How Home Care Services from Visiting Angels Help Seniors in Annapolis, MD and Surrounding Areas Manage Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes
What are common symptoms of type 2 diabetes in seniors? How can you help your loved one manage their condition? Here’s what you should know about seniors and type 2 diabetes, as well as how home care services from Visiting Angels help seniors in Annapolis, Glen Burnie, Millersville, Pasadena, Crownsville, Arnold, Severna Park and surrounding areas in Anne Arundel County manage symptoms
Type 2 diabetes is becoming increasingly common among the elderly. Because many seniors are unaware that they have diabetes, it is critical that they understand how the disease affects them and what warning signs to look for.
If you believe your elderly loved one has diabetes, you should be aware of how type 2 diabetes might influence their health and everyday life, as well as some frequent symptoms, essential information on caring for seniors with type 2 diabetes and how home care services from Visiting Angels Annapolis can help.
What Are Signs My Senior Loved One Has Type 2 Diabetes?
According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes is the seventh biggest cause of deaths in the United States. Prediabetes affects around 85 million Americans aged 18 and above, accounting for more than 25 percent of the total senior population.
Because the risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases with age, it's critical that your loved one understands what to do if they detect any symptoms.
Since the symptoms of type 2 diabetes are mild at first, many seniors may be unaware they have the disease. The most basic method of detecting diabetes is to see your local doctor for a full physical examination.
High blood glucose levels that go untreated can harm the eyes, as well as the kidneys, nerves, heart, and blood vessels. Diabetes is common among nursing home patients and can lead to greater disability or death.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes typically include:
- Feeling very thirsty
- Feeling very hungry
- Frequent urination
- Fatigue
- Blurry vision
- Tingling, pain or numbness in the extremities
- Cuts and/or bruises that are slow to heal
How Can I Help My Senior Loved One Manage Type 2 Diabetes?
The sooner diabetes is diagnosed, the more time you have to help your loved one manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life. Caring for older adults with type 2 diabetes requires a variety of approaches, such as healthy living and medication management.
Weight Control
People with type 2 diabetes are well aware that eating a nutritious diet can help with symptom control. Dropping 10 to 15 pounds might make a big difference if you're overweight. You may help your loved one lose weight by creating nice and healthy meals for them and encourage them to eat less junk food. Light exercise might also help your loved one lose fat and calories while staying at a healthy weight.
Physical Exercise
Regular exercise may also help in the management of your loved one's weight and type 2 diabetes symptoms. Gardening, walking, raking leaves and carrying groceries are all simple activities for seniors with type 2 diabetes to get some daily activity.
Regular exercise helps to maintain muscular strength and bone flexibility, reducing stress on joints and ligaments. Exercise also increases insulin sensitivity, which aids in the prevention of hypoglycemia.
Several studies have demonstrated that regular aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, may lower cardiovascular disease risk factors. Strength training has also been shown to increase muscle mass and bone density in studies.
Some additional benefits of exercising regularly include:
- Increasing your strength
- Lowering your risk for heart disease and stroke
- More energy
- Improving your A1C, blood pressure and cholesterol levels
Medication Management
Many seniors with type 2 diabetes benefit from just maintaining a healthy weight, whereas others take oral medication. When caring for an elderly loved one with type 2 diabetes, it is critical to ensure that they take their medication as directed and to watch for any indicators that their medication isn't working or is interfering with any other prescriptions they are taking. Although insulin is more effective in type 1 diabetics, it may also benefit certain type 2 diabetics.
Before beginning any oral medications, your loved one's doctor should go through their food and lifestyle plan with them. Oral medication, according to the American Diabetes Association, is more likely to be helpful for people who are newly diabetic or require little to no insulin to maintain stable blood glucose levels. Elderly adults who have had diabetes for more than a decade or who require more than 20 units of insulin per day, on the other hand, may not get the intended results from diabetic medications.
It is also vital that they consult with their pharmacist if they need to change brands or adjust their dosage. Diabetes patients may need to spend time determining the optimum prescription for their specific needs, or they may require a combination of medications (and even insulin, in some cases). Furthermore, after a few months or years, oral medicine may lose its effectiveness, necessitating the search for a new prescription or treatment approach.
How Can Visiting Angels Annapolis Help My Loved One?
Consider home care services from Visiting Angels Annapolis if you are feeling overwhelmed by caring for an elderly loved one with type 2 diabetes. Our caregivers have been caring for older people with diabetes and other chronic diseases in Northern Anne Arundel County for many years, and we offer a comprehensive range of services to help your loved one manage their health and minimize the severity of their symptoms. Best of all, our care plans are personalized to your loved one's individual needs, ensuring that they get the help they need.
Here are some ways our home care services can help your loved one:
- Accompanying your loved one on a morning jog
- Clearing clutter from rooms so your loved one can exercise at home
- Providing transportation to fitness centers and senior centers so your loved one can get a workout
- Planning and preparing healthy meals and snacks
- Shopping for healthy groceries
- Reminding your loved one to take their diabetes medication and keeping an eye out in case they show any side effects
- Driving your loved one to the pharmacy so they can pick up their prescription
- Taking your loved one to doctor’s appointments
- Helping them get to and from the bathroom
- And so much more
If you’d like more information on how home care services from Visiting Angels Annapolis can help your loved one, call our Millersville, MD office at 410-505-5141 to schedule a free in-home consultation!