Ways Home Health Care Helps After COVID

Close to 101 million cases of COVID have been recorded in the U.S., and so far, there are around 115,000 new cases per day during the first week of 2023. COVID may have slowed down since the height of the pandemic, but it’s still out there and your mom contracted it. She’s one of the estimated 41,000 who were hospitalized with COVID, but she’s coming home. Talk to her doctor about using home health care services to help her transition.

Medication Administration and Changes

Home Health Care Warren NJ - Ways Home Health Care Helps After COVID

Home Health Care Warren NJ – Ways Home Health Care Helps After COVID

Your mom’s doctor has her on an antiviral that is administered through an IV. A home health care nurse is able to set up the IV line, administer the medication, report how it’s going to your mom’s doctor, and deal with medication changes if they occur.

If your mom has diabetes and COVID at the same time, her nurse can help with injections of insulin as needed. IV fluids and nutrients are also possible if your mom isn’t eating or drinking enough.

Oxygen Saturation and Vital Signs Monitoring by Home Health Care Aides

Attention to your mom’s oxygen levels is an essential part of her care. Her nurse can take her oxygen saturation reading throughout the day and record it for her doctors to look at. If it’s determined that your mom isn’t getting enough oxygen, her nurse can help her with supplemental oxygen.

Oxygen saturation is just one recording a nurse may be asked to complete each day. Her doctor may also recommend that she have her pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure recorded. If she’s diabetic, her blood sugar levels also need to be monitored and reported to the doctor each day.

Physical Therapy Sessions at Home

Leg pain is one of the newer symptoms of COVID. People also find that the virus drains them of energy, which impacts their interest in exercising for the weeks that follow. If your mom does have muscle and joint pain that’s keeping her from walking around or if the disease impacts her stamina, it may help to have her work with a physical therapist to regain strength and stamina.

Dietary Education

If your mom’s diet hasn’t been ideal, her doctor may recommend that she works with a dietitian at home to eat a healthier diet to ensure her body is getting the nutrients it needs to help boost her immune system.

Obesity and diabetes are risk factors for longer battles against COVID, if she’s overweight or diabetic, it can help her work with a dietitian to improve her diet and lose weight and improve her blood sugar levels.

Before she leaves the hospital, there are things you should do. Clean her home, change her sheets and disinfect her pillows, favorite seat, and surfaces within her home. An air purifier can help keep dust and irritants to a minimum.

Sources:  https://news.google.com/covid19/map?hl=en-US&mid=%2Fm%2F09c7w0&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen&pinned=%2Fm%2F09c7w0

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Home Health Care Services in Warren NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris, and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.




How to Prevent Common Bladder Problems

As a person ages, their bladder ages as well. The bladder, which is a flexible, hollow organ that stores urine, becomes less flexible making it difficult to hold as much urine. Its walls may also weaken, and your loved one’s pelvic muscles may become weaker, making urine leakage an issue. Bladder problems can make doing everyday chores more difficult and interrupt daily activities. Your parent may not want to leave the home, for fear of an “accident,” or she might find she can no longer sit through a long movie without having to excuse herself. It might even make getting tasks done at home more difficult. While you can hire a senior home care provider to come to your home to help with chores, you might also be able to help your parent avoid bladder problems such as urinary tract infections, incontinence, and leakage by making some lifestyle changes.

Bathroom Habits

Senior Home Care Hunterdon NJ - How to Prevent Common Bladder Problems

Senior Home Care Hunterdon NJ – How to Prevent Common Bladder Problems

Making a few simple changes to how your loved one uses the bathroom could help her avoid infections and incontinence. If she uses the assistance of a care provider like a senior home care professional, they can also help her follow these guidelines when using the toilet.

  • Use the bathroom often, about once every 3-4 hours.
  • Make sure to get it all out. Even if she stops urinating, she should try again to see if there is anything left.
  • Urine that stays in the bladder for too long, can make a bladder infection more likely.
  • Wipe from front to back. This decreases the risk of bacteria entering the urethra.

