The Pros and Cons of Being a Full-Time Caregiver

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Your parent is getting older and can’t manage daily tasks on their own. They need a caregiver. You’re wondering if you could fill that role for them after consulting an expert similar to a Denver conservatorship lawyer in order to ensure all financial matters are taken care of.

Before you make a decision, you should take a look at the pros and cons of becoming a full-time caregiver for your parent:

Pros: You Become Closer with Your Parent

Acting as a full-time caregiver will deepen your relationship with your parent, sometimes in unexpected ways. They could be more open and vulnerable with you than ever before. They could share their fondest memories with you. Your bond could be the strongest it’s ever been.

Pros: You Get a Chance to Give Back

You know that your parents worked hard to make sure that you were healthy, happy and cared for when you were growing up. This is an opportunity for you to repay them for all of that loving attention and sacrifice. They were there for you, and now you can be there for them.

Cons: Not Having the Right Accommodations

If your parent is moving in with you so that you can be their full-time caregiver, you might realize that your home wasn’t built with their needs in mind and it would be better suited to seek elder care Lynchburg based or similar. Your home has no access for mobility devices – there are steep staircases, tight doorways, awkward floor transitions and no ramps whatsoever. The bedrooms are all on the top floor. The bathrooms have no safety features.

Having the right accommodations available is important. You can try to renovate your space, or you can arrange for your parent to move into a senior home that prioritizes age in place retirement living by offering numerous accessibility features and professional care options. A great senior nursing home will be ready to address your parent’s needs and more. If your parents are disabled, you must be careful and ensure they receive proper care. There are a lot of companies that offer home care for disabled and elderly people that can ease their lives and might help them to stay independent. Using keywords such as “disability home care Melbourne” could provide you with the desired results by giving you a list of local service providers.

Cons: Putting Everything Else on Hold

When you take on the role of caregiver, you can’t do much else. Plans for your career, your schooling and hobbies will need to be put on the back-burner while you’re taking care of your parent. Even if you have flexible work hours and understanding bosses, caregiving will take up most of your time and energy. There’s no way to juggle all of these responsibilities. That’s why so many women quit their full-time jobs and put their careers on hold when they decide to tend to their elderly parents.

If you’re not ready to make this sacrifice, you should look for other elderly care options.

Cons: Stress

Another problem that comes with a full-time role is stress. Taking care of someone 24/7 can be exhausting because it doesn’t leave you with any time to decompress and take care of yourself. This becomes even most difficult when you are caring for someone with dementia or other mental ailments. Milwaukee Memory Care Placement Services or similar elderly care facilities make it easy for many caregivers who are unable to help their elderly parents. In some ways, both parties should approach professionals when it comes to the matter of elderly care. For the senior, they get better treatment and professional help they require. Caregivers can save the stress and exhaustion that comes with senior care. There is a reason why so many adult children go through caregiver burnout after doing chores, running errands and attending appointments without taking a moment to stop and relax.

Caring for your parent isn’t just physically exhausting – it can be emotionally exhausting, too. If your parent isn’t responding well to your help, it could take a real toll on your well-being. It will be difficult not to take any anger or resistance as a personal slight.

Now that you know some of the pros and cons that come with being a full-time caregiver for your parent, you can make the right choice for both of you.

Lactose Intolerance: What is it?

Imagine if you can’t drink milk, eat yogurt, cheese, ice cream, chocolate, cake, and more! Now wouldn’t that be sad? 

Ice, Ice Cream, Ice Cream Flavors

Well, some people aren’t able to eat or drink those foods. Those people are lactose intolerant, which means they can’t eat anything with lactose, which is in most dairy products.

Lactose intolerance is a disorder in which you cannot eat anything with lactose, because the person with lactose intolerance does not make enough of the enzyme lactase that is necessary for digesting lactose.

Symptoms

Lactose intolerance causes different symptoms that include

  • diarrhea
  • bloating
  • nausea
  • abdominal pain
  • farting
Abdominal Pain, Pain, Appendicitis, Bloating

How to avoid the symptoms

Don’t eat/drink too much food/drink with lactose. When you eat/drink food/drink with lactose, eat or drink something without lactose with it. Or try to look for a lactose-free version of that food or drink.

