A Safety Checklist for Your Senior

If your senior is still thriving while living independently inside their own home, you’ll want to make sure that this space is a safe place for them to reside. Even the most capable and mobile elderly people can encounter a problem due to seemingly innocuous safety hazards inside their own home. For proper senior health, elder care professionals recommend focusing on the following aspects:

• Put handrails into place on all steps, both inside of the home and on the outside
• Make sure carpets are laying down flat, as corners that stick up can become a tripping hazard. Consider taping rugs down with double-sided tape or carpet mesh
• Get rid of all unnecessary rugs
• Make sure that dresser drawers and cabinets are outfitted with handles that are easy to grasp
• Replace any burnt out light bulbs, making sure that the new bulbs don’t create a glare within the home
• Install night lights in the bathroom or kitchen, as well as in hallways that lead to these rooms
• Add reflective tape on non-carpeted stairs
• Place benches throughout the home to promote easy resting, while also making it effortless to quickly set down purchases
• Make sure closets are well lit
• Make sure the exterior of the home is well lit
• Double check that doors and windows have locks, and that these locks are in good working condition

It’s also important to make sure that your senior’s quality of life is high. To do this, ensure that the food in their refrigerator and pantry is healthy and has not gone bad. If your loved one struggles with meal preparation or clean up, consider having a home care professional come in several times per week to help with this. 

Purchase a pill sorter and divide the elderly individual’s medication out by day so that it is easy for them to know which pills to take. Write out instructions if necessary, or ask the home care professional to assist with this too. 

Your senior should also know how they would proceed in the event of a home emergency such as a fire. Create an emergency escape plan, and decide upon a meeting spot where you can find one another once they have exited the home. 

Learning About Financial Fraud Risks for Seniors

Unfortunately, many people prey on the elderly as they unleash their financial fraud schemes. This is often because older individuals are typically home during the day and may have more time on their hands. Additionally, they may be glad to talk with someone on the phone because it provides company. In order to keep your elderly loved one safe, you’ll want to know about some of the most common ways that seniors get scammed. They include:

Through healthcare or insurance fraud

There are dozens of permutations of healthcare fraud that can happen to your senior. In many instances, a person will call and claim to be from an insurance company. They will state that they need to update your senior’s records, and will ask them for their social security information. They may even try to get credit card details.

Fake prescription drugs

Senior care professionals note that scammers will lure their victims in with promises of discounted prescription drugs. They will then steal the person’s financial information, and may even sell them pills that can cause serious bodily harm. 

Sweepstakes scams

Many seniors fall victim to fake sweepstakes scams, where a person calls them and tells them that they have won a significant prize or amount of money, regardless of whether they actually entered a contest or not. They then say that they need to collect some financial information in order to award the prize. 

Investment schemes

Scammers know that many seniors are concerned about retirement and their savings; therefore, they prey on this weakness. They offer phony investment schemes that claim to offer a big payout. In reality, they just collect the individual’s money and private financial data. 

Fraudulent anti-aging products

Seniors are often concerned about the signs of aging, and may quickly fall victim to scammers who promise “miracle” products that take two decades off of their face. Though it may sound impossible, to a person who is truly concerned about the signs of aging, this is just the opportunity they need to fork over serious amounts of cash or their credit card information.

To help your senior stay safe from these schemes, elder care professionals advise talking to them about the signs of a scam. Warn them that they should never give out financial information or other personal details over the phone, and remind them that if it seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is. 

The Best Way to Celebrate This Valentine’s Day With Your Senior

If your senior is in an assisted living facility or is mostly homebound, you may worry that they’re missing out on the love and joy that comes with Valentine’s Day. However, regardless of how mobile your elderly loved one is, you can help to bring them a special holiday at a relatively low price point this year. The following activities will get them into the Valentine’s Day spirit:

Encourage young family members to create homemade valentines

Your senior will delight over getting a few handmade valentines to celebrate the special day. Whether they’re store-bought or colored with markers at home, a reminder that they are loved will be important to your elderly loved one during this time.

Have them make valentines for others

Part of the fun in Valentine’s Day comes in spreading the love to others. Help your senior make some valentines for the people closest to them. Bring over plenty of construction paper, stickers, glitter, and other materials, and get to work creating notes of affection for family members, friends, and even in-home care professionals. They don’t have to be perfect, just full of love and appreciation.

Bake Valentine’s Day cookies

A sweet treat is the perfect way to commemorate the holiday. Professionals who care for the elderly explain that this project is easy to do regardless of where your elderly loved one is living. Bake sugar cookies and decorate them with pink and red icing. You can even buy plain cookies from the store and just get to work on personalizing them. 

Decorate

According to elder care services professionals, decorating your senior’s living space for the occasion can also get them into the spirit. Hang some streamers, paper hearts, and other festive items, or consider purchasing pink and red candles. These small touches will make a major difference. 

Remember that Valentine’s Day isn’t just about love for a partner. Even if your loved one’s significant other has since passed away, they can enjoy celebrating love for friends and family members. Help them to enjoy this day and remind them how loved they truly are. 

Learning and Identifying the Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease

As your senior begins to age, you may notice some cognitive decline. While this may seem worrisome to you, in most cases this slight mental decline is a normal part of the aging process. For instance, your elderly loved one may blank on your friend’s daughter’s name. They may have trouble recalling the name of a restaurant you went to last week. However, dementia care professionals recommend becoming aware of signs of Alzheimer’s disease and other more substantial issues.

Signs of Alzheimer’s disease

Though Alzheimer’s shows itself differently in different individuals, there are a few key signs that you should be on the lookout for. These include:

• Struggles to remember how to use everyday household products, such as the toaster
• Misplaces items that are used on a daily basis and then finds them in a strange location
• Forgets entire conversations, not just details of the discussion
• Struggles to follow a recipe
• Sleeps far more than normal
• Withdraws from favorite activities, instead preferring to sit at home in front of the television
• Fails to remember how they got to a familiar place and doesn’t remember how to get home
• Severe mood swings
• Dresses inappropriately for the weather
• Has problems keeping up with personal hygiene. May constantly look as if they need a shower or need to brush their teeth

It is important to understand that other medical conditions may actually mimic the signs of Alzheimer’s disease. For this reason, should your elderly loved one begin to display some of these symptoms, it is time to consult with a medical professional to get a better idea of the real cause. Some of the diseases that may show symptoms similar to Alzheimer’s include:

• Head injuries
• Brain tumors
• Stroke
• Epilepsy
• Parkinson’s disease
• Hypoglycemia
• Malnutrition
• Vitamin deficiencies
• Kidney failure
• Liver failure
• Meningitis
• Drug interactions or side effects from other medications
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Depression
• Chronic stress
• Chronic sleep deprivation

Your senior’s medical professional can take a closer look at their physical and mental performance, thus offering proper analysis about the root cause of their symptoms.