There are also plenty of healthy bladder choices your loved one can make throughout her day to help maintain good bladder health. Senior home care aides can help with these:

  • Wear cotton underwear and loose-fitting clothing. Loose, cotton clothing helps keep the area dry around the urethra. Tight pants or leggings can trap moisture and cause bacteria to grow.
  • Practice Kegel exercises. Kegel exercises are exercises geared at strengthening the pelvic floor. They can help the bladder hold its urine, especially when your loved one sneezes or laughs. Your family physician can instruct you on where to find these exercise instructions.
  • Drink lots of fluids, especially water. Have your senior care provider fill up a pitcher of water with each visit and encourage your parent to drink it all. A good rule of thumb is that a person should drink enough fluids to cause the need to urinate every few hours.
  • Limit caffeine and alcohol. Alcohol can make bladder problems worse, and caffeine can irritate the bladder.
  • Avoid constipation. When there is too much stool in the colon, it can put pressure on the bladder and keep it from expanding the way it should. Eating high-fiber foods, exercising regularly, and drinking plenty of water can help reduce the risk of constipation.
  • Quit smoking. Smoking increases the risk of bladder cancer and can aggravate other bladder issues.

If you’re loved one has consistent bladder problems, you should plan a visit with her physician to review the causes and possible remedies to her concerns.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Senior Home Care Services in Hunterdon NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris, and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.




How to Treat Bursitis

Bursitis is a painful condition that often occurs in older adults. It affects the small, fluid-filled sacs — called bursae — that cushion the bones, tendons, and muscles near the joints. When the bursae become inflamed, it is called bursitis. The most common locations for bursitis are in the hip, shoulder, and elbow. But people can also have bursitis by the knee, heel, and the base of the big toe. Bursitis tends to occur near joints that perform frequent repetitive motion. You might look at having an in-home care provider come to the home during flare-ups if there are tasks that your parent is unable to do.

In-Home Care Union County NJ - How to Treat Bursitis

In-Home Care Union County NJ – How to Treat Bursitis

If your parent has bursitis, she will probably complain about feeling achy or stiff in those areas. It might be inflamed and hurt more when pressed on or moved. The good news is that bursitis pain usually goes away within a few weeks with proper treatment, but recurrent flare-ups of bursitis are common, so knowing how to best help your parent when it does flare up will make it easier for her to recover quickly after a flare up.

Here are some common techniques you can help your parent do to reduce inflammation. An in-home care provider can help with housework or meal prep, along with a myriad of other tasks.

Depending upon where your parent’s bursitis is located on her body, you might consider having her take the following actions to try to eliminate flare-ups or manage them when they do occur.

  • Warm up and stretch before strenuous activities to protect the joints from injury.
  • If your parent has an activity that she enjoys but sometimes causes her pain, warming up will help her body be ready for the activity.
  • Lift properly.
  • Knowing how to lift a heavy box is important in protecting herself from a bad flare-up. Your parent should bend her knees whenever she lifts something. Failing to do so puts extra stress on the bursae to her hips. She also needs to learn when to not lift something too heavy and to ask for help. If the laundry basket is too heavy when filled with towels, an in-home care provider or family member can assist in carrying that basket upstairs.
  • Use kneeling pads. Have your parent use some type of padding to reduce the pressure on her knees if her hobby requires a lot of kneeling. For gardeners, this is a must and kneeling pads can be purchased at almost all gardening stores.
  • Wheel heavy loads. Carrying heavy loads puts stress on the bursae in the shoulders. If your parent has access, she should use a dolly or a wheeled cart instead when she has heavy loads.
  • Take frequent breaks. It can help reduce inflammation if she alternates repetitive tasks with rest or other activities.
  • Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight places more stress on the joints.
  • Exercise. Strengthening those surrounding muscles can help protect the affected joint.

Using these techniques even when there are no flare-ups will help reduce the rate of flare-ups as well as shorten their duration.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional In-Home Care Services in Union County NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris, and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.




How to Care for Your Senior With Diabetes

When your senior suffers from a condition, you will do everything you can to help them live healthier. You may worry for them and wonder what you can do, especially when a senior has diabetes. Luckily, you can take steps to care for someone with diabetes. If you are not with your senior mom or dad often and you know they need the extra help, it is time to consider hiring senior home care providers for them. They may be able to help manage their diabetes indirectly by checking their blood sugar.

The first thing you can do is learn about diabetes and how it will actually impact your loved one’s life. Always be patient with your elderly loved one, especially when this is a new diagnosis. Sometimes lifestyle changes need to happen to manage diabetes, but it can be exceptionally hard to change overnight.

