How Can Home Care Services from Visiting Angels Central Coast Help Older Adults in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties Manage Type 2 Diabetes?
Here’s what you should know about caring for seniors with type 2 diabetes and how home care services from Visiting Angels help seniors in Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Marina and surrounding areas in California manage symptoms
Type 2 diabetes is becoming more frequent among the elderly. Because many seniors are unaware that they have diabetes, it is vital that they understand how the illness affects them and what warning signs to look for.
If you suspect your older loved one has diabetes, you should be aware of how type 2 diabetes may affect their health and daily life, as well as some common symptoms, important information on caring for elders with type 2 diabetes, and how in-home care services from Visiting Angels Central Coast can assist you.
What Are Signs My Senior Loved One Has Type 2 Diabetes?
Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Diabetes Association. Prediabetes affects around 85 million Americans aged 18 and above, accounting for more than 25 percent of the entire senior population.
Because the chance of acquiring type 2 diabetes rises with age, it's vital that your loved one knows what to do if they notice any symptoms.
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
Because type 2 diabetes symptoms are moderate at first, many seniors may be unaware they have the illness. The most basic approach to identify diabetes is to see your local doctor for a thorough physical checkup.
Untreated high blood glucose levels can affect the eyes, as well as the kidneys, nerves, heart, and blood vessels. Diabetes is widespread among nursing home patients and can result in increased impairment or mortality.
How Can I Help My Senior Loved One Manage Type 2 Diabetes?
The sooner diabetes is detected, the more time you have to assist your loved one in managing their symptoms and improving their quality of life. Caring for seniors with type 2 diabetes necessitates a number of methods, including healthy living and medication control.
Weight Control
People who have type 2 diabetes are well aware that maintaining a healthy weight usually aids with symptom control. If you're overweight, dropping 10 to 15 pounds can make a significant difference. You can assist your loved one in losing weight by cooking tasty and healthy meals and encouraging them to consume less junk food. Light exercise may also assist your loved one in losing fat and calories while maintaining a healthy weight.
Physical Exercise
Regular exercise also could help your loved one regulate their weight and type 2 diabetes symptoms. Gardening, strolling, raking leaves and carrying groceries are all simple ways for older adults with type 2 diabetes to get some little exercise in their daily lives.
Exercise on a regular basis helps to preserve muscle strength and bone flexibility, minimizing stress on joints and ligaments. Exercise also improves insulin sensitivity, which helps to prevent hypoglycemia.
Several studies have found that regular aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, may reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Strength training has also been found in studies to enhance muscle mass and bone density.
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 who live with type 2 diabetes benefit from just keeping a healthy weight, while others require oral medication. When caring for an older loved one with type 2 diabetes, it is vital to ensure that they take their prescription as prescribed and to be on the lookout for any signs that their medicine isn't working or is interfering with any other medications they are taking. Although insulin is more successful in type 1 diabetics, it may also help certain type 2 diabetics.
Your loved one's doctor should go through their diet and lifestyle plan with them before starting any oral drugs. According to the American Diabetes Association, oral medicine is more likely to be effective for those who are newly diabetic or require little to no insulin to keep their blood glucose levels stable. Elderly adults who have been living with diabetes for more than a decade or who require more than 20 units of insulin per day, on the other hand, may not see the desired outcomes from diabetic drugs.
It's also critical that they talk to their pharmacist if they need to switch brands or modify their dosage. Diabetes patients may need to spend time finding the best prescription for their needs, or they may require a mix of drugs (and even insulin, in some cases). Furthermore, oral medicine may lose its effectiveness after a few months or years, forcing the search for a new prescription or treatment strategy.
How Can Professional Home Care Services from Visiting Angels Central Coast Can Help My Loved One?
If you are feeling overwhelmed by caring for an older loved one with type 2 diabetes, you can count on Visiting Angels Central Coast's home care services. For many years, our caregivers have been caring for older individuals in Santa Cruz, Marina and surrounding communities with diabetes and other chronic conditions, and we provide a wide range of services to assist your loved one manage their health and lessen the intensity of their symptoms. Best of all, our care plans are tailored to your loved one's specific requirements, ensuring that they receive the assistance they require.
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
To learn more about how type 2 diabetes impacts seniors in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties and how our home care services can help your loved one, call Visiting Angels Central Coast at 831-430-0616 to schedule a free in-home consultation!