“ As Fresh As A Daisy: The Basics Of Elderly Personal Hygiene”
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Personal hygiene is an essential part of every individual’s daily routine. You get up, shower, clean your teeth, deodorise and repeat the same steps in the evening to make sure that you stay fresh all day long. Being personally hygienic can make you feel great. However, what if you were to be unable to fully look after yourself and nobody would actually carry out that routine for you? You would go into every day feeling dirty and that would only serve to induce depression and frustration. It is therefore important to establish a hygiene routine whilst caring for the elderly so that you don’t miss anything out.

If you are responsible for washing the elderly person that you are caring for then you should pay attention to the routine that you are establishing and talk them through it the first few times so they know what to expect. This will not only build up trust, but may go some way to helping them relax. Many seniors are somewhat reluctant to let anyone administer their personal care, and understandably so.

If you rely on someone to do everything for you then you are likely to feel as if you have lost all of the self-respect you had for yourself, as well as your dignity. It is exactly the same for seniors, regardless of illness and mental state, unless they are completely unaware of what is going on. Some seniors may even react angrily but again this is completely understandable. It may be unpleasant to experience verbal abuse, which you may just get in this situation, but if you put yourself in their shoes you will understand exactly where they are coming from.

If the senior in your care can be encouraged to maintain their personal hygiene and can be trusted then you should always allow them to administer their own personal care. Not only does this promote their independence, but is also gives them a sense of purpose. Even if they can only do one little thing for themselves then it is better than nothing!

The routine that you establish regarding a senior’s personal hygiene should include all the basic elements that we include in our own daily routine. Showering, washing all of the nooks and crannies, deodorising and brushing teeth should always be the integral elements. This should take place every day. However, the routine can incorporate other things. For example, if the female senior in you care like to put on makeup to feel feminine then you should encourage it as far as possible in order to maintain her identity.

It is also worth noting that maintaining good personal hygiene for the elderly in your care will not only promote mental well-being, it will also promote physical health. If you are washing someone, then you are likely to note any lumps, bumps and bruises as well as any bodily changes that may spell trouble in the future.

By noticing and noting changes in a care plan, you are creating a medical record that may lead to early diagnosis of illnesses. Also, if there is more than one carer performing the same role for the elderly people in your care, it may also alert them to any physical changes.

Personal hygiene is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of caring for the elderly. It can be a sensitive area but, if handled in the right way, it can also form a bond between you. As long as effective hygiene is maintained, the rest will fall into place as far as their appearance is concerned.

Losing Control: Caring For The Elderly And Incontinence

Incontinence is an issue that very few people like to talk about. It is more common than you may think, with over 12 million United States residents suffering from it every day. People of all ages can suffer from the inconvenient and embarrassing condition, but the majority of those who do feel the effects of it are over the age of sixty. It is also much more common in women than it is in men. This is largely owing to the fact that it is the women who have children and thus the muscles that control leakage from the bladder often let them down. If you are planning to or already do care for the elderly then it is an issue that you will have to face sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately, the elderly are at risk of having at least one of the many causes of incontinence. These include, but are not limited to weakened pelvic muscles, urinary tract infections, an enlarged prostate gland in men, diabetes, high calcium levels within the body, a thinning of the vagina wall in women and an inability to move around. Most elderly people have at least one of the above, if not a combination of them and thus they cannot control their urinary functioning.

There are four different type of incontinence, and the elderly may suffer with all four if their pelvic muscles are particularly weak. They are stress, urge, functional and overflow. The pressure put on the bladder by the stomach muscles when laughing or sneezing usually causes stress incontinence. Functional incontiencence occurs when somebody cannot get to the toilet in time but generally has good bladder control. Overflow incontinence predominantly occurs in males with an enlarged prostate, which blocks the urinary tract to the point that bladder actually becomes overly full. All of these occur in the elderly, but the most common form of it is urge incontinence, where the person is not actually given enough warning before they have to go.

Unfortunately, incontinence is not necessarily treatable in the elderly. Younger people who suffer from incontinence can do a series of exercises to strengthen the pelvic muscles or practice bladder control exercises. However, it is unreasonable to expect the elderly to do this. Medication is available to help to stem the problem, especially if the senior in question has a bladder, kidney or urinary tract infection, but it is not advisable for diabetics to take it and it may actually make symptoms worse. It is a natural part of aging and should be accepted as such really.

This doesn’t help you if you are caring for someone who suffers from incontinence. You may well find yourself changing him or her every hour or so, which would also create a sense of embarrassment and discomfort for the individual in question. This also runs the risk of getting pressure sores. However, you can purchase incontinence pad that work much the same as nappies, absorbing moisture and sealing it away from the body. Although it may not feel comfortable to wear them, it may certainly be much better than sitting in wet clothes.

Incontinence is an unfortunate problem for many members of the elderly population because it is a result of the body breaking down. It is just a matter of learning how to cope with it without making the senior you care for feel too embarrassed and ashamed. That is totally dependent on the individual.

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The Basics Of Caring For The Elderly: Pressure Sores

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 elderly 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 elderly care 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 elderly care 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!

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