Daily care tips for the elderly

The core principle of daily care for the elderly has never been to pursue "the more supplements, the better, and the more frequently checked, the better", but to maintain the five basic dimensions of diet, excretion, skin, medication, and emotion, avoid the two extremes of "over-care" and "let alone", and flexibly adjust according to the physical condition of the elderly.

I came across a typical counter-example when I was helping out at a community nursing home a while ago: Aunt Zhang, who lives in Building 3, has filial sons and daughters. She has half a cabinet filled with sea cucumbers, protein powder, and various imported vitamins. She takes the elderly person for a full physical examination every two months. As a result, the aunt was sent to the hospital for intestinal obstruction in the emergency last week. When I asked, I found out that the elderly person had been constipated for almost three weeks. Her children were busy buying supplements, and no one paid attention to how often she went to the toilet. In the end, she suffered a serious crime.

To be honest, the first thing many children care for the elderly avoid is the problem of excretion. On the contrary, this is the best early warning signal of health risks. Regarding the treatment of constipation in the elderly, there are now different opinions: many elderly people are accustomed to using Kaiselu whenever they are constipated. Anorectal doctors have repeatedly emphasized that long-term use will form dependence and worsen constipation. ； The view of the nutritional school is to give priority to adjusting your diet, eat more fruits and vegetables with seeds, and drink enough 1500ml of warm water every day. It is not recommended to take medication as soon as you start. ； Colleagues who work in rehabilitation nursing will recommend doing 5 minutes of abdominal breathing + levator exercise every day, which is particularly effective in improving mild constipation. There is no absolute right or wrong in these methods. Just choose according to the elderly's acceptance. The key is to pay attention to the elderly's bowel movements every day. If there is no bowel movement for three days, you must actively intervene. Don't wait until the pain becomes unbearable before worrying.

In addition to invisible excretion problems, exposed skin care is also prone to pitfalls. Uncle Li in the community sits downstairs and plays mahjong for 4 hours every day. Last month, he developed a palm-sized pressure sore on his buttocks. He thought it was a boil caused by heat, and he applied erythromycin for half a month to no avail. In the past, many people thought that to care for the skin of the elderly, they should apply more talcum powder to keep it dry. Now the new view of dermatology is that the skin of the elderly secretes less oil and talcum powder can easily clog the pores. Instead, they should apply a layer of mild moisturizing lotion every day, especially the elderly who are bedridden or in wheelchairs for a long time. They should turn over and move at least every two hours. Places with protruding bones such as the sacrum and heels can use soft pillows, which is more effective than applying any amount of ointment.

After talking about the things that are tangible and tangible, let’s talk about the medication issues that everyone is most concerned about. In a case we just received last month, 72-year-old Grandpa Wang felt he was dizzy recently, so he doubled the amount of antihypertensive medicine without permission. As a result, he fell down in the morning and suffered a fractured femoral neck and lay down for several months. There has been an ongoing debate about whether the elderly should take health supplements: one group thinks it is all an IQ tax and of no use. ； The other group thinks that eating is better than not eating at all, and they buy different kinds every day. Objectively speaking, as long as it is a health product with a formal blue hat label, for example, the elderly with calcium deficiency should take some calcium tablets, and those with poor eyesight should take some lutein. Appropriate supplementation is fine, but it absolutely cannot replace prescription drugs. It is best to make a list of all the medicines you take and bring them to the doctor every time you go to the hospital to avoid conflicting medicines prescribed by different departments.

Many people don’t know that emotional care actually has a greater impact than physical care. For Grandma Liu, who had taken care of her before, her children gave her 20,000 yuan in pocket money every month and gave her the best food. However, the old man always secretly stopped taking the medicine. Later we talked and found out that her children only came back once every six months, so she wanted to make her children come back more often through discomfort. There are two opinions on the emotional care of the elderly: some people think that they can stay home more often, while others think that the elderly need to have their own social circle. If they always hang around their children, they will be more emotionally sensitive. In fact, it is best to combine the two. Go home and sit more often when you have time. When you have no time, encourage the elderly to go downstairs to dance and play cards. If you have your own things to do, it will not be easy for you to get into trouble.

In fact, after all is said and done, there is really no unified standard answer to the care of the elderly. The physical condition, personality and habits of the elderly in each family are different. There is no need to copy the "nursing encyclopedia" on the Internet. Pay more attention and observe the little habits of the elderly, which is more effective than buying expensive supplements or hiring good caregivers. Oh, by the way, one final reminder: if an elderly person suddenly experiences abnormal changes in personality, does not want to eat, or has no energy, etc., don’t first think that it is “normal for old age”. Go to the hospital for a checkup first. Many serious illnesses are caused by these inconspicuous little signs in the early stages.