Almond, Almond Milk, Bottle, Bowl, Brown

How to know if you are lactose intolerant

Don’t eat/drink anything with lactose for a few days, and then drink a few glasses of milk. If the symptoms occur, then you might be lactose intolerant. Or better yet, go to a doctor and ask for a lactose intolerance test.

Lactose Intolerance isn’t bad

Lactose Intolerance isn’t bad.

It just means you can’t eat anything with lactose without the symptoms occurring. But you CAN look for a lactose free version, like I said a while ago.

Soy Milk, Soy, Soybean, Soy-Milk

Jade is an 11-year-old homeschooled bookworm. She devours books by Roald Dahl, Lois Lowry, Rick Riordan, and JK Rowling. She plays the guitar, bakes sweet and savory goodies, and tinkers with cool stuff when she has some spare time.

Increased Patient Comfort With Open MRI Scanners

When a doctor needs a better look inside the body, they may rely on an MRI scanner. Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, is a radiation-free technique that produces quality diagnostic images using only radio waves and a magnetic field. While MRI scanners come in both closed and open varieties, the open variety has become more popular in recent years. Both closed and open MRI scanners diagnose a variety of diseases, but there are benefits for the patient when having an MRI performed in an open scanner.

Minimizes Patient Claustrophobia

The original design of the MRI scanner is a narrow tube-like structure that the patient is placed inside for the exam. The enclosed walls can increase anxiety in a claustrophobic patient. The open MRI does not enclose the patient, allowing a more relaxed exam and faster access for the medical personnel if there are any complications.

Increases the Exam Area

The open MRI allows a patient of any size to be imaged, allowing for better diagnostics across a community. The larger area also allows for body parts to be better positioned inside the machine, allowing for better quality images.

Minimizes Noise

An MRI scanner produces loud sounds for the majority of the process and most patients are given earplugs to protect their hearing. With the open MRI, the level of noise directly on the patient is decreased, minimizing the risk of hearing damage.

Decreases Metal Interference

Due to the strong magnetic field, there are restrictions on the type of patient that can have an MRI inside a closed scanner. The magnetic force within the scanner will pull on metal objects on or within the body. Compared to closed, open MRI scanners use less magnetic strength for imaging, creating fewer risks for patients who may have metal implants.

While doctors want the best diagnostic image possible, patient comfort is also important. Open MRIs allow a patient to have a more pleasant experience and allow the doctor to perform accurate diagnostic medicine.

When It’s Time to Start Asking Questions: 7 Signs of Nursing Home Neglect or Abuse

The residents of nursing homes are usually dependent upon the staff for service and care and thus, they are often prone to exploitation due to their frailty. A resident of a nursing home who suffers from neglect or abuse may be incapable of speaking up due to the fear of what might happen to them in the absence of their loved ones. For that reason, it’s often advisable to watch out for signs of nursing home neglect or abuse whenever you visit your loved ones in their nursing facilities. Here’s is what to look out for.

1. Poor Personal Hygiene

In any nursing facilities, nurses are expected to help with the basic hygiene of the residents. Many people residing in these facilities require assistance getting dressed, clipping their nails, brushing their teeth, and combing their hair. A neglected individual is often left doing these things alone, and more often than not, they are not able to maintain their hygiene.

2. Changes in Mental Status or Consciousness

Sometimes, nursing home staff members utilize chemicals restraints to make the work easier for them. If your loved one has a change in their mental status ranging, from stupor to confusion, then you need to be careful. If you notice a difference in their functionality, take immediate action to determine why that is the case.

3. Poor Living Condition

Nursing facilities should offer residents with a clean and safe environment. Failure to do so indicates that the residents are being neglected. The law indicates that nursing homes ought to establish and maintain a program that would control infection so as to provide a safe environment for residents. Moreover, the facilities need to meet the safety and security requirements provided by the state.

4. Lack or Loss of Mobility

When a resident is neglected, they may be left in bed for long, risking the loss of mobility. In the absence of routine movement, residents may end up facing other health complications such as infections and bedsores.

