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The Importance Of Medication When Caring For Seniors

It is inevitable that, when you are caring for seniors, you will have copious amounts of pills and solutions to go through on a daily basis. When a senior gets to the point that he or she can no longer take care of their own affairs, it is pretty obvious that her or she can also no longer take care of their own body too. As a result of either physical or mental ailments, they are likely to have several prescriptions on the go for the various maladies, and all at the same time. Although it may be a mammoth task to sort through all of them, it is extremely important that you do so. The elderly person in your care has been prescribed the medication for a reason and, if it were left up to them, the various pills and potions would not get taken at all.

There are steps you can to take to help yourself where the elderly person in your charge is concerned. Firstly, you must sort through all of the medications and make sure that you are fully informed about all of the dosages as well as checking that the prescriptions are up to date. There is only one way that you check your findings against the relevant prescriptions and that is a brief consultation with the doctor who has been dealing with the person you are looking after. Of course, they are not allowed to tell you about another individual’s medical history unless they receive the express consent of the individual in question. You should therefore take the senior in question with you. Not only can the doctor then provide you with all of the information that you need, but he or she can also place your name on the necessary medical records to denote your status as primary carer.

As soon as you are armed with all of the information you need, you can start to get organized. The most important thing to do is establish a routine so that no medications are ignored or forgotten about. The routine will also help the senior in your care to settle under your authority. He or she will be reassured by the fact that there are specific times for certain medications and will feel all the better for it. It will also give you peace of mind so that do not worry about the finer details that you may forget from day today. The routine will effectively take care of all of that.

You can use all kinds of tools to ensure that medications are taken in the correct doses at the correct times. It may be an idea to compile a checklist for you to fill in every day when medication has been taken. This will also enable you to keep track of the supply of each medication that you have. You will then know when it is time to refill the prescription. Daily doses boxes are also a fantastic idea in this sort of situation. The come in little grids that are sealed to prevent the senior from getting to them and taking them at the wrong times or in the wrong doses. You can fill them at the start of every month, thus making your daily task of regulating the medication that little bit easier. It will also keep them all in the same place and save you valuable time that can be better spent doing other things.

Medication is an important part of any senior’s daily routine, but it is one that should be adhered to at all costs. Taking one tablet at the wrong time or in the wrong dose can have severe adverse effects and also cause further health problems that would best be avoided. By creating a highly organized system, you can avoid any such mistakes and enhance the life of the elderly person in your care no end.

If you are caring for the elderly in any capacity, whether it is as a care assistant in a retirement home or as a primary caregiver in the home of an elderly relative, it can be difficult to know where to start and what to do. If you are new to caring then it can be a very daunting experience because you are literally thrown in at the deep end. You learn or run; it is as simple as that. There are no courses or hard and fast rules that can tell you how to react in certain situations. Every caregiver has to find his or her own footing when caring for the elderly, and then translate that into a level on which you feel comfortable in order to be effective. However, there is one golden rule that you should follow and adopt as your private philosophy – always establish a routine and never underestimate its power!

Routines are essential when you are trying to establish a bond with the elderly person under your care. They can make that individual senior extremely happy and afford them an immense sense of comfort, as well as making your life so much easier! Before you even begin to think about establishing a daily routine though, you need to find out as much about the individual as you can. This shouldn’t be a problem if you are related in some way, but it applies just as much as it does to caring for a complete stranger. You can’t even begin to think about a routine if you do not know the person because they may hate certain aspects of the care that you impose on them. An effective routine is always based on mutual interests and compromise.

By getting t know the individual that you are caring for, you can build a solid foundation of trust and mutual respect. Trying to get into a routine before you have this will doom it to failure. Regardless of how logical and effective your routine promises to be, you cannot have a hope of it succeeding if the person that you are trying to help repeatedly bucks and sabotages it. Build the trust and then the routine.

A good routine will have a stabilizing effect on the elderly person that you are caring for, which will make your long term working relationship with them so much happier and less stressful. It will help you to remember what to do and when, and it will help the senior to remember what he or she has to do as well. Repeatedly doing the same thing over and over can give an immense sense of comfort to the senior because there is nothing unexpected thrown in to upset them.

