IT ISNT ALWAYS ABOUT US: The Complications of Care Giving
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If you want to help prevent burnout, consider turning to the following resources for help with your caregiving:. What Are the Symptoms of Caregiver Burnout? What Causes Caregiver Burnout? Other factors that can lead to caregiver burnout include: Role confusion -- Many people are confused when thrust into the role of caregiver. It can be difficult for a person to separate her role as caregiver from her role as spouse, lover, child, friend, etc. Unrealistic expectations -- Many caregivers expect their involvement to have a positive effect on the health and happiness of the patient.
This may be unrealistic for patients suffering from a progressive disease, such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. Lack of control -- Many caregivers become frustrated by a lack of money, resources, and skills to effectively plan, manage, and organize their loved one's care. Unreasonable demands -- Some caregivers place unreasonable burdens upon themselves, in part because they see providing care as their exclusive responsibility.
Other factors -- Many caregivers cannot recognize when they are suffering burnout and eventually get to the point where they cannot function effectively. They may even become sick themselves. Here are some steps you can take to help prevent caregiver burnout: Find someone you trust -- such as a friend, co-worker, or neighbor -- to talk to about your feelings and frustrations. Set realistic goals, accept that you may need help with caregiving, and turn to others for help with some tasks. Be realistic about your loved one's disease, especially if it is a progressive disease such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's.
Don't forget about yourself because you're too busy caring for someone else. Set aside time for yourself, even if it's just an hour or two. Remember, taking care of yourself is not a luxury; it is an absolute necessity if you're going to be an effective caregiver. Talk to a professional. Most therapists, social workers, and clergy members are trained to counsel individuals dealing with a wide range of physical and emotional issues.
Take advantage of respite care services.
Respite care provides a temporary break for caregivers. This can range from a few hours of in-home care to a short stay in a nursing home or assisted living facility.
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Know your limits and do a reality check of your personal situation. Recognize and accept your potential for caregiver burnout. The more you know about the illness, the more effective you will be in caring for the person with the illness.
All the areas of the house, especially stairways and narrow hallways require adequate lighting. Shovel the ice and snow on the pavements, backyard, and driveways regularly during the winter. Keep these areas free of debris. Wet floors often lead to slips and falls. So, keep the floors in different sections of the house dry and tidy. Make sure to clean the bathtub regularly as well. Providing the elderly with the right walking aids such as walkers and canes for safe mobility at home is crucial. Make sure the device is a perfect fit for their mobility requirements, as poorly fit aids can increase the risk of falling; also put it in an easy-to-reach place.
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Most seniors use multiple medications. Hence, they may experience various side effects such as dizziness and nausea which may lead to loss of balance. You should review the prescription each time the elder gets a new one. Be sure to consult the general physician about safer alternatives to the medications with extreme side effects. Usually, ambulating involves helping elders get in and out of the bed and assisting them to walk or move around in a wheelchair. However, you will need to learn proper transfer skills first.
Never lift the elder with your back. Always use your legs to do the heavy lifting.
Caregivers are usually in it for the long haul
If the senior is too heavy, ask for help. Your safety is as important as theirs. If possible, explain what you are about to do. Try to make them an active participant in the transfer process, at least mentally. Be sure to lock the brakes. Make sure the elder is comfortable before moving them to the wheelchair. Whenever possible, you should use a gait belt to transfer elders from the bed into the chair and vice versa.
Made from leather, this simple device provides better support and grip during the transfer, reducing the risk of injury to both the senior and personal care provider. You can also use a mechanical lift to transfer bedridden seniors. When using a mechanical lift, understand the safety steps involved.
You should also have an assistant with you. When you are helping a senior with walking, place yourself on their weaker side. You can also use a gait belt, walker or walking cane to help the elder. Encourage the adult to be as self-independent as possible. Sometimes, you may have to assist an elder after a fall. You can help them stand up if there is no visible injury. In case of injury, however, get medical help first. However, as part of a homecare service, it will restrict to only light housekeeping chores. Usually, it involves keeping the section of the house clean that the senior uses.
It may include the following activities. It may include cleaning the dishes after meals, sweeping and mopping floors, cleaning kitchen countertops and appliances, running the dishwasher, organizing kitchen items, and taking out the trash. It comprises cleaning the tub, shower, sink, toilet, and counters with a disinfectant, organizing bathroom cabinets, linens, and towels, arranging the medicine cabinet, and emptying trash.
General maintenance of other sections of the house includes dusting, vacuuming carpets and rugs, light gardening such as watering plants, cleaning inner windows and mirrors, and organizing clutter. You have to do grocery shopping. Prepare meals, serve, and clean up after meals as well.
Other essential errands include helping with laundry and ironing and changing bed linens. Most seniors need help with preparing and serving nutritious meals due to physical limitations. The declines of taste and smell along with difficulty in chewing the food often diminish the desire to eat. Sometimes, doctors may provide you with a weekly meal plan. You might also need to exclude certain foods depending on the medication. For example, levothyroxine, a drug commonly prescribed for hypothyroidism, interacts poorly with grapefruit. It is better to avoid grapefruit and grapefruit products if the senior is taking levothyroxine.
