Tips for Caring for the Elderly in a Health Crisis

Posted by ochomefamily on March 25th, 2020

One major challenge COVID-19 poses to caretakers is how to care for their elderly loved ones without infecting them. The elderly are particularly vulnerable to the virus in terms of its severity, but with a little planning, you can ensure you do not infect them accidentally. If you are providing senior home care in Orange County, CA, here are some tips to help you be more effective and keep them safe.

Use Soap Over Hand Sanitizer

At this point, everyone should be sanitizing their hands and living space several times a day. Soap is the best way to go about this. Hand sanitizer that contains more than 60% alcohol can destroy the lipids that protect COVID-19 viruses, but it has to saturate COVID-19 viruses for some time to work and provides no scrubbing friction that lets users of soap remove the virus from their hands.

Bar or Liquid?

There are advantages of using both over the other and drawbacks.

• Bar soap makes people scrub more, which helps loosen and remove more viruses. Liquid soap lathers easier, which is an advantage for older people, especially if they suffer from arthritis.
• Bar soap tends to dry out the hands. Liquid soap tends to get overused and is more expensive.
• Both kill the COVID-19 virus.

Adopt a Weekly Meal Plan

Mapping out the weekly meal plan for the elderly you care for can reduce your workload to identify and reduce waste, easily formulate a food list for the grocery and help with budgeting.

Have a Backup Plan

This is particularly important if you have a caregiver who looks after the elderly in your life. Make sure that you have a backup, even it if is you, so that if anything happens to the caregiver, the void is quickly filled. Not only will this make the process of providing care easier, but it will also ease the minds of those you love.

Use Technology to Stay in Touch

Whether the elderly in your life live in their own home or a managed care facility, it is important that their exposure to the outside world be controlled. At the same time, maintaining contact with them is vital for everyone involved.

That means your family and possibly you will have to show them how to use alternative means of communication. Traditional phone communication can work, but with video conferencing, etc., you can communicate while both of you can see each other.

COVIC-19 is altering everyone’s world. If you are providing senior home care in Orange County, CA, it is important you have the tools you need to succeed; these tips will make your life easier and your loved ones safer.