Here are a few other steps you can do or things that senior home care may be able to help with.

Focus on Foot Care

Senior Home Care Somerset NJ - How to Care for Your Senior With Diabetes

Senior Home Care Somerset NJ – How to Care for Your Senior With Diabetes

Due to poor circulation and decreased feeling in the feet (known as neuropathy), diabetics are especially susceptible to foot injuries. They often cannot recover adequately once their feet are wounded. Diabetes is the primary cause of amputations in the United States, making the prevention of foot injuries vitally crucial.

Checking the feet of your loved ones before they go to bed, then washing and drying them and applying lotion if necessary is a simple way to include foot care into your daily routine. Make sure your toenails are in excellent condition at all times. Keep your nails clipped by seeing a podiatrist regularly, whether once a year or as required. To ensure the health of the feet of your loved one, it’s a smart idea to get diabetic socks and shoes.

Keep a Log Every Time They Check Blood Sugar

A daily blood sugar journal is one of the most critical components of diabetes management. Every time you check your loved one’s blood sugar, write it down in your log. The doctor will advise you how frequently to do this. Keeping track of your loved one’s blood sugar levels can make it simpler for doctors to determine how successful their diabetic treatment plan is. To keep track of the logs, you may either use a notepad or a calendar and bring them to each visit.

Work on Senior Diet

Although diabetic diets might be challenging to adhere to, a low-glycemic diet that doesn’t raise blood sugar is essential for daily diabetes management. Make sure to include a variety of lean meats, fresh veggies, complete grains, and fruit in your daily diet. Diabetic dessert cookbooks are accessible if your loved one has a sweet craving and you don’t want them to go for something with tons of sugar.

If you are doing all these and want to help your loved one, communicate that. Ask your seniors what they need from you and do that. Not all seniors need this kind of help, and more than enough will be able to take their own blood sugar and manage their own diabetes. Remember, they are not helpless just because they are older.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Senior Home Care Services in Somerset NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris, and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.




What Is GERD and Is Your Senior at Risk?

GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disorder, is a serious condition that is far worse than heartburn. It’s often mistaken for heartburn, however, and dismissed as something that isn’t that big a deal. In reality, GERD is a persistent condition that often only gets worse over time, especially if it’s ignored. Home care assistance providers can help your elderly family member to keep track of her symptoms as well as what works to help relieve those symptoms and what doesn’t.

Here’s what you, your elderly family member, and their home care assistance aides need to know about GERD and how it can affect her life.

GERD Is a Reflux Disorder

Home Care Assistance Westfield NJ - What Is GERD and Is Your Senior at Risk?

Home Care Assistance Westfield NJ – What Is GERD and Is Your Senior at Risk?

GERD occurs when stomach contents are able to get past the sphincter at the top of the stomach and flow back up the esophagus. The stomach lining is protected from stomach acid by a thick layer of mucus. The esophagus doesn’t have this same protection, making this backflow of stomach contents extremely painful and damaging over time.

Some Health Issues Bring Higher Risk of GERD

Anyone can develop GERD, but some people may be at higher risk of developing this condition. People who are diabetic, overweight, who have asthma, or who take some medications may all be at higher risk of developing GERD. If you’re concerned about your senior’s risk factors, talk with her doctor to determine exactly what she might be facing.

Symptoms of GERD

GERD can start out fairly mild, all things considered. Your senior might notice that she experiences heartburn more often, especially after a large meal. Or she might feel a lump in her throat when she swallows food or experience food getting stuck more often as she is swallowing. Worsening symptoms may be a sign to get evaluated.

Treating GERD

Treatments for GERD might start out with over-the-counter antacids or medications that reduce stomach acid production. Prescription medications are another step up in the treatment chain, especially if OTC methods aren’t effective. Remembering to take these medications as prescribed is crucial, and home care providers can offer reminders to keep your senior on schedule. Serious cases may require surgery in order to correct the damage caused by GERD.

Lifestyle Changes and Home Care Assistance Services that Help GERD

Your senior’s doctor is also likely to recommend lifestyle changes to get her GERD under better control. These changes include recommendations for losing weight, quitting smoking, and eating smaller meals more often. A bed wedge can help to elevate your senior’s bed if she experiences GERD symptoms at night. Home care assistance providers can help your elderly family member to have healthy foods available regularly that are less likely to trigger GERD symptoms.

