Learn About Frailty in the Elderly Today
Have you been worrying about frailty in your elderly loved one? If so, you might be scared most of the time. It can be difficult for you to even be around your elderly loved one because you are worried they are going to fall, so you get anxious. On the other hand, you might be stressed when you aren’t around them, as you worry something will happen and you can’t be there to help. If you are concerned about frailty in your elderly loved one, learning more about it can be helpful in reducing your worries.
Getting a Screening
How do you know if your elderly loved one needs to get a frailty screening? Well, there are certain signs that some elderly people will display that would cause a doctor to want to do this type of screening such as:
- Being at least 70 years old
- Losing a lot of weight (without dieting)
- Showing symptoms of memory loss, weakness, and general movement issues
If you believe your elderly loved one needs a frailty screening, don’t hesitate to have yourself or an elder care provider drive them to the doctor to get this done. There is no harm in having it done, even if they aren’t at a higher risk of frailty.
Surgery Healing and Frailty
Does your elderly loved one have a surgery scheduled for any reason? For example, maybe they need to have a hip or knee replacement. If this is the case and they were diagnosed with frailty, they will likely have a longer recovery time. In addition, it will be important to have yourself or elder care providers watching them during the recovery process as they will have a higher risk of falling. Someone should keep an eye on the incisions, too, being that people who are frail also have a higher risk of infections.
Helping Your Elderly Loved One
If your elderly loved one is frail, there are numerous tips that you can use to help them from day to day. Some of these tips that you and elder care providers can use include:
- Putting a shower chair in the bathtub or shower
- Removing hazards from the home such as sharp knives
- Put grab bars in the bathroom
- Install a ramp on the front porch
- Make sure items aren’t in higher cupboards or on low shelves
- Ensuring someone is with them at all times after a surgery (to help ensure the healing process goes smoother)
If you can do all these things, there will be a much lower chance of your elderly loved one being injured or getting sick after a surgery.
Do you worry about frailty in your elderly loved one? If so, hopefully the tips that you read above and the information you found out here today about frailty can help you to be less concerned about your elderly loved one.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Elderly Care in Lexington, NC, contact the caring professionals at TenderHearted Home Care today. Call us at (704) 612-4132
Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4098658/#:~:text=Frailty%20is%20a%20state%20of,older%20person’s%20vulnerability%20and%20prognosis.
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