"Old age is not in joy" - briefly and accurately characterizes the physical and mental state of the elderly person known to all the proverb.
Old age is an unavoidable period in a person's life.
This is the most unwanted, nature-predetermined period of life, causing fear and impotence before understanding the inevitability of the onset of the final life stage.
Every person tries to delay the arrival of old age by any means, participating( as far as possible) in public and domestic affairs, drawing on the fruits of their own labors and achievements, rejoicing at the successes of children and grandchildren. Unfortunately, the youth of the soul is powerless before the inevitability of the withering of the body. Accumulated for years, various ailments, which at one time many waved their hand and which were taken lightly, make themselves felt at the end of life, manifesting themselves massively and simultaneously.
Old age - a powerful accumulator of all diseases
In some cases, helplessness, capriciousness, irritability, forgetfulness, touchiness, sharp mood changes are joined by specific conditions: Alzheimer's disease and dementia( decreased intelligence, senile dementia), significantly complicating life both for the patient himselfand the people around him. Dementia in most cases is observed in the elderly, who crossed the threshold of the 80th anniversary. Those suffering from this disease forget the names of loved ones, do not recognize them, lose their orientation in time and space, the ability to dress themselves, take medicine, cook food, watch personal hygiene;they are often characterized by stupid behavior, aimless walking.
Caring for an elderly person is an important factor necessary in the declining years
An elderly person in need of care often does not realize the absurdity of his behavior, so he is not able to adequately assess what is happening. The disease progresses and makes it helpless and completely dependent on others. In such a situation, care for elderly people over 80 years old falls on the shoulders of relatives and relatives, whose task is quality and constant care. Tolerance and own time are important prime values for a person whose basic condition is helplessness.
How to organize the proper care for the elderly
The organization of care for the elderly requires the following recommendations.
- It is required to be constantly in the field of view of the elderly person, so that he does not feel abandoned and does not experience negative emotions. It is strongly recommended not to approach from behind, so as not to frighten him. An important factor is communication, distracting the elderly person from self-isolation and oppression.
- A friendly face, a kind and sincere smile, an address to a man by name, constant care and care are the components on which care for elderly people over 80 years is based.
- If an elderly person has problems with memory, finds it hard to recognize loved ones, forgets their names, do not strain his attention unnecessarily. In such cases, it is required to address the elderly person not in an interrogative, but in approvingly approving form. For example, instead of trying to answer the question: "Who came to you?" In order to help remember the name of the visitor, it's better to say: "Your grandson Sergey has come to you" or "I'm your son Alexei".The elderly person is required to clearly demonstrate the actions that he should perform;for example, show the process of combing hair, dialing a phone number, turning on - turning off the TV.
If an elderly person is able to read the press or books, play board games, you should use this. It is necessary to conduct conversations on subjects close to the patient, which interested him in the active period of his life. It can be talk about exhibitions of paintings, theatrical productions, sports competitions, news of science. Preferably reading aloud, viewing family photo albums, various illustrations.
It is undesirable to visit the elderly relative in whole groups, because a patient who has difficulty keeping several subjects or persons in the field of vision is quickly tired. A reasonable maximum will be a visit of 2-3 people. If signs of fatigue appear, the visit should be interrupted, motivating a clear reason for the elderly person: a visit to the doctor or the fact that you need to take the child out of the kindergarten.
Medical care for the elderly
Modern medicine can not effectively cure constantly progressive dementia in old age. Drugs are only able to reduce or weaken individual manifestations of the disease, stop its development and postpone the final period. Therefore, daily and full-fledged medical care for the elderly is of special importance, the main tasks of which are:
- Securing the elderly person , because the most severe manifestation of changes in the old mentality is the loss of orientation in space and time. The cause of domestic injuries in old age are problems with the musculoskeletal system, decreased vision and hearing. The environment he perceives in a distorted form and often can not properly assess their own actions that can carry a danger( falling outside and inside the room, forgetting will take the terrain and roads home, street injuries with unconscious violation of the rules, burn hot water while bathing, poisoning if mistakenly useddrugs, contact with the flame of a burning object).It is recommended to purchase a walking stick to help with movement, remove unsuitable items from the field of vision of an elderly person, place medicines in an inaccessible place to avoid poisoning, or put them in separate boxes and sign the time for each. Take care that the pensioner does not go out onto the balcony himself, accompany him when leaving the house. It is undesirable to change the interior inside the rooms, there should not be any objects on the floor, which can be stumbled and dropped. When a patient is in an easily accessible place( a badge, a firmly attached business card, a bracelet, an identification locket), there must always be data with his name, surname, home address, telephone number of relatives.
- Rational power supply .With age, metabolic processes in the body slow down, so it is worth to reduce the diet of an elderly person the content of fats and carbohydrates, as well as their consumption of salt. To prevent constipation, you need to eat foods that are high in fiber: compotes, juices, fruits and vegetables. When eating a meal that is difficult for the patient, assistance is required( reminder of the order of meals, use of cutlery, feeding from a spoon).The patient's desire to eat independently, even if he allows negligence and mistakes, should only be encouraged.
- Observing personal hygiene .A patient, previously a physically active and clean person, may become sloppy, apathetic, forgetting how to properly use a toothbrush, toilet, washbasins in the declining years. Chronic insomnia, negatively affecting the overall health status is another negative component of old age. For its prevention, it is necessary to ventilate the bedroom in a timely manner, not to stress the elderly person. On prescription of the doctor, you can use sedative medications.
Taking care of bedridden patients
Taking care of bedridden elderly people is a particular challenge. You can wash yourself with a damp towel, use a dry shampoo to wash your hair, completely eliminating the use of water and cleansing your hair well. Hair is required to comb every day;Long curls should preferably be shortened to avoid entanglement.
Care for the disabled elderly is often complicated by the management of their natural needs. If the patient is able to sit for at least 5 - 10 minutes and feels the urge, then a chemical toilet can be placed near the bed and planted on it on demand. At night you can wear a diaper. If a person is completely unable to sit, does not feel the urge, then it is required to use diapers for adults.
Struggle against pressure sores
One of the dangers is the occurrence of bedsores, the older the person, the faster they are manifested. The main task in caring for bedridden patients is to prevent their formation, timely detection and treatment at the initial stage. The first sign of decubitus is the appearance of a red spot on the skin, in the center of which in the near future a kind of "wet callus" is formed. Such foci must be treated with a mixture of shampoo and vodka in a 1: 1 ratio, then lubricated with an ointment wound-healing action. The decubitus begins to develop rapidly, so the patient needs to be examined as often as possible( at least twice a day), paying special attention to the areas of scapula, sacrum, knees, elbows and hip joints. Caring for the elderly over the age of 80 requires the prevention of pressure sores: the patient needs to turn on the other side every 2-3 hours and change the posture of his body. Once a day, you need to do full body massage, where you can use a manual electric massager. Also, anti-bedsore mattresses are used, sold in medical equipment stores or via the Internet.
Taking care of an elderly person
Very often, care for an elderly person due to various circumstances can be carried out by outsiders for him. Registration of care for an elderly person can be carried out in several ways:
- Formulation of a will( or gift contract) in favor of persons caring for a pensioner.
- The conclusion of the contract of lifelong maintenance is the most compromise solution between both parties. Under this agreement, the property owned by the pensioner is changed to lifelong care for the elderly over 80 years in favor of people who provide such care.