Treating GERD quickly is a good way to help your elderly family member to avoid permanent damage that might require her to have surgery for her health issue. Keeping track of symptoms and how she is feeling really is a powerful tool for your senior and her doctor to have available to them. Enlisting the help of home care assistance providers can make sure that you’re not missing any important data even if you’re not there.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Home Care Assistance Services in Westfield NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris, and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.




Asthma and the Elderly: What Do You Need to Know?

While your elderly loved one may have had asthma for most of their life, there are still some things that you and other family caregivers may need to know about this condition. One of the things that would be good to learn about is what lifestyle changes your elderly loved one can make to ease the severity of asthma symptoms. The lifestyle changes that are noted below are ones that you and elder care providers can help them to make.

Eating Well with Elder Care Aides Assisting

Elder Care Morris County NJ - Asthma and the Elderly: What Do You Need to Know?

Elder Care Morris County NJ – Asthma and the Elderly: What Do You Need to Know?

The first lifestyle change that your elderly loved one may need to make to reduce the severity of their asthma symptoms is to eat well. This can entail many different changes such as:

  • Eating more anti-inflammatory foods
  • Drinking more water
  • Adding grapes, kale, berries, and other flavonoid-filled foods to their diet

The list of healthy foods could go on and on. However, the main goal is to eat foods that reduce inflammation and allergies in the body. The more healthy foods you and elder care providers can get your elderly loved one to eat and the more unhealthy foods they avoid, the better their asthma symptoms should be.

Reducing Allergens and Triggers

Everyone who struggles with asthma has triggers. There are certain allergens and other things that cause their symptoms to get worse each year. For example, if there are scented candles or perfumes in your elderly loved one’s home, these could be playing a role in their asthma attacks. So, the first thing for you or an elder care provider to do is to figure out if there are any aromas in your elderly loved one’s home that are causing their asthma to get worse. In addition, if anyone who comes into your elderly loved one’s home smokes, this could be triggering their asthma, too. If this is the case, whoever it is that smokes, should change their clothes before coming into your elderly loved one’s home.

Practicing Deep Breathing

Your elderly loved one can reduce their asthma symptoms by practicing deep breathing. Part of the issue with asthma attacks is that your elderly loved one gets overwhelmed. This causes their breathing to get worse and heavier, further exacerbating their asthma. If this is happening for your elderly loved one, you and elder care providers can work with them on various deep breathing skills. There are even many deep breathing exercise videos you can find online for your elderly loved one to do, as well.

These are some of the lifestyle changes that your elderly loved one can make if they are experiencing asthma attacks or severe asthma symptoms. It is important to know that if these changes don’t help and your elderly loved one still has severe or worsening asthma, make sure they see a doctor or go to the hospital, if absolutely necessary. It is better to have them get checked out if you aren’t sure whether things are too bad.

Sources:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4818235/

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Elder Care Services in Morris County NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris, and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.




Reasons Your Senior’s Wound Isn’t Healing

Whether the wound in question is one from surgery or an injury, your senior needs to be able to heal quickly and completely. If that wound is taking longer to heal than it really should, there could be a variety of different factors affecting that process. Hiring home health care providers to oversee the recovery would be beneficial.

Here’s what might be going on and what home health care aides can watch out for.

Home Health Care Essex County NJ – Reasons Your Senior’s Wound Isn’t Healing

Home Health Care Essex County NJ – Reasons Your Senior’s Wound Isn’t Healing

Poor Circulation to the Wound

Blood flow is crucial to healing wounds. If your elderly family member naturally has poor circulation or battles circulation issues because of health conditions, she may have a more difficult time with wound healing. Circulation is so important because it helps to ensure that blood flow in the area is bringing nutrients to the wound and carrying waste and fluids away as the swelling recedes.

Too Much Swelling

Speaking of swelling, some is always to be expected with a wound. But there is such a thing as too much swelling. This happens when fluid, primarily blood, collects in the area. Too much swelling reduces the amount of oxygen your senior’s body can get to the wound. Compression therapy, ice, and massage can all be beneficial in reducing swelling. If the area around the wound suddenly starts to swell, it’s possible that she’s dealing with an infection.