The frustration of not knowing what is happening in your own world can be extremely upsetting, but a routine can help to avoid it. The familiar can give seniors a sense that they have some sort of control over their lives and can be used effectively to this end by caregivers. It can take months to build up an effective routine, but once it is in place then you will be loathed to deviate from it.

Once you have tried out the golden rule for yourself, you will see just how effective a tool it can be. It gives you a measure of control without taking away the elderly person’s independence. It can cut out unnecessary stress. Although you do have to persevere to establish it and may face an initial rebellion, it will ultimately be worth the effort and both the caregiver and receiver will fully appreciate it. You never know until you try to establish a routine just how useful it can be, but whether it is employed as an initial step or a last resort in the caring process is completely up to you. Just don’t leave it too late!

Caring for the elderly can make for a very rewarding job, whether it is paid employment in a nursing or retirement home or for an elderly relative who can no longer look after his or herself. However, it can also be a mentally challenging role that you find exhausting to the point of despair. It takes someone special with infinite patience and caring. This is negotiable if it is a family member. If it is someone else’s relative then it is harder to develop those qualities than if it is your own flesh and blood. Regardless of who you are caring for though, it is absolutely necessary to do all you can to preserve your own mental health and that of your patient. There are ways and means of achieving this, and below are listed just five of the most popular ones for you to try:

1. Take regular breaks – Taking a break from the elderly person or people that you are caring for can give you chance to relax away from the stress that the job inevitably puts on you. This could be a five-minute break whilst you are working or a day off doing something that you love. Taking a breather will not only benefit you but also the person that you are caring for. It will allow you both to gather your thoughts without causing resentment on either side. It may just be the time away you need to readjust your focus and gather your thoughts, as well as reminding yourself why you are doing that particular job! As long as you gain that perspective, you will be able to go back to caring as good as new within a short period of time.
2. Take part in activities that you both enjoy – These are commonly referred to as bonding activities because they capitalize on the common interests you share and build a strong foundation for you to coexist on. If you are looking after a stranger then this is essential in getting to know them properly. If you are looking after a family member then you are likely to give him or her joy just by spending that relaxing time there.
3. Come to an arrangement that suits you both – It is unlikely that the elderly person you are caring for wants you in their home every hours of every day. Some will want you at their beck and call, but the majority like their own space and will only enjoy spending time with you up to a point. Independence is very important to the majority of elderly people, especially when they may feel that it is being taken away from them. Always respect their wishes by coming to some arrangement as to when you will drop by and what you will be doing together on a particular day. Of course, this doesn’t apply to those caring for he elderly in retirement homes.
4. Establish a routine – Establishing a routine will help you both to understand exactly where you are with each other. Some elderly people like a routine because it helps them to anticipate your activities. Breaking from that routine may unsettle them and provoke negative feelings towards you and your role. Seniors also have a habit of loathing anything new and a routine is reassuring to them because it ensures that nothing new will be introduced without their consent. A routine will help you to move through the motions when necessary but will also establish a role that you are both happy with, thus heading off any difficulties before they begin.
5. Seek professional help – If you find that caring for the elderly is getting too much for you and you are becoming depressed as a result then speak to a professional counsellor who can help you to talk through your feelings. Unloading them will lift the weight off your shoulders once in a while and help to enable you to continue your role as a caregiver.

None of these tips are guaranteed to work for you because they all depend on individual circumstances. You have to find out what works for you.

As a caregiver, it is difficult to summon up the energy to do what is in the best interests of the senior that you are looking after at times. It can be extremely exhausting because you have undergone enough mental stimulation to last a lifetime in just a few weeks. However, if you can keep elderly people with mental illnesses occupied, then you are half way to ward winning the battle.

Mental stimulation of the mentally ill seniors in you care can work wonders fro your mental health as well as theirs. Playing with them, which is essentially what it is, will provide you with a welcome break from your usual caring routine. Setting aside a specific time frame every few days will also ensure that you are doing something fun with them. For the senior, it often proves to be the highlight of their week because they finally recognise something and respond to it. It breaks the monotony for them and can actively be used to calm them. They also see a light every now and then in the dark tunnel of the mind, and they can often remember it and look forward to it.

It is important to mentally stimulate elderly people in your care to keep their minds as sharp and active as possible. Seniors with Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and dementia, amongst other ailments, must exercise their minds as often as possible and finding the right ways to achieve this could take forever, unless you have a little bit of help and advice. Medical research has found that some forms of stimulation are better than others because of the way in which the mind responds to certain stimuli.

