Practical Skills To Help An Aging Loved One In An Emergency
No one wants to imagine their aging loved one in an emergency. Unfortunately, emergencies happen, even if you take all the proper precautions. However, knowing what to do in an emergency is the best way to keep everyone safe.
Technical Skills For Family Caregivers
If you’re the primary caregiver for an aging loved one, honing a few technical skills can ensure their safety, especially in an emergency. Of course, in any emergency, call 911 right away.
Medication Management
Many seniors are prescribed medications for chronic pain, insomnia, anxiety, or as treatment for a chronic health condition. Some seniors may have multiple prescriptions, which makes it challenging to manage and administer their medications.
As a primary or family caregiver, it’s helpful to know what medications your loved one takes, what they take them for, and their dosages. Knowing what prescriptions a loved one takes is essential if your loved one goes to urgent or emergency care. Doctors need to know what they are taking so they don’t give them something that can counteract or negatively react to a prescription.
Understanding your loved one’s prescriptions can also allow you to help them manage their usage. You can help your loved one organize their medications and set reminders to ensure they take them on time. Helping a loved one manage their medication can also reduce the risk of misuse or abuse.
First Aid
Basic first aid is helpful in an emergency so you can care for your loved one until medical personnel arrive. First aid includes skills such as how to perform CPR if someone stops breathing, using the Heimlich maneuver to stop someone from choking, setting a splint for a broken bone, controlling bleeding, treating a burn, and caring for someone with a concussion.
You can get certified in first aid through the American Red Cross. They offer in-person and online classes that show you how to care for individuals in various situations. These courses also teach you how to use multiple first-aid supplies.
Helping Your Loved One
No one wants to find themselves in an emergency. While you can’t prevent every crisis, understanding your loved one’s limitations and conditions can significantly reduce them.
Understand Your Loved One's Limitations
Talking to your loved one about their limitations can be uncomfortable, but try to approach the conversation with kindness and empathy. Ask if they need help with daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning, or running errands. Not all loved ones will freely offer this information, so try to observe them and notice if they’re struggling with anything at home.
If you know your loved one has limitations, you can help them find accommodations. If driving to the grocery store is no longer safe, help them set up a delivery service. If they need assistance reaching items on higher shelves, consider a gripper tool or reconfiguring their space to make things more accessible.
Know What Conditions A Loved One Has
Health conditions can contribute to challenges your loved one may face. Some conditions may also have symptoms that increase their risk of emergencies. Understanding your loved one’s health concerns can help you put an emergency plan into place to keep your loved one safe. Knowing what health conditions a loved one has is also important information to relay to a doctor in an emergency.
Helping Seniors Through Visiting Angels
We want to believe that we will always be there when our loved ones need us, but unfortunately, we can't be with our aging loved ones every moment. However, that doesn't mean we must risk our loved ones being alone in an emergency.
If you're worried about your aging loved one, consider hiring a professional caregiver from Visiting Angels. We have a compassionate team of caregivers who dedicate themselves to improving the quality of life for our clients. Through our Companion Care Program, we can ease the minds of client families while providing non-medical assistance to seniors throughout our community.
If you'd like to learn more about how Visiting Angels can fit into your life and provide quality care to your aging loved one, please contact us with any questions.