Lack of Nutrition

Your elderly family member’s body needs all the nutrients it can get when it’s healing an injury. Protein in particular is crucial so that her body can rebuild tissues. Having home health care providers watching out for your senior and making sure that she’s eating healthy meals regularly is something that can really speed up her healing process.

Other Health Issues

If your senior’s health is poor in general, her body is already working hard. Dealing with an injury just strains those resources even further. Some health issues, like diabetes, affect wound healing even more. Keeping blood sugar and other variables under better control is incredibly helpful in healing wounds. All of that is easier with the help of home health care providers.

Reinjuring the Wound Site

Continuing to injure the wound site or even the area around the wound is going to slow down healing a bit, too. That’s why it can be so helpful to have someone there with your senior to make sure that she’s able to safely walk and shift position as needed. Reducing reinjury is crucial in making sure that your senior is able to heal quickly.

Infection in the Wound

Infections in a wound happen when bacteria get into the wound itself and multiply. The body’s immune system is forced to choose between healing the wound and fighting off the infection. Typically, the battle against the infection is a higher priority, causing the wound to heal much more slowly than it should. Signs of infection include redness around the wound itself, discharge coming from the wound, and swelling that won’t respond to treatment.

Home health care services can help your senior with all of these issues and more. Their experience can make wound management safer and easier for everyone involved, including your elderly family member.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Home Health Care Services in Essex County NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris, and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.




Understanding OCD and Hoarding Behavior in The Elderly

Typically when you think of OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorders and hoarding, you may not connect it to your senior or anxiety. The truth is these are both related to anxiety, and your senior parent can suffer from these conditions. If you start noticing these behaviors, you may be struggling to understand how you can help change the outcome for seniors, and you may be worried about your parents. Having in-home care providers around can help with your senior’s needs and oversee the situation when you can not be there.

In-Home Care Somerset County NJ - Understanding OCD and Hoarding Behavior in The Elderly

In-Home Care Somerset County NJ – Understanding OCD and Hoarding Behavior in The Elderly

In-home care providers can help with many things, but they may be unable to help with hoarding and OCD behaviors. These in-home care providers must be informed of your senior’s health conditions. You may also want to help come across as overbearing or placing too much stress on a senior. Often on top of in-home care services, a senior will need multiple professionals to help them reduce or control their anxiety.

Understanding general anxiety is the first step to understanding what OCD is and what triggers hoarding. These can be hard to understand if you do not suffer from one of these things, and it may be hard for you to be kind and patient when dealing with your parent.

Here is what you and in-home care providers need to know about anxiety, OCD, and hoarding in seniors.

What Is Anxiety and Why Do Seniors Struggle With It?

Anxiety disorders are classified into numerous kinds, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, phobias, and social anxiety disorder. The appearance and intensity of one’s symptoms are influenced by various things. Because late adulthood is generally marked by significant changes in health, independence, cognition, and social support, diagnosing mental illnesses in older persons may be challenging. This is especially true for seniors as well. Depression, cognitive decline/dementia, cardiovascular illness, respiratory disorders, and decreased mobility/falls are just a few diseases that often co-occur with late-life anxiety.

What Is OCD?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is defined by persistent, distressing thoughts (obsessions) and repeated acts (compulsions) to alleviate the anxiety caused by these ideas. This is generally not what most people think about when it comes to OCD. Most people think of being a neat freak or clean, but that is not true. OCD is not always keeping things clean, and it can form in many different ways that impact a senior’s ability to live or do activities they once enjoyed.

OCD was once linked to a form of anxiety, and although they have some similarities, they are very different and need to be treated as such. OCD can get confusing when seniors struggle with OCD and anxiety. OCD may come out as rituals, and although it may seem fine for you, it is not fine for the person struggling with the thoughts.

What Is Hoarding?

Another behavioral pattern that is strongly related to anxiety and OCD is hoarding disorder, which is defined by excessive acquisition of objects and trouble parting with them. Hoarding often results in crowded, unsafe, and unhygienic living circumstances that may be full, with only tiny routes meandering among mounds of debris. This can be exceptionally dangerous for a senior to live in. Losing an item can feel like a loss of identity, which can lead to extreme anxiety.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional In-Home Care Services in Somerset County NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris, and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.




Home Care: Tips for Helping Your Mom Prepare for Surgery

A 2020 study released in JAMA estimates that more than 2.4 million surgeries were performed in the U.S. Common surgeries included hip, knee, and femur repairs or replacements. Your mom’s going in for surgery. How can you and her home care providers help her prepare for the return home?

