Helping Manage Diabetes at Home: Tips from Visiting Angels Little Rock
A professional caregiver, a consistent routine, and good habits can help you enable your loved one to control their diabetes.
It may be incredibly challenging for elders to manage diabetes on top of coping with other health conditions. As we age, we may experience changes in mobility, vision, memory, and the need to handle many medications for various conditions, making it more challenging to stick to a treatment program.
Taking care of an elderly loved one's diabetes requires close observation, regular doctor's appointments, and healthy eating habits. Maintaining diabetes control doesn't have to be difficult if you follow a routine and have support at home.
Important Information Regarding Diabetes Management
Individuals with long-term diabetes have trouble metabolizing glucose, also called blood sugar, the primary fuel for cells. Type 2 diabetes is more common among the elderly. When insulin production decreases, or resistance develops, glucose accumulates in the blood and causes type 2 diabetes.
Some typical signs and symptoms include:
- Needing to go to the bathroom often
- Extremely parched and dehydrated
- Not feeling well
- Pain from a migraine
- Injuries that take a long time to heal
- Unexplained reduction in body fat
A medical practitioner may evaluate your loved one's blood glucose levels using an A1C, a straightforward blood test. Regularly checking your A1C levels can help you maintain healthy blood sugar levels and avoid complications. This will also help you determine whether any adjustments to your treatment plan are necessary.
If hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is not addressed quickly, it may lead to more severe symptoms such as dizziness, fainting, confusion, and heavy sweating. Nevertheless, hyperglycemia may lead to a range of symptoms if left untreated, such as excessive thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, and, eventually, problems with organs and nerves.
A Beginner's Guide to Diabetes Care
There is more to diabetic care for older people than monitoring blood sugar levels. Dietary changes, medication control, and regular checkups should be the cornerstones of your all-encompassing plan.
These suggestions might be helpful while caring for a loved one who has diabetes:
Adjust Your Dietary Routine
To control blood sugar levels, it is crucial to eat properly. These changes might trigger anxious or depressive emotions for many individuals who have just gotten a diagnosis.
An in-home caregiver who has received extensive training is available to help. Visiting Angels caregivers may be asked to do things like:
- Acquiring food items
- Preparing the night's meal
- Suggestions for someone you care about to keep a food diary
- Reporting a change in behavior to a supervisor
Take Medications As Recommended and Do It On Time
The older adult in your life may need to take many drugs daily. If you want your prescription to be absorbed better and avoid gastrointestinal adverse effects, you should take it with meals.
Automatic medication reminders, such as phone applications, may be helpful for those who always have their meds on hand, are familiar with their dosages, and can tell the difference between various-sized and shaped tablets. A dispensing machine is helpful to ensure that older adults with memory loss or cognitive decline do not take too much or too little medicine.
Caregivers can help elders remember to take their medicine as directed. The pharmacist can also detect mood or behavior changes and obtain medication refills.
Make Sure to Monitor Medication Dosage
Glucose monitoring is essential for the majority of older people with type 2 diabetes many times daily. It's a simple test that only takes a little puncture of the finger, some test strips, and a portable, rechargeable tester. Modern digital glucose monitors include a date in the data they collect, allowing you to see trends and get alerts when the levels go south.
Not everyone finds it simple to remember how frequently to check their glucose levels. Help your loved one remember important things throughout the day with the help of a skilled in-home caregiver.
Encourage Movement and Communication
Living with diabetes may be lonely; sometimes, it takes a friend or relative from outside the family to reawaken dormant enthusiasm and rekindle lost interests. Experts in caregiving also excel at providing words of encouragement.
Your loved one might be paired with a caregiver skilled in lifting moods and encouraging good behaviors via Visiting Angels. Offerings may encompass:
- Assistance with basic household tasks like dusting and washing
- Mode of transportation to a fitness class for seniors
- Engaging in health and fitness pursuits in the comfort of one's own home
- Arranging for activities and social gatherings
Examine Foot Health Daily
Severe and all too frequent, diabetes may lead to reduced blood circulation in the feet. An increased risk of falling is associated with neuropathy, the gradual numbness or discomfort in the feet caused by uncontrolled diabetes.
Neuropathy may hide the signs of infection and slow wound healing due to reduced blood flow. Even a little cut on the foot or lower leg may swiftly develop into an abscess, which in turn can cause gangrene and even amputation if left untreated. Your elderly loved one's feet will likely need daily visual inspection for signs of inflammation, redness, blisters, cold or hot areas, and other problems.
If your loved one's leg or foot health changes, you should talk to their doctor. If a supervisor at Visiting Angels notices any changes in your loved one's appearance, they will notify you.
Always See Your Doctor When Necessary
Your loved one may be accompanied securely to medical appointments for neuropathy or prescription changes by a personal caregiver. Our services include:
- Safely transporting a family member or friend to and from a car
- The medical center's parking lot
- Contributing to the collection of follow-up care instructions in printed or digital form
In addition to reminding your loved one to follow care recommendations, professional caregivers may help them schedule regular health, dental, and eye tests.
Your Elderly Love One Can Get Diabetes Support From Visiting Angels of Little Rock
No one knows your elderly loved one like you do. Home health aides are available at the touch of a phone when dealing with the day-to-day challenges of chronic conditions like diabetes. Visiting Angels is an excellent option if you need even a few hours of respite care every week. You and the person you care for may benefit from sharing care with someone you trust.
Contact Visiting Angels of Little Rock today for the devoted care your loved one needs to manage diabetes and live comfortably at home while you enjoy peace of mind.
