caring for the elderly

who are sick and unable to take care of themselves

Of course, family members will have to put both physically and mentally on caring for the elderly.

lest you will not be comfortable in various aspects

When back at home , this week's

"Health Friday"

column has some advice for relatives or caregivers.

Here are some suggestions for caring for the elderly who are unable to take care of themselves

:

1. Positive Thinking

For the care of the sick, it is important to reduce the stress on the caregivers.

Relatives and patients themselves, for example, in reality, no one can avoid getting sick.

Taking care of each other is good.

to show love

great gratitude

Illness was not anyone's fault.

There is still hope tomorrow

Hope to be better today

Create a sense of humor about the problems you are facing.

2. Schedule daily patient activities.

3. There should be a record book to record about the patient or write down questions to ask the doctor.

4. Provide the patient's living environment to be safe, clean and well-ventilated.

5. Expectation of Opportunity

Patient prospects are important information that relatives or caregivers should ask the treating physician.

should ask to understand

and expect the level that the doctor recommends

It is possible to seek information from doctors in the same field for a second or third opinion.

6. View problems as challenges

and learning new things

7. You should know how to relax your own emotions.

Should not be in a state of stress, irritability, anger, because caring for a brain disease patient is a job that requires a lot of patience.

Relatives or caregivers must find their own free time each day.

Adequate rest will improve the quality of patient care.

Preparing questions when visiting the doctor

is the right thing to do

Because doctors can't know if there's another good thing going on at home.

related to the patient's symptoms

or if relatives/carers still do not understand or have questions while caring for the patient at home

You can ask as follows:

1. What is the patient? Diagnosis What is the cause?

severity and nature of the disease

2. Treatment guidelines

What are the ways?

if surgery is needed

How will the patient be?

What are the risks?

3. What situations should relatives/carers be prepared to deal with in relation to the patient's condition?

4. How to prevent the patient's symptoms from recurring or becoming severe?

5. What are the medications that must be taken?

How long do you need to use the drug?

What are the symptoms if allergic to drugs?

And what is the first thing to do when allergic to drugs?

6. What are the symptoms?

that must immediately take the patient to the hospital

7. If the patient needs to be hospitalized

How long will it take?

When will I be able to go home?

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Resources

Guidelines for caring for the elderly who are sick and unable to help themselves

For the general public by

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sorayut Chamnanwet,

Department of Surgery

Faculty of Medicine

Ramathibodi Hospital

Mahidol University