How Do You Decide When More Help is Needed?
It can be difficult as a family member to notice when things change. Sometimes a long-distance relative will remark how much a loved one has changed, and if we are the primary caregiver, we may not even have noticed all the little changes that happen over time. Sometimes, the opposite is true and we are overly worried about every minor set back as well.
The following list is something to keep in mind as a quick evaluation of how things are going. Another yard stick for wondering if your loved one needs more help is if you, the primary caregiver, needs more help! Some research has shown that the timing of nursing home entry often has less to do with the senior's health and more to do with the burnout level of the caregiver. So, check in with yourself too.
More formal and detailed assessments of how your loved one is doing can be found here.
Has your family member:
- Changed eating habits within the last year resulting in weight loss, having no appetite, or missed meals?
- Neglected personal hygiene resulting in wearing dirty clothes, body odor, bad breath, neglected nails and teeth, sores on the skin?
- Neglected their home so it is not as clean or sanitary as you remember growing up?
- Exhibited inappropriate behavior by being unusually loud or quiet, paranoid, agitated, making phone calls at all hours?
- Changed relationship patterns such that friends and neighbors have expressed concerns?
- Had physical problems such as burns or injury marks resulting from general weakness, forgetfulness, or possible misuse of alcohol or prescribed medications?
- Decreased or stopped participating in activities that were previously important to them such as bridge or a book club, dining with friends, or attending religious services?
- Exhibited forgetfulness resulting in unopened mail, piling newspapers, not filling their prescriptions, or missed appointments?
- Mishandled finances such as not paying bills, losing money, paying bills twice or more, or hiding money?
- Made unusual purchases such as buying more than one magazine subscription of the same magazine, entered an unusual amount of contests, increased usage of purchasing from television advertisements?
Source: Eldercare Locator web site at www.eldercare.gov
The Eldercare Locator is a service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Aging and is administered by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging in cooperation with the National Association of State Units on Aging.
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