As spring and summer quickly approach a senior will need to be wary of the weather and the temperatures along with it. The hotter the day is, the easier it becomes to feel dehydrated. And being too dehydrated is dangerous for your elderly loved one. Home care providers can help your seniors who wish to age in place by ensuring they wear the right clothing for the weather, making sure they eat foods filled with fluids, and ensuring they have accessible water. The more accessible or easier to reach water and fluids are the more likely a senior is to remember to refill on fluids which can help prevent dehydration.
Your elderly mom or dad may not know they’re getting dehydrated and it is important for home care to be observant and understand the signs of dehydration described here.
Muscle Cramps
A less commonly known sign of dehydration is muscle cramps. Unfortunately, just this sign alone cannot determine if a senior is experiencing dehydration. Home care should be paying attention to how much water a senior is drinking, how many bathroom trips they’re taking, also signs like muscle cramps. As a senior becomes more dehydrated they become lower on certain electrolytes which impacts the muscles and how sore they feel throughout the day. When electrolytes become imbalanced it can lead to stiff or rigid muscles which can hurt and cause a senior to move around less which is a bad sign, especially if they want to be as healthy as possible and age in place.
Confusion
This is another sign of dehydration and can often be confused with regular signs of aging. Again, with home care observing your loved one will be crucial to maintain a high-quality life as they age in place. When there is not enough water going into the body and more water leaving the body it leaves the body to work extra hard to get blood and fuel around the body. The brain will not be able to function as well and this can cause a senior to feel more confused than normal. Water plays such a crucial role in the human body that it is not something that should ever be neglected.
Excessive Sweating
If a senior has a fever or is outside on a hot day they may start sweating. This can easily lead to dehydration. As a senior is outside and sweats more they need to replace the fluids they are losing. This is crucial to keep them as healthy as possible throughout the spring and summer seasons. If there is going to be a particularly hot day it may be best to encourage a senior to stay inside during the hottest parts of the day. Home care should also know that it is not just a hot day that can cause excessive sweating, it may be things like working out or having a fever from being sick.
Feeling Dry
A senior’s skin or mouth may feel extra dry. Sometimes a senior won’t know that they are thirsty or feel the same body cues as they did when they were younger. However, if they start complaining that they feel dry, they need to drink some fluids to see if it helps. If water does help them feel less dry it may be because they were dehydrated.
If you are considering hiring a Home Care Service that is dedicated to the senior care market, contact 24/7 Coastal Contact today at (251) 260-0226.
Let us show you how and why we are different from any other service you may have tried in the past. Our team approach is the standard that sets us apart from the rest.
Prior to establishing 24/7 Coastal Contact, Ms. King worked for 30 years in the health care industry. Her experience began providing direct patient care. Eventually, she transitioned into home care and home infusion, then acquired her HCS-D certification as a Home Health specialty coder where she learned about the administrative burden facing Home Health and Home Care providers.
It became clear that after-hours customer service was a major toll home care industry and it was with this need in mind that 24/7 Coastal Contact was founded. In the three years since its start, 24/7 Coastal Contact has grown explosively. Now, we provide service to over 40 agencies in over 24 states with a 95% retention of service rate.
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