Deciding to take your senior into an assisted living facility or nursing home can be difficult. You need to consider many factors to ensure that the decision is correct and in the best interest of your loved one. Even though not all seniors need to go to assisted living, there are instances when it becomes the best option. Moving too quickly can lead to a broken relationship with your loved one and guilt. However, certain situations and signs you must be aware of indicate that independent living is challenging for your loved one. Understanding these signs will help you find the best nursing home that provides the services that your senior needs. When you note these signs, you must look for a reputable, experienced home care agency in Great Falls, VA. Another option will be taking them to a nursing home. This will ensure your loved one gets the right help to improve their health. This blog will explore signs it’s time to take your loved one to a nursing home.
1. Experience Challenges with Personal Hygiene
Personal hygiene is the key to good health. As your old age, there are many challenges that they can experience with making their environment clean. It’s crucial to inquire about some details, such as how often they are taking a shower or bath and knowing if they are having trouble doing so. You need to see if they can dress and undress without challenges. If they have such issues, you need to take them to a nursing home where they can be helped with their hygiene. You might need to coax them to get this information since most older people are stubborn or too proud to admit it. When taking them to a nursing home, help them understand the benefits they will get, such as a safer and cleaner environment that they will enjoy.
2. Physical Injuries or Falls
Seniors living alone get many challenges, such as cleaning their homes and other chores. Some situations, such as wet floors when not attended to on time, can lead to falls and other physical injuries that can be fatal. Furthermore, the stairs or uneven floors might be challenging for them to move around. If your loved one has suffered physical injuries at home while no one is around, you need to consider taking them to a nursing home for safety. Sometimes you notice the seniors hiding scrapes, bruises, burns, and bumps. You need to take them to a nursing home that will take care of them.
3. Increased Phone Calls
When you can’t go anywhere without receiving a phone call from your senior, especially at night, you might need to consider a nursing home. These calls are often out of anxiety or confusion, which is common with seniors with dementia. This can disrupt your schedules since you have to attend to false alarms. Furthermore, you might get calls from their neighbors about them walking alone or screaming at night. To avoid this stress, a nursing home can ensure they get what they need on time and help them mentally with dementia to remember the essential things.
4. Having a Messy Home or Garden
When one is young, one tends to ensure everything is sparkling clean and one can attend to various house chores. However, as one ages, these tasks can become impossible to handle, which leaves the home in a mess. When not taken care of, this mess will affect their health since bacteria and other disease-causing pathogens will inhabit the house. This can lead to more expenses with medication and overall care. To avoid these situations, don’t ignore the minor signs that indicate your loved one is struggling to manage their home. At a nursing home, they will not have to worry about the garden or other home chores as everything will be done for them.
5. Have Difficult Mobility
Mobility can limit most of the things your loved one can do. Enrolling them in a nursing home such as Capital City Nurses, they will have access to specialist equipment and trained staff to help them move, walk, and lift. When you see signs of pain when your loved one is moving around the home, cannot walk longer without being aided, and has difficulty getting out of bed, they need assistance or a walker. In a nursing home, they will be safer, and the expert can help strengthen their bones and muscle for proper mobility.
6. Failing to Eat Their Meals
Most seniors fail to eat due to difficulties in cooking or loss of appetite. Without proper supervision, you will find food piling in the fridge. Additionally, they can opt for simple meals with no nutritional value, making them weak, and other medical conditions can arise. This is why you need to keep an eye on the bin and fridge for clues about the eating habit of your loved one. If they are not eating or having difficulty cooking, you need to consider taking them to a nursing home to be taken care of. The experts will ensure they eat healthy and nutritious meals that will keep them healthy.
7. Failure to Take Their Medication
Regardless of what your senior is suffering, they need to take their medications on time for better health. However, you might notice that your loved one is not taking their medication, and the medicine keeps piling up. Some seniors forget to take their medication on time or refuse it altogether. The staff at the nursing home are trained with skills that help them deal with such cases and ensure that the seniors take their medication on time. This helps improve your loved one health condition.
8. Having Issues with Continence or Toileting
Sometimes you might witness your loved one having problems getting into the toilet or waking up to a wet bed. Moreso, they might be experiencing difficulty with bowel control and mobility. This can make their homes unclean and unsafe for them to move around. In such cases, they need to have someone who will stay with them 24/7 to help them with toileting which helps give them dignity and confidence.
9. You Are Experiencing Burnout and Stress
Seniors will have difficulty living alone. If they are living with you, you might lack the necessary skill to care for them and ensure they are ok. This leads to stress and anxiety, affecting your health. If you have burnout and ill health, you can consider taking them to a nursing home with experts experienced in such tasks.
End Note!
Caring for your loved one requires skills and experience, which the nursing home staff has. Whenever you see the signs above, don’t hesitate to arrange a move to the nursing home to make the life of your loved one easy.