Home Care in Plainview NY
Personal hygiene is one of the basic elements of taking care of yourself and some of the first things that people learn how to do on their own. For seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, however, personal hygiene can become a struggle that can make a negative impact on their mental, emotional, and even physical health.
A home care provider can make this care task easier and more approachable for your seniors, ensuring that they get the hygiene that they need while also encouraging as much independence as possible. With a personalized approach that addresses the cognitive and emotional aspects of personal hygiene along with the physical benefits of regular personal care, this in home health care services provider can be a valuable asset in keeping your parents comfortable, healthy, and happy. As an added benefit, many seniors, even those with dementia, are uncomfortable with the prospect of their adult child helping them with potentially sensitive personal hygiene tasks, but are more comfortable with entrusting a professional care provider with such tasks. This means that by letting the home care provider be the one that helps your parents with these tasks you are giving them a better chance of getting the tasks completed successfully and thoroughly with minimal emotional turmoil.
Some of the ways that a home care provider can help seniors with dementia keep up with their personal hygiene include:
• Establishing a routine. Routine and predictability are crucial when it comes to care for seniors with dementia. Knowing what is coming gives your parents a sense of control and security, while also stimulating their memory skills. Coming up with a specific routine for self-care enables the seniors to follow along with a familiar pattern so they are more likely to comply quickly and smoothly. This is especially impactful for seniors who cannot remember when they last bathed, brushed their teeth, or washed their hair. Having a routine and being reminded of the specific time or day means that they simply go along with it even if they think that they already did it because it is part of the routine.
• Mirroring. Many seniors with dementia do not remember the significance of personal hygiene activities or how to perform those activities properly. A care provider can help with this sense of confusion and disorientation, while also encouraging independence, by mirroring care tasks and allowing the senior to follow them. This simply means that the care provider goes through the motions of personal hygiene tasks such as brushing teeth or combing hair and the seniors do the same things, completing the tasks even if they are unsure why it is happening.
• Distraction. Another common result of dementia when it comes to personal hygiene is fear. Because the seniors no longer understand the purpose of the personal hygiene task they may be afraid of it, such as the sound of the water or the look of a razor. The care provider can create distractions that allows your parents to focus on something else while the care task is underway so that they can have reduced anxiety and there is less risk of combative or disruptive behavior.
If you or an aging loved one are in need of home care services in Plainview, NY or the surrounding areas, contact the caring professionals at Star Multi Care Services today at (631)956-8835. We are the Right Choice for Home Health Care Services!
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