How to care for a bedridden senior at home. If you have a loved one at home who is bedridden, they will need assistance with their care. When an elder is bedridden it makes it challenging for them to take care of their daily needs, like personal hygiene and eating. In addition to assisting with their activities of daily living, you need to be aware of their physical and mental health. When caring for the elderly at home, it is important to recognize all aspects of care that will be needed.
Tips on how to care for a bedridden senior at home:
When a loved one is bedridden, this means that they cannot get up to do basic daily living tasks. These tips will help you to know the important tasks and provide advice on how to complete them for your loved one.
Personal Hygiene
It is very important to bathe your loved one regularly, even if it means giving him/her a bed bath. You can give a full bed bath without getting the sheets wet. A bed bath should be given 2 or 3 times a week. Bathing too often may put your loved one at risk for skin problems, like sores.
For dental care, you can assist in brushing their teeth two ways: First you can use a toothbrush with a bowl of water for rinsing the toothbrush, plus a cup of water to rinse, and then also bring another bowl for spitting the toothpaste out. Second if they wear dentures, remove the dentures so that you can clean them. Then use an oral swab to clean their mouth. you can bring certain items to their bed like toothbrush, a bowl of water and a bowl to spit water.
Taking care of these hygienic tasks will keep them happy and healthy.
Change Bed Sheets Often
Bedridden elders spend most, if not all of their time in bed; because of this it can lead to their sheets becoming soiled with food stains, dirt, and skin particles. This is why you will need to change the bed sheets and pillow cases regularly. Bed linens should be changed every 2 days, but no longer than every 3 days to ensure cleanliness. If bed linens are not kept clean for your loved one, it can cause them to have skin issues.
Preventing Bed Sores
Bedridden elder care at home encompasses caring for the skin and watching for changes. Bedsores, also known as pressure sores, can result from a person lying in the same position for a long period of time causing injury to the skin and tissues. If a person gets a bedsore and it is not taken care of, it can become infected. To prevent bedsores, reposition your loved one every few hours and consistently check their skin for sores.
Nutrition
A healthy, nutritious diet is very important for a bedridden senior. Speak with their physician so that you know the recommendations for their diet and any restrictions. You will want to encourage liquid throughout the day so they do not become dehydrated, these should be non-sugary drinks or water. Don’t push what/how you think that they should eat, you need to be conscious of their needs/wants. They may not prefer big meals 3 times a day; splitting their meals into small snack size meals throughout the day may assist them in meeting their nutritional needs.
A good habit to form to know exactly if they are receiving the nutrition that they need is to record their daily intake of food and liquid in a journal or notebook. This is a great way to help the physician understand what is going on also if a problem should arise. This journal/notebook can also be used to write down any changes or concerns.
Keep Them Comfortable
Home care for bedridden patients is more than bathing and feeding, they need a comfortable, positive environment. Although bedridden seniors do not have an option, but to stay in bed you can create a welcoming environment that will make an impact on their mental well-being. This will include ensuring that they have activities that they enjoy like reading a book, watching tv, have a phone/tablet that they can talk or facetime with family members. In addition, they can play games on the phone/tablet. Keep the room clean and fresh smelling.
When caring for a bedridden senior at home, it is important to provide much needed emotional support by engaging them in conversation and inviting family over to visit. Talk with them often and spend time in their room, maybe watch a tv show or movie together. Being confined to bed to become very lonely for your loved one.
In addition of taking care of your loved one, you need to take care of yourself. This can mean having a caregiver come a few hours a day to help with the care or having a caregiver come once or twice a week so you can go out and have a much needed break.
Call us today, (480) 618-5995 to learn more about our home care services.