Our families are something that are very important to the majority of us. However, as parents and grandparents become older, they become less mobile and find it harder to get around, with comfort becoming a bigger issue than before. For the most of us, we feel that it is somewhat our duty to ensure that our elderly relatives are comfortable at home, whether we’ve allowed them to move into our own home with us in order to provide them with better care, or whether they live in their own home and we visit. Here, we’ve listed a number of different tips which can help you to achieve optimum comfort, safety and security at home for your elderly loved one.
Install a Ramp
A lot of the time, you will find that elderly people tend to be wheelchair users, either using a manual wheelchair or an electric one. If your elderly relative uses a wheelchair, they are going to be need to have a secure and easy way to get into their home, especially if the front door is raised and the wheelchair cannot get up it. This could also apply to other areas on the inside of their property. Installing wheelchair ramps in these difficult to access areas makes getting around much easier, and means that they can stay comfortable at the same time. However, installing wheelchair ramps may take a bit of planning – you’ll need ample space in order to be able to do this.
Extra Heating
It is a well-known fact that older people do tend to feel the cold a lot more, and if your elderly relative is often complaining about being chilly in their home even if the heating system is turned up high, you may wish to consider adding additional heating options to make sure that the temperature is how they like it. A fireplace is an excellent and ideal option for heating, as they are able to warm up the room quickly and efficiently to make it feel more comfortable for your loved one. However, take into consideration the safety concerns – you may want to think about adding a fire guard to protect your relative in the event of a fall or trip.
Emergency Call System
It’s easy to worry about an elderly person who is living at home on their own, as they’re at risk of falls, trips and other health concerns which may occur when nobody is there, leaving them without the immediate medical attention that they need. However, thanks to the advancement of modern technology, there are a number of home health care and billing software products from web based care agencies, many of which include features that allow the elderly to call for help with just the push of a button when needed. This software will be able to alert care providers to the location of the emergency, and some may also be able to inform care providers what the actual problem is. If your loved one suffers with a chronic condition, you may wish to consider medical devices which track their health and report the statistics to their doctor.
Living Adjustments
If your elderly relative is living in a two story home and is finding it increasingly difficult to get up the stairs, you may need to consider making a number of living adjustments in the property in order to make them more comfortable. For example, a simple change would be to move their bedroom to the ground floor area of the home, whether this be into an existing room downstairs or even by building an extension on the property. If your relative does not already have a ground floor bathroom you will probably need to consider having one installed. An alternative to this would be to have a wheelchair lift installed providing there is ample space to do so.
Outside Help
If your relative is becoming less and less able to look after themselves, you might wish to consider enlisting additional home care services to ensure that they are comfortable and cared for at all times. Care services range from a live in care assistant to one who visits in order to help with tasks such as preparing meals, taking medication, and going to bed at night to make sure that everything runs smoothly and that comfort and safety levels are high. If you think your relative would benefit from this, it may be a good idea to discuss it with them.
How do you ensure your elderly loved ones are comfortable? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
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