One of the topics that your senior might try to avoid talking about for as long as possible is trouble with personal care tasks. These are tasks like grooming, bathing, toileting, and changing clothes. These are tasks that she’s handled on her own for a very long time and it can be really difficult to talk about suddenly needing help with these different necessary tasks.
Make the Bathroom as Safe as Possible
Safety in your senior’s bathroom and bedroom are crucial. If your elderly family member isn’t able to feel safe in those rooms, that can take a task that is becoming difficult and make it feel impossible for her. Do a safety sweep and see what it would take to make your senior’s bedroom and bathroom as safe as possible. Deal first with clutter and anything that could make her trip, slip, or fall. Then make sure to add safety devices, including bath chairs and grab bars.
Get the Right Supplies
Personal Care at Home in Pinellas Park FL
What does your senior need to make bathing easier? Would bathing brushes be easier than washcloths? How about switching to bath gel instead of bar soap? Stock up on whatever helps your elderly family member to find bathing and grooming to be easier. There are a lot more assistive devices for personal care than ever before and they can really make grooming and bathing safer and easier.
Simplify Her Wardrobe
It’s possible that your elderly family member’s wardrobe is more complicated than it needs to be. Lots of buttons, zippers, and other closures for instance might not be helpful anymore. Clothing that slips on easily and is easy for her to maneuver on her own may help her to continue dressing on her own. It’s important that you’re not making decisions about this on your own. Keep your senior involved.
Have an Open and Loving Conversation about Her Needs
In fact, make sure that you and your senior sit down and have a thorough conversation about what assistance she needs with personal care tasks. What is she willing to accept your help with regularly? Is there anything she doesn’t want your help with in particular? Are there changes she wants to make to her routine to make it easier or safer? It’s important that you both talk about what is happening and what results your senior wants.
Hire Personal Care at Home
All of that said, home care providers can be one of the best answers to any of the problems your senior is having with personal care tasks. Personal care at home helps to preserve your relationship with your senior, removing awkwardness you both might be experiencing. Elder care providers are experienced in maintaining your senior’s dignity while also helping her with personal care tasks.
None of this needs to be embarrassing, but that doesn’t automatically make it easier to talk about. Just remember to let your senior know that you care about making sure that she’s safe and that she has all the help that she needs.
If You Or An Aging Loved One Are Considering Hiring Personal Care at Home in Pinellas Park, FL, Please Contact The Caring Staff At Assisting Hands Home Care Today! 727-748-4211.
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Becky Moultrie is Owner and Administrator of Assisting Hands Home Care Serving Pinellas. Guided by a motto to Do Good with Love, she’s well positioned to do just that at Assisting Hands. She has a passion for helping families keep seniors and those who are diabled happy and healthy at home. She serves on a number of boards in Pinellas County including the Pinellas Park Gateway Chamber and Better Living Seniors (BLS), leading the Membership Committee. Annually, she hosts a Silver Santa Party, collecting donations for nearly 100 low income seniors in the county. She attends Blessed Sacrament Church, Seminole where she is an Ascribed Member of the Rosminian Order. When not busy Doing Good in the community, Becky is at home with her husband David & their 4 children, tending to their beehives and digging in the garden.
