How Can Senior Care Services from Visiting Angels Eldersburg Help My Elderly Loved One Manage Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes?

Learn more about seniors and type 2 diabetes, as well as how in-home senior care services from Visiting Angels help elderly adults in Eldersburg, Westminster, Baltimore, Columbia, Ellicott City, Randallstown and surrounding areas in Maryland manage symptoms

Type 2 diabetes has become more frequent among the elderly. Because many seniors are oblivious to the fact that they have diabetes, it is vital that they understand how the disease 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 seniors with type 2 diabetes, and how in-home senior care services from Visiting Angels Eldersburg can help.

What Are Signs My Senior Loved One Has Type 2 Diabetes?

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

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.

Since the chance of having type 2 diabetes rises with age, it's vital that your loved one understands what to do if any symptoms appear.

Type 2 diabetes symptoms are moderate at first, so many seniors may be unaware they have the illness. The most basic way 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 residents and can result in increased impairment or death.

How Can I Help My Senior Loved One Manage Type 2 Diabetes?

The sooner your loved one is diagnosed with diabetes, the more time you have to assist them manage their symptoms and enhance their quality of life. Caring for elderly adults with type 2 diabetes involves a number of techniques, including healthy living and medication control.

Weight Control

People with type 2 diabetes are well aware that eating a healthy diet can help them regulate their symptoms. If you're overweight, losing 10 to 15 pounds might make a major impact. You can assist your loved one in losing weight by preparing tasty and nutritious meals for them 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

Exercise on a regular basis may also aid in the control of your loved one's weight and type 2 diabetes symptoms. Gardening, walking, raking leaves and carrying groceries are all easy tasks that might help seniors with type 2 diabetes get some daily exercise.

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.

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

Several studies have shown that regular aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, can reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Strength training can also enhance muscle mass and bone density.

Medication Management

Many elderly type 2 diabetics benefit from just keeping a healthy weight, while others require oral medication. When caring for a loved one with type 2 diabetes, it's vital to make sure they take their medicine as prescribed and to keep an eye out for any signs that their medication isn't working or is interfering with any other prescriptions they're taking. Although insulin is more effective in type 1 diabetics, it may be beneficial to some type 2 diabetics as well.

Your loved one's doctor should go through their food and lifestyle plan with them before starting any oral drugs. According to the American Diabetes Association, oral medicine is more likely to be beneficial for those who are newly diabetic or who require little to no insulin to maintain stable blood glucose levels. Seniors 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 achieve the desired benefits from diabetic drugs.

It's also critical that your loved one talks to their pharmacist if they need to switch brands or modify their dosage. Diabetes patients may require additional time to choose the best prescription for their unique needs, or they may require a mix of drugs (and even insulin, in some cases). Furthermore, oral medicine may lose its efficacy after a few months or years, forcing the search for a new prescription or treatment method.

How Senior Care Services from Visiting Angels Can Help

If you are feeling overwhelmed by caring for an older loved one with type 2 diabetes, consider in-home senior care services from Visiting Angels Eldersburg. Since 2002, our caregivers have been caring for older persons with diabetes and other chronic conditions in Carroll, Howard and Baltimore Counties, and we offer a complete variety of home care options to assist your loved one manage their health and reduce 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 senior 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 in-home senior care services from Visiting Angels Eldersburg can help your loved one, call us at 410-549-8002 to schedule a free in-home consultation!