How to Tell Your Senior Loved One Needs Additional Care

Whether you live close by or far away, it’s sometimes hard to determine if your aging loved needs additional care. It is likely that seniors, who have been independent for a good fifty to sixty years, find that asking for help is difficult. Fortunately, there are some signs that can help tell you that someone needs extra help at home. You just should be vigilant, understanding and, ultimately, approach the subject delicately.

Physical Signs

• Changes in weight – Is it fairly obvious that they’ve either gained or lost significant weight. There may be many reasons why this might be taking place, but it’s often a sign that they need additional care or more medical attention than they have been receiving.
• Poor hygiene – This might be in the form of hair that isn’t neat when was usually in the past, intense body odor, wearing clothes that haven’t been washed, or showing signs of dirt on their skin. Poor hygiene is often due to financial problems, depression or both.
• Change in clothes –  Did your senior loved one go from wearing jeans to sweatpants all the time? Button down shirts to t-shirts? This could mean that they can no longer use buttons and need help with these types of matters.
• Frailty – Do they look frail? Diminishing bones and muscle strength is common in older adults. If it looks like they are having a hard time walking or getting out of their chair, they might need some extra help. They may also be at an increased risk of falling.

Look around the House

• Are they no longer keeping house as they used to? Poor housekeeping can be a sign of early dementia or increased mobility issues. Look for spills that were never cleaned, cobwebs, mold and dust.
• Too many take out menus and frozen dinners? This could be because they have either lost excitement in eating, do not have the transportation needed to go to the grocery shopping, have difficulty preparing food in the kitchen, or simply is no longer that hungry.
•  Is their house becoming more cluttered than usual? This could be a sign of a neurological issue that should be addressed by their doctor.
• Plants and animals getting neglected? This could point toward the beginning stages of dementia or a physical ailment that doesn’t allow them to care properly for their pets and plants.

Do you live in East or South Wake or Johnston counties? Are you interested in learning about home health care services Raleigh and nearby areas in NC? Consider contacting Always Best Care at (919) 724-4297 to setup a free care consultation. They look forward to chatting with you!

Get Details About Home Health Care In Raleigh NC From Always Best Care

Since 1996, Always Best Care has been North America’s leading senior care giving provider. They take special care in hiring only the best, most compassionate and highly-skilled caregivers to care for their senior clients. These caregivers are dedicated to their jobs and are always licensed, bonded, and insured. Seniors living in the Raleigh area, who are interested in learning the details about home health care in Raleigh NC can contact Always Best Care for a free care consultation.

What can you expect during the consultation? An Always Best Care professional care coordinator will visit with you and your family to discuss your needs and budget. A customized care plan will be created for you, and it will be updated as your needs change so that you never have to worry about getting the exact care that you require.

Whether you are looking for in-home care or are thinking about transitioning into a senior living environment, Always Best Care can help you with both. If you’re ready to move into an assisted living facility or some other type of senior environment, the care coordinator will assist you with narrowing down your choices (as per your requirements and budget) and also accompany you on tours of each facility. This service is free because ultimately, the facility that is chosen absorbs all of the related costs.

Always Best Care has always put their senior clients first and wants only to assist them with their daily activities to help them maintain their independence and improve their overall quality of life. Some of the tasks that the Always Best Care caregivers provide include light housekeeping, escorting to various locations, functions, and events, preparing and serving meals, morning wake up and evening tuck in, and many others.

For the past 20 years, Always Best Care has been providing exceptional and compassionate care to seniors all over the United States and Canada. Their goal is to help seniors stay active, connected to their loved ones, and healthy. They accomplish this by hiring only the best caregivers in the industry and going to great lengths to ensure that the right senior caregiver is matched up with the right senior.

If you have any questions about home health care in Raleigh NC or Apex home care, you are encouraged to contact the Always Best Care Raleigh location at 919-724-4297 to set up your own free care consultation. They look forward to chatting with you!

Afraid to Garden with Arthritis? Follow these “Handy” Tips!

Arthritis is a common chronic disease that affects 12.5% of adult Americans. It even affects children, and can have a sudden onset, or a gradual one. Arthritis is a stiffening of the joints, coupled with pain, and sometimes doesn’t allow for the completion of various projects due to the symptoms involved.

Gardening is one of the most popular pastimes for seniors, and carries with it numerous health benefits. These benefits include being outside, physical agility from the movements involved, eating nutritious, healthy foods that result from the garden, possible social benefits, and an overall sense of wellness and mood enhancement.

The problem is, many seniors suffer from arthritis and would still like to be able to work in their garden. So, how can this be accomplished?

1. Keep in your mind that there’s a limit to how much you can use your hands. As a senior with arthritis, it’s hard to accept that there is only so much you can do with your hands now, but it’s true. If you spend an hour in the garden, you’ll have to swap that for an hour of doing something else with your hands (such as putting together a puzzle or other task that requires manual dexterity).


2. Know your hand limitations. Do your hands become stiff and painful after an hour’s worth of working with them? Two? Know where the cutoff point is so you can delegate how you’d like to use your hands on any given day.


3. Delegate. If you have friends, family or neighbors that can help with your various tasks, delegate some to them to cut down on the amount of time you are using your hands.


4. Hire a helping hand. There are always teens around in the neighborhood looking to make a little extra cash, or look for ads in local penny savers.


5. Soak your hands in warm water for five minutes before starting to work on your garden. Make sure to wear thin rubber gloves. Warm hands work much more smoothly than cold ones do.


6. Make sure garden tools are sharp. You’ll spend too much extra time trying to use a dull garden tool and waste your valuable hand time. Keep them sharp and efficient.

Do you live in the Raleigh area? Are you interested in learning about home health care in Raleigh NC or dementia care in Raleigh? Contact the Always Best Care Raleigh location today at 919-724-4297 to set up a free care consultation. They look forward to chatting with you!