is reduced. The affected brain cells can no longer perform their function and ultimately die. This often occurs as a result of a blockage in the vessels that supply the blood to the brain. The outcome of a stroke is determined by the amount of damage the cells sustain. Some seniors experience no symptoms after a stroke while others lose vital functions like speech or coordination.
The symptoms of stroke vary from patient to patient, however, there are some clear patterns indicating that your senior loved one might be having a stroke. Seniors living on their own and without a caregiver are more at risk since there is no one to watch out for the signs that they might be suffering a stroke.
Seniors who are on a regimen of medications need to take those medications regularly. However, sometimes these people refuse to take the meds for one reason or another. That can make your plans for senior care in Los Angeles a bit difficult.
So, what is a caregiver to do in a situation like this? Fortunately, there are ways to handle this situation in a calm and relaxed way. What you need to realize is that their refusal to take medication is an attempt to communicate something.
You should try to see the situation from their angle and try to calmly and rationally talk to them rather than escalating the situation.
In our previous blogs, we talked about your senior loved ones’ health. And while we are quick to give advice such as modify your diet or exercise more with the best intentions, how many of us actually follow the same advice? When was the last time you exercised? What did you have for lunch?
However, working for a respectable company that offers senior care referral services in Los Angeles, we have seen firsthand how slightly adjusting the diet and introducing an exercise routine can improve the lives of most seniors. Something as simple as a stroll around the park can help the elderly battle various health issues and make them feel better about themselves.
Aging in place has many benefits as we have previously discussed. If you senior loved one prefers spending the rest of their life in the family home, keeping that home neat and tidy is instrumental, but can also prove incredibly challenging. Seniors may not be able to keep the home clean and organized all on their own, and giving them a helping hand yourself or hiring a caregiver recommended by a trustworthy senior care in Los Angeles referral agency can go a long way.
However, messy dishes aren’t the only problem elders would be facing. Organizing your elders’ home is even more important to them than it is to us. Senior loved ones need to have the items they use daily, such as food or medication always available, even more so if their movement is limited or their memory unreliable. Here’s how you can help make their life so much easier by organizing their home.