How to Help Your Elderly Loved One to Live Normally with Incontinence
Senior Care in Bay Shore NY
When a loved one starts to deal with incontinence regularly, she might become self-conscious and even try to limit her own activities. The reality is that your loved one can live a perfectly normal
life, even if she has incontinence issues.
Work with Her Doctor to Eliminate Health Triggers
Some medications or health conditions, such as a urinary tract infection, can make dealing with incontinence much worse for your elderly loved one. Work closely with your loved one’s doctor to determine what, if anything, could be making her incontinence issues worse. Once you isolate those issues, you can work toward eliminating them as much as you possibly can.
Help Her to Drink Enough Fluids
Some elderly loved ones become very nervous about drinking any fluids at all when they’re dealing with incontinence. They may worry that drinking too much might make the incontinence worse. The problem is that not drinking enough fluids can create a lot of other types of problems, such as dehydration. Help your loved one to drink plenty of fluids throughout the day, but make sure there’s a “cut off” time before bed.
Don’t Make a Big Deal out of Incontinence Products
Incontinence products can help your loved one’s self-confidence and can help her to manage her incontinence, but they can also simultaneously make her feel a little more insecure. Don’t make a big deal about incontinence products and hopefully your loved one won’t, either. Tyr to regard these products as simply another tool that can help your loved one.
Be Prepared for Accidents
Accidents can and do happen, of course, and the less of a problem they are, the less of a big deal they’ll be. Try to keep extra sets of clean clothes on hand, just in case. Also keep extras of incontinence products available, just in case your loved one needs more than the usual amount. If you’re prepared, then it won’t be insurmountable should your loved one have an accident and need to change.
Talk to your loved one’s senior care providers for other tips that can help you and your loved one to manage her incontinence on a daily basis.
If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Bay Shore, 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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