How Can We Help Elderly?
Retirement age is one of the most difficult life periods. Older people face many physical and psychological difficulties. It becomes difficult for them to take care of themselves, they need comprehensive support and care.
What help does an elderly person need?
With the onset of old age, numerous problems appear:
- Financial problems. Elderly people are more likely to experience high prices for medicines and products, worried about not being a burden for loved ones. Many of them need not only financial support but also psychological and social support;
- Relationship. Loneliness often becomes a companion of old age. Gradually, an elderly person loses his/her old connections with friends and colleagues, the circle of communication is noticeably narrowed. It is hard to perceive the loss of loved ones, for example, a spouse;
- Health. Why is so much attention paid to health and medicine? Old age is fraught with various diseases, many of which are exacerbated. Typical ailments include diseases of the hearing, vision, and musculoskeletal system;
- Leisure. How to help pensioners adapt to the new realities of life? Old age is a time when a person reconsiders the past and the path traveled. It is very important to find a new hobby, which would bring joy.
Medical assistance
In the elderly period, everyone needs qualified medical care. Feeling unwell is due to internal or external factors. Many ailments are caused by psychological factors, when a pensioner loses interest in life and the future seems vague and uncertain.
Medical assistance for an elderly person may be provided:
- In the doctor’s office. The doctor diagnoses the disease, selects the optimal course of treatment and monitors the patient’s recovery process;
- At home. It is often necessary to help an old person at home if he or she suffers from a complex ailment or goes through a period of postoperative rehabilitation. It is necessary to control the intake of drugs, do dressings, injections, etc.;
- In the hospital. Why is support during hospitalization so important? Many people perceive hospitalization as isolation from society. Particular attention is required to immobile patients;
- In the nursing home. Nursing homes provide residential care for elderly or disabled people. Employees provide a comfortable stay and facilitate the manifestations of the disease.
In a difficult situation, one does not need to ask why the elderly should be helped; it is important to act immediately in order to save a person and not leave him or her alone. Elderly people are extremely sensitive to any changes, so it is important to explain that staying in medical institutions is for their good.
Help for a lonely person
For older people, a long stay alone is highly undesirable. In such a situation, life loses its colors, mental balance and harmony are disturbed.
Help for lonely elderly people is necessary because:
- Interest disappears. A person becomes thrifty and conservative, he or she is not easily given any changes and innovations in life. Habitual affairs and hobbies lose their attractiveness. It is very important to choose a new hobby that would improve their mood and well-being;
- Their character is changing. Many people avoid lonely elderly people because their character is changing for the worse. Frequent mood swings, nostalgia for the past and annoyance hinder comfortable communication at the slightest occasion;
- Mental disorders are observed. Old age leads to decreased attention, reaction speed and poor memory. It is especially difficult to contact those who develop Alzheimer’s disease;
- Lost contact with the family. Lonely people quarrel with family members, often invent non-existent insults, get upset when their relatives lack time to communicate with them;
- Their circle of communication is changing. Many become lonely people after their work is completed. Retirement is fraught with the loss of contacts with colleagues. A pensioner no longer participates in corporate events and feels abandoned, useless.
In most cases, the nursing home becomes the best solution. Now private institutions have all conditions so that every person regain an interest in life. Nursing homes offer excellent living conditions, food, medical care. Much attention is paid to fascinating leisure. With ther help, elderly people quickly forget about loneliness.