One of the easiest ways to encourage the elders to cook and eat healthily is to make them a part of the daily meal preparations. You can plan as well as cook the meals together. You can also take your client grocery shopping if their health permits.
Recognizing Caregiver Burnout
More often than not, a typical recipe comprises cooking a meal for two. Preparing meals for just one person every day may not be feasible physically and economically. So, you may have to cook extra meals for the freezer. Keep plenty of containers handy to store the leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer.
Put the days, dates, and timings on the containers. Make sure the snacks are healthy and easily accessible. Keep fruits, cheese, and other healthy snacks on the kitchen table or anywhere the elder can easily reach. The diminished taste and smell often obliterates the desire to eat meals.
Caregiving for dementia is full of delicate situations. Knowing Bedsores can be much more serious than they seem — in fact, complications from But this isn't always the case, so when are you a caregiver, and when are you a care partner?. Depending on your situation, becoming a caregiver is not always a straightforward or .. condition or disease (e.g. medication side effects or pain resulting from surgery or You may notice the person isn't breathing at all for many seconds.
So, to pique their interest in the food, try to be creative by experimenting with flavors and colors. Make sure each meal looks as good as it tastes. Avoid repeating the same meal twice in a week if possible.
I'm learning to do more housework, more paperwork and more cooking. It has been upsetting for both of us. I SO wish we had had more good days with pics. It's touch and go. The main reasons why a patient seeks assistance from a caregiver are to drive to doctor appointments, provide emotional support , perform day-to-day activities, and help with personal care. Sleep, and eating well aren't covering the daily grind and emotional drain this puts on one.
As a caregiver, you may also have to run errands and do the grocery shopping. Physical limitations often make it difficult for elders to drive around, to pick up their favorite takeout, medications or dry cleaning. For an elder living alone, a simple trip to the nearby post office once every month can make a big social difference. If the senior wants to participate when running daily errands, especially for grocery or personal shopping, make sure to take them with you. It will help enhance the sense of connection with the community as well as independence.
In most situations, especially managing bedridden elders, you will have to run the daily errands alone. It will involve running to the pharmacy, post office, dry cleaning agency, nursery, and even a local discount store. You may have to help make the grocery lists, drive the elderly to and from the grocery store, and assist during the shopping. If the elder is incapacitated or sick, you may have to do the grocery shopping alone. Most elders above the age of 65 need to take several different medicines regularly.
However, memory impairment and sensory decline can make it almost impossible for elders to maintain the complex medication cycle. Medicines can act as a double-edged sword, causing more harm than good, especially when they are not consumed judiciously. Keeping track of medication is one of the primary responsibilities of a personal caretaker.
You must know how a particular drug works, what the potential side effects are, and how to recognize those. You can also ask if there is an alternative to it if the medication is not available. Most importantly, you should ask what the purpose of the prescribed medication is. Make sure that the elder takes the medication according to the prescription, without fail. Use a pill box with labels for each day of the week to organize the medications.
It also comes with several rows to keep track of multiple medications taken within a day. However, you should make sure the pillbox is filled correctly. Make it a point to read the handling instructions carefully. Sometimes, the medication may need to be administered in a specific manner or stored at a particular temperature.
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For example, you may have to inject a proper dosage of insulin using a syringe. In case of doubt, call the pharmacist or the doctor, immediately. Store all medications in a designated and secure location, especially if you are looking after someone with cognitive or memory issues. Usually, medicines need to be stored in a cool and dry area. Every time the doctor prescribes a new medication, they would like to ensure that the new supplements can produce no harmful side-effects.
Ask the family members to provide a contact number in case of such emergencies. Also, try to fill the prescriptions at the same pharmacy. The pharmacist can readily check the drugs for possible hazardous interactions. The importance of exercise increases with the growing age. Unfortunately, most elders are reluctant to take up any exercise owing to their physical limitations. You should encourage the senior to pick up a fitness regime. Usually, you can incorporate four different types of exercises including endurance training, strength training, stretching, and balance activities.
While endurance training focuses on developing blood circulation and breathing, strength exercise helps reduce age-related muscle loss. Stretching exercise helps improve joint movement. Balance exercise improves balance and reduces the risk of falls. However, clarify the fitness routine with the concerned doctor or physical therapist first.
So, start slowly and build up the routine gradually. Be sure that the senior stretches, both before and after the exercise as it can reduce the risk of injuries. If required, use suitable safety gear for protection, during a workout. Take their physical condition into account. If the elder feels exhausted or off balance, stop immediately.
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For someone with a bad hip, just walking around the house for a few minutes is more than enough. Hence, they are considered suitable for the elderly. Active exercise is performed by the elder, while the personal caregiver has to perform the passive exercise.