If you have an elderly loved one that you’re helping to care for in their home, one of the biggest things that you should be concerned with is their safety and comfort. Oftentimes, age and disease requires elderly people to have adjustments made to their home so that they can safely stay in that place without having to worry about being able to care for themselves or put their health in jeopardy.
To help ensure that this is the case for your parent or grandparent, here are three tips for helping your elderly loved one stay comfortable in their home as they age.
Become Very Aware Of Their Needs
Until you know what your loved ones’ needs are, you can’t hope to meet those needs and ensure that they have everything that they require to be safe and comfortable. So before you start making any kinds of changes or adjustments, you’ll first want to make yourself very aware of their needs.
To best do this, you’ll want to spend time with them in their home and see how they interact with their space. If it appears that they are often too hot or too cold at home, consider having the heat load of their HVAC system calculated so that they can stay at a comfortable temperature. If you see that they have a hard time hearing the doorbell ring or their phone make an alert, think about how you can make these things easier for them. By noticing anything that they’re struggling with, you can help to keep them safe and comfortable in their home.
Adjust Home Features For Them
Along with helping with daily tasks that your elderly loved one might be having a hard time with, you may also need to make some bigger adjustments to the features of their home so that they can stay safe and comfortable.
In some instances, you may need to help them eliminate some of their furniture or move rugs off of the floor so that they don’t have as many risks for tripping and falling. You may also want to move things to either a higher or a lower level so that they no longer have to bend down or reach up high for things, like changing their bed height or putting a booster onto their toilet.
Prepare For Potential Medical Issues
Regardless of how far away your loved one lives from their doctor or a hospital, if a medical emergency happens while they’re at home, you’re going to want them to be as prepared as possible to get the emergent care they need before medical help arrives.
With this in mind, consider getting your loved one a medical alert bracelet or a medical alert system that will help them get the help that they need. Keeping their home stocked with medicine and other first aid items can also be helpful.
If you want to help your elderly loved one be comfortable and safe in their home as they age, consider implementing some of the tips mentioned above.