What Are the Best Ways for You to Help Your Senior Quit Smoking?
Smoking brings with it a whole host of potentially horrible health consequences and yet it’s still difficult for most people to quit. If your elderly family member is ready to talk about quitting, these tips can help.
Home Care Services in Plainview NY: Senior Smoking Tips
Include Her Doctor
When your elderly family member is ready to quit, she doesn’t have to do it alone. She’s got support from you, of course, but her doctor can help, too. There may be medications that she can take that can help or adjustments to her current medications that make quitting easier. Her doctor can also help to track health improvements as a direct result of quitting.
Cold Turkey May Not Be Effective
Cold turkey is one method of smoking cessation. For some people, just never picking up another cigarette or putting nicotine into their system at all is enough. This method can be extremely difficult, however. This is especially true if your aging adult has smoked for decades of her life. Smoking is both a physical and a psychological habit, making cold turkey much more difficult.
Manage Stress While Quitting
Now that your elderly family member is quitting smoking, she’s likely to experience some stress related to this healthy decision. In the past, she might have dealt with stress by smoking and that’s ironically now the cause of more stress. Be sure to let other family members, home care providers, and other people in your senior’s life know that she’s quitting so that they’re prepared. Eating right, exercising, and getting plenty of sleep can all help your senior.
Consider Smoking Alternatives
Many people who are quitting smoking turn to nicotine replacement products, such as patches or gums, in order to quit. Others turn to smoking alternatives, such as vaping. Different methods can be effective for different people, so your senior may want to try a variety of these alternatives to determine if they’re for her.
Progress Is Progress
If your aging adult is able to slow down her smoking, that might be good enough for now. Quitting is really difficult and many smokers never do manage to quit. Your aging family member can always try again to quit and as long as she maintains her new lowered amount of smoking, that might be good news for now.
Remember that this can be a big change for your aging adult and as such, it can take time for her to adjust to her new situation.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering home care services in Plainview, NY, please contact the caring staff at Family First Home Companions.
Serving all of Long Island. Call today: (631) 319-3961
Jennifer has specialized training in Alzheimer’s disease through the Long Island Alzheimer’s Association and the Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation.She also volunteered her time with the Alzheimer's Disease Assistance Center of Long Island for 3 years by providing cognitive stimulation to an Alzheimer’s patient group.
Jennifer educates the community about elder care and speaks to caregiver support groups, senior centers, and at professional organizations.Topics include home safety, effective strategies for family caregiving, elder care planning, and awareness about elder abuse.
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