Bright colours have been found to work best by the various studies that have been carried out. Playing with rag dolls, and brightly coloured balls have worked wonders in keeping their mind active. In fact, if you ask them to do something whilst they are concentrating on the colours will more often than not result in them doing it. This exercise is, of course, purely for fun because it has no direct meaning attached to it. However, there are certain activities that do have meaning and can also be used to exercise them physically as well as mentally. Examples of games that are brightly coloured and serve a purpose are puzzles. You can find large piece jigsaw puzzles of clown and balloons. Not only do the colours draw their eye, but you can also encourage the individual senior to try and place the piece, with a little help of course!

Outdoor activities that involve animals are also perfect activities for mentally disabled seniors. For example, walking a dog will afford them responsibility and give some meaning to what they are doing, as well as enhancing their perception of themselves effectively. The responsibility of looking after another living creature can brighten up even their darkest days. Dogs are perfect for such activities because they are loving and affectionate and provide a warm and loving response to any fuss and attention they receive. Obviously, any such activities must be carried out under close supervision to ensure that the safety of all is maintained.

It is important that you, as a carer, do all you can to make sure that seniors in you care remain in the best of health as far as is under your control. Activities like the one above can be fun for bother the caregiver and receiver. They have integral benefits and tend to bring the best out in seniors with mental diseases and illnesses. Never underestimate the power of activities! Once you have tried one with a degree of success then be sure to inject a variety of activities into your routine so that the senior in question does not get bored too easily. Keeping it all fresh for them will help you do your job that little bit better!

As a carer for the elderly, you have to be alert to a senior’s wants and needs at all times. Those needs can be in the form of mental stimulation, conversation and catering for likes whilst avoiding dislikes, but they can also appear in the form of physical problems that need to be corrected as soon as humanly possible, if indeed it if possible at all. Pressure sores fall into the latter category. A pressure sore may start off as a simple tear in the skin but, if not treated immediately, can end up as a gaping wound that travels right down to the bone and muscle of an individual. The innocuous nature of the pressure sore’s humble beginnings means carers have to be fully alert to any physical imperfections at all times in order to avoid horrendous abnormalities at a later date. This is a quick guide of what to look for in the first instance and how to treat a pressure sore that does develop.

A pressure sore is commonly tissue that deteriorates as a result of sitting or lying still for a long period of time. Too much pressure is put on a particular area of skin and it will begin to crack and break. The pressure will in fact restrict blood flow to that particular area of skin and if one fails to move and restore blood supply then the sore will eventually start to form. It may initially just appear as a red area that will not seem to go away. Pressure sores, or the beginnings of them, do not tend to disappear quickly, which will alert you to the fact that the area needs attention.

The pressure sore may begin to form on the lower back, bottom, legs and ankles. In short, they can occur wherever blood flows close to the surface and there is a lack of fat, which also acts as a cushion. You can use rolling, tuning and adjusting techniques to try and prevent pressure sores occurring or, if they are already present, to help them heal as quickly as possible. Turing will allow the blood to flow again under the sore area, thus promoting healing rather than treatment. This is a common trick in nursing homes. Whilst it is slightly cruel to move an elderly person when he or she is comfortable, it is actually worse and a lot more cruel to leave the sore to develop.

Pressure sores can be treated with antiseptic cushioning pads with antiseptic cream applied to kill all germs. The area must always be kept clean or you are running the risk of allowing the sore to become infected. If it does indeed get infected then you will immediately know. The sore will begin to eats its way deeper under the surface until it eventually creates a hole. It will also smell terrible, just like rotting flesh, as well as oozing green and yellow pus. This can be effectively treated with salt water or betadine solutions. Dressings must be changed at least twice a day and any dead cells within the sore must be removed in order to promote health and healing.

Pressure sores are a cause for concern for any carer, but can be nipped in the bud before they truly begin to cause a problem. Effective care will soon reduce the redness to skin that marks the beginning of a pressure sore. Once you have seen one, I promise you that you will go to any length to try and prevent any more occurring. It is important that you familiarize yourself with general information about pressure sores the methods of treating them because it may be an important part of the care you administer. However, if you ensure that the senior in your care is moved regularly then you may never get to treat one, hopefully!