5. Fear or Avoidance of Nursing Staff

If your loved one has stopped speaking to a nurse or looking at a particular staff member, then that is a sign they are being abused. If there is a look of fear in their eyes when a particular nurse or doctor enters the room, then you need to find out what the problem is since that is a sign of physical, verbal, or sexual abuse.

6. Unexpected Injuries

Bruises, broken bones, or head injuries could indicate that an individual is being neglected or abused in the nursing facility. People who aren’t given any assistance may end up doing everything for themselves and this may result in their injuries. Slips and falls among the sick and the elderly are clear signs of neglect. In fact, you can seek help from a Bradenton based personal injury laywer or a lawyer in your area to get compensation from your loved one falling and injuring themselves, so make sure that you are getting all the help and financial security you can from these kinds of negligent acts.

7. Rapid Weight Loss

Rapid weight loss is a clear sign of abuse or neglect. Under the right care plan, a resident in a nursing home should maintain or gain weight. Weight loss may signify depression, poor balance of medication, or even withholding of food.

Take Action

Neglect and abuse are tragic as they can result in severe physical and psychological trauma for residents in nursing homes. Knowing which signs to watch out for will go a long way in helping you to protect your loved ones. Renowned legal professionals such as Hupy and Abraham can help you file a claim against the nursing home if you feel your loved one is being abused or neglected.

The Subtleties Reveal the Big Picture: 5 Symptoms to Be on the Lookout for If You Want to Save Your Elders from Abuse

We can’t always keep an eye on our elderly loved ones. Sometimes we leave them in the care of other relatives or take them to a nursing home. We hope that they will receive the best of care but sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they are neglected or physically, sexually, psychologically or even financially abused. Statistics from nationalhomeabuseguide.org show that in excess of 40 percent of nursing home residents have reported abuse.

If an elderly relative reports abuse, you should consult an attorney who handles elderly abuse claims . However, like many victims, elderly people are often reluctant to speak up. That’s why you need to know the signs of abuse so you can get help for your relative when necessary. Let’s go into more detail about the varying types of elder abuse and their signs.

Physical abuse

Physical abuse involves any behavior that causes bodily harm. It includes kicking, hitting or burning the individual or tying them to their bed or wheelchair. If your elderly loved one has been physically abused, you may notice visible injuries. You should look out for burns, cuts or unexplained bleeding, sprains or fractures and recurring injuries. The individual may refuse to see a doctor about these issues.

Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse refers to unwanted sexual contact with another person. The perpetrator can be a nursing home worker, visitor or even another patient. It includes inappropriate touching, rape and forcing the elderly person to watch pornography. You should look out for torn or bloody underwear, bruising around the genitals, sexually transmitted diseases and bleeding from the vagina or anus.

Psychological abuse

Psychological abuse hurts an individual emotionally. It may occur along with physical abuse. It involves threats, yelling or calling the person names. It can also include ignoring the individual, controlling them or withholding their personal items. The symptoms of psychological abuse may include withdrawal or fright, sudden changes in behavior, depression, loss of interest and trouble sleeping.

Financial abuse

Financial abuse involves misuse of the individual’s money or property. It includes forging their signature, using their credit or debit cards without their permission or forcing them to change their will. Over-charging for a service or charging for a service which wasn’t rendered is also considered financial abuse. Signs include unexplained withdrawals from a bank account, a new friend who the individual seems to be giving money, signatures that seem to be forged and sudden changes in wills or power of attorney.

Neglect

Neglect is when a caregiver doesn’t take care of an older person’s needs. They may not give them enough food or water. They may not ensure they are warm, dry and taking their medication. Abandoning an elderly individual completely is also considered neglect. Symptoms include dirty clothing and matted hair, an illness that isn’t treated, sudden weight loss and inadequate aids likes glasses, dentures or hearing aids.

If you notice any of these signs, ask your elderly relative gently if anything is wrong. Consult an attorney who handles elder abuse or call Adult Protective Services . You can’t change what has already happened but you can protect them from future abuse.