Talk to the Surgeon

Home Care Union County NJ - Home Care: Tips for Helping Your Mom Prepare for Surgery

Home Care Union County NJ – Home Care: Tips for Helping Your Mom Prepare for Surgery

Start by asking the surgeon what steps are taken during the surgery. If she is under general anesthesia, her recovery may differ from someone whose surgery involves local anesthesia.

Once your mom is sedated using IV medications, a breathing tube may be inserted with general anesthesia. For a few days after the surgery, her throat may feel sore and scratchy. She’ll want plenty of cold beverages to help soothe it.

Get the House Arranged for Her Return

Whether she’s undergoing outpatient surgery or will be staying over for a night or two, your mom’s home needs to be prepared for her return. She’ll want a seat that’s supportive and easy to get in and out of.

A recliner that takes force to close before standing up isn’t a good option. Instead, get an armchair and have pillows nearby to support her back. A hassock is helpful if she wants to put her feet up. If she undergoes abdominal surgery, have a pillow she can hold against her belly. It’s necessary if she needs to cough, sneeze, or keep any pets from getting too close to the incisions.

How Home Care Aides Help

Ask if she’s supposed to avoid activity or if some level of activity is allowed. Her surgeon may recommend that she goes for slow walks several times a day to stretch her muscles and work out her joints. She may need to stay seated, meaning someone needs to get her medications, cook meals, do the laundry, and top up beverages.

Whether engaging in some activities or resting, your mom needs home care aides to clean her home, cook meals, and make sure she’s eating and drinking. Her aides can support her as she gets in and out of the shower. Plus, they’re available to help her go for slow walks around the yard or neighborhood.

If your mom is prescribed pain medications, she’s not going to be allowed to drive. Even if she only uses acetaminophen and ibuprofen to relieve pain, the pain may prevent her from driving. She needs transportation to and from any follow-up appointments. Home care aides can escort her to and from appointments, too.

Sources: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2768237

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Home Care Services in Union County NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.




What a Diabetic Wound is and How to Avoid One

Diabetic wounds are wounds that are slow to heal and that are worsened by the fact that your senior has diabetes. Often these wounds appear on the feet, but they can be an issue anywhere on your senior’s body. Having home care assistance services can help your senior with the care of such a condition.

Symptoms of Diabetic Wounds

Home Care Assistance Essex County NJ - What a Diabetic Wound is and How to Avoid One

Home Care Assistance Essex County NJ – What a Diabetic Wound is and How to Avoid One

Your elderly family member may not have any symptoms at first of a diabetic wound. Pain may not be something that she’s able to feel in that area, so the pain of a wound may not be obvious to her. You might notice that she’s walking differently because of the wound or that her foot is swollen. If the skin around that area is warm to the touch or seems to be red or looks irritated, you might want to take a closer look at what’s happening.

Causes of Diabetic Wounds

Diabetic wounds occur because of a variety of different factors that tend to occur for diabetic people. Many people with diabetes have bad circulation and reduced feeling, particularly in extremities. That often means that an injury can happen and your senior may not even know about it. Because wounds heal more slowly for people with diabetes, that wound is more likely to become infected and even become far worse than the original injury or wound.

Treating Diabetic Wounds

Once you’re aware that your senior even has a wound, it’s crucial to get that wound treated as quickly as possible. This helps to prevent further complications, like infection. Your senior’s doctor needs to look at the wound and home care assistance services may be a helpful solution as well. Home health care providers have the experience to assist your senior with wound care and ensure that she’s able to heal.

Helping Your Senior to Prevent Diabetic Wounds with Home Care Assistance

Preventing diabetic wounds involves a more comprehensive approach. Home care assistance providers can also help your elderly family member to keep her blood sugar levels under control. They can help with keeping your senior aware of any injuries that she does sustain and ensures that those small injuries don’t become larger wounds. Ensuring that your senior is as healthy as possible in general is going to go a long way toward preventing diabetic wounds.

Treating your senior’s diabetes as comprehensively as possible is going to help her to reduce the likelihood of developing diabetic wounds. Work closely with your senior’s doctor to see if there are any specific steps that she needs to be taking.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Home Care Assistance Services in Essex County NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.