6 Common Health Concerns That Complicate Senior Care

Senior care is challenging at every step. With every passing day, a new healthcare challenge emerges and not everyone is equipped to handle it on their own. That is why a growing number of individuals in urban areas are resorting to services such as home care for seniors to take care of their beloved elders. Despite having a senior care companion as your side, you must know about these 6 common health concerns that make senior care complicated:

Physical Inactivity & Nutrition

In the old age, it becomes harder for an individual to maintain the same level of physical activity like before. When an individual starts being physically inactive, he/she becomes vulnerable to a number of life-threatening diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, etc. Physically inactivity among seniors can lead to an enormous loss in terms of health. As seniors do not also keep a check on their eating habits properly, this affects their nutritional intake, further complicating senior care.

Obesity

Being overweight is a serious health concern that can lead to complications in offering adequate senior personal care services. When a senior turns obese, there are high chances of him/her dying from hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, respiratory problem, etc. To keep a senior away from the perils of obesity, it is essential to keep a check on his/her weight periodically. This will help in tackling the health issues that arise due to obesity, in time.

Mental Health Issues

As an individual turns old, his memory starts fading away. He/she might even become a patient of dementia that will lead to significant impact on the ability to remember routine tasks and people. This can pose a challenge for caretakers offering senior home care services as an elder can refuse to cooperate owing to his loss of memory. He/she even can get hostile and become a patient of chronic depression that will overcomplicate things related to senior care.

Physical Weakness

Seniors can become clumsy with passing age and that can make them fall down inside their homes leading to fatal injuries. It is a known fact that falling down is a common cause of injuries among seniors. As they do not take care of proper diet and nutrition, they become physically weak to handle their own weight, making it harder for caregivers to provide senior care. They require adequate support and assistance at all the times to cope up with their weakness making assisted living services essential.

Healthcare Access

Having access to proper healthcare facilities is a burning concern while taking care of a senior citizen. As they are much more fragile than a young person, they require immediate medical attention in case of emergency. Unlike adults, their body is not immune to fight even general illness, cold, flu, etc. This makes it harder to care for them as prompt healthcare access may not be available 24×7 if a senior is being taken care at his/her home by the family.

Loneliness & Depression

As stated above, depression can be hard to manage among senior citizens. In the old age, an individual gets lonely and feel left out, pushing him/her further in the shackles of depression. Depression can lower a person’s immunity and make a senior vulnerable to diseases. As a senior does not even indulge in physical or social activities, it becomes hard for a caretaker to help him fight loneliness. Assisted living facilities are developed keeping in mind this concern to provide seniors with a holistic environment where they can interact with similar people and get out of their loneliness.

Through assisted living services offered by an established entity such as Papaya Care, an individual can ensure that the elder in the family receives proper care. As attendants and care takers at such a facility are trained to handle health concerns of seniors in a better way, it works in favor of seniors.