Things change as you get older and sometimes it feels embarrassing. If you have started to care for your elderly mom or dad you may start to notice they are losing control of their bladder. This is also called incontinence and it happens to many people. It is nothing to be ashamed of and it doesn’t mean your loved one can’t age in place. In fact, there are tons of professionals like elder care who can help your loved one live at home and find ways to manage this condition.
Understanding the Cause
Caring for your elderly mom or dad can seem intimidating because there are tons of reasons why a senior could be suffering from something. It is hard to care for your loved one when you are not experiencing these things on your own or by yourself. Luckily, by hiring elder care you will be taking out a lot of the guesswork and discomfort because they have trained for this and have worked with seniors before. Here are a few reasons why your loved one may be suffering from incontinence:
• Medications
• Vaginal Infections
• Pelvic Organ Prolapse
• Chronic Medical Conditions
Sometimes as your senior gets older they will be taking multiple medications at once and this may lead to incontinence. This is something that is annoying to deal with but if this is a sudden change in your loved one it is something they should mention to the doctors. It could be a side effect and a doctor may change them to a different medication if available. Anytime a senior is battling incontinence a doctor should be notified. Elder care can help a senior pay attention to when it happens and any potential triggers.
Elder Care Helping With Incontinence
Although this can be a sensitive topic and a senior may feel embarrassed, elder care can help them manage this condition with respect and dignity. Here are some ideas on how you or elder care can help your senior mom or dad.
Remind Them
Your loved one may forget when they’ve last gone to the bathroom and elder care can help remind them to take bathroom breaks. This is an easy way to avoid any accidents.
Be Mindful
Paying attention to how many drinks a person has can be an easy way to think about when a senior may need to go to the bathroom. Being mindful is something that elder care excels at.
Remove Clutter
If a senior can’t get to the bathroom easily they may have accidents on the way to the bathroom. Go through their house to remove any clutter in the hallways and paths leading to and from main areas to the bathroom.
Distracting
Sometimes if a senior is busy and has something to focus on it can actually help them think about the bathroom less and then they go less. Elder care can help provide companionship and that may be enough to control any unwanted accidents.
Keep a Routine
Elder care can always remind a senior to go to the bathroom but they can also schedule specific times for a senior to try to go to the bathroom as well. Sometimes keeping a routine will encourage a seniors body to go even when they don’t feel like they need to.