When Is Home Health Care Not Enough?

The goal of skilled home health care in the Chesterfield home of your elderly loved one is to give them the little extra help they need and a great friend to stop by once a week. There comes a point when that care may just not be enough anymore. It is important for the family members and the skilled home health care professional from the Macomb agency to pay attention to the warning signs that may arise. These signs will present themselves in many different ways.

• Accidents within the home and the life of the loved one may occur. Things like falls, serious health scares, and car accidents may begin to rear their ugly heads.
• Chronic health conditions may begin to progress and get worse. Illnesses like Alzheimer’s, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can progress to a point where regular, daily attention becomes necessary.
• Many people will display changes in their personalities that are not usual for that person. Things like depression, anger, and violence can become common but are irregular for that person’s normal behavior.
• They recover from common illnesses much slower and many times, these illnesses become far more serious. For example, regular winter colds may progress into pneumonia or bronchitis.
• Family members and friends may notice physical deterioration. They may show severe weight loss, frailty, and body odors, which may be signs that they are unable to conduct regular daily functions and hygiene routines.
• People may also show signs of mental deterioration along with the physical. They may have difficulty following simple directions, confusion, and may need frequent prompts and reminders to do normal and everyday things.
• When daily life begins to get really difficult, they may reduce their socialization activities and stop doing the hobbies they once loved. They will stop attending church or going to play cards and have fun with their friends.
• They will also fail to maintain their homes in the way that they used to. The house will become messy, cluttered, and overall unclean and unsanitary. They will also fail to check and open their mail or grab their newspapers from the front porch.

Many times, and more often than not, this decision to go from in-home care to a residential facility is difficult for everyone. One of the first stages will be denial from both sides, both you and your loved one. The important thing is to maintain and realistic outlook and to invite the objective opinions of others. By asking friends and their doctor, you may be able to get a real answer from people who want to tell you the truth about the situation. The one thing to keep in mind is that their health is the first and foremost important thing.