How In-Home Elderly Care from Visiting Angels of Boulder County Helps Seniors During Flu Season

Visiting Angels offers in-home elderly care services that can help seniors in Longmont, Boulder, Louisville and surrounding areas in Boulder County, CO stay safe during flu season

Typically, flu season begins in October and lasts until February or March. Millions of Americans catch the flu this time of year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with hundreds of thousands needing to be hospitalized. Most flu-related hospitalizations occur among vulnerable populations, notably those 65 and older.

Protecting seniors against the flu is especially important this season, as COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to put pressure on the hospital system. Seniors and their families should be aware of the risks and actions that must be done in order to prevent being ill.

If you are concerned about the health and well-being of your senior loved one during flu season, Visiting Angels of Boulder County can help. Our home care providers can help your loved one develop behaviors that will keep them safe and healthy this flu season. Best of all, our in-home elderly care services are tailored to the care needs and schedule of the care recipient, allowing us to be available when your loved one requires assistance and support the most.

Symptoms of the Flu Among Seniors

The following are common flu symptoms for seniors:

• Fever
• Chills
• Sore throat
• Cough
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Headaches
• Muscle or body aches
• Fatigue
• Vomiting and diarrhea

It’s important to know that symptoms can range from mild to severe and can quickly increase in severity. Additionally, seniors who start showing severe symptoms will need medical attention immediately.

These flu symptoms are severe and require an appointment with your loved one’s healthcare provider as soon as possible:

• Difficulty breathing
• Sudden dizziness
• Severe vomiting
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Confusion
• Inability to wake up
• Inability to urinate
• Symptoms that improve and then return with fever or worse cough
• Worsening of chronic medical conditions

How Visiting Angels of Boulder County Can Help Your Loved One During Flu Season

Here are some of the ways in-home elderly care from Visiting Angels of Boulder County can help your loved one stay safe during flu season:

Assist with errands and provide companionship

During flu season, seniors may benefit from staying at home as much as possible in order to prevent contact with those who have the flu. The flu can be spread for a day before symptoms develop and can last up to seven days. Those with compromised immune systems have a much longer infectious time.

Our caregivers can assist your loved one avoid getting sick by going out and conducting whatever errands they need to run. Furthermore, we can satisfy your loved one's companionship needs when they're spending the day at home with our companion care services.

Because we follow CDC guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic (wearing facemasks and other PPE when working with clients and using hand sanitizer on a regular basis), you can trust Visiting Angels of Boulder County to keep your loved one safe.

Prepare healthy meals

Because seniors are more susceptible to catching the flu, it's critical that they consume a well-balanced diet to help their immune system battle the virus. However, healthy eating can be difficult for certain seniors, particularly those with mobility and cognitive issues. Our in-home elderly care providers, fortunately, can prepare meals and snacks that your loved one will enjoy, as well as provide the vitamins and minerals they require to support their immune system and stay healthy.

Assist with personal hygiene

To avoid contracting or spreading the flu, elderly adults should practice good personal hygiene. At Visiting Angels of Boulder County, our caregivers can help your loved one take care of themselves while treating them with the respect and dignity they deserve. Assistance with personal hygiene is provided as part of our in-home elderly care services. We can assist your loved one with regularly washing their hands, encouraging them to cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze and assisting them in bathing or showering when they come home from running errands or visiting friends and family.

Keep their home clean

Our in-home care providers can help maintain your loved one's house tidy in addition to helping take care of their personal hygiene. According to the Mayo Clinic, the flu virus may survive for many hours or even days on stainless steel, plastic and other hard surfaces. Fortunately, our in-home elderly care services include light housekeeping assistance. Cleaning countertops and high-touch areas like doorknobs and light switches may contribute to a clean in-home environment. We can also change bedsheets, do laundry and wash dishes.

Transportation to get the flu shot

The flu vaccine is both safe and effective at reducing the chance of getting the flu, and is readily available at pharmacies, medical offices, walk-in clinics and hospitals. Seniors should receive the flu vaccination as soon as flu season begins to ensure that they are protected for as long as possible. Flu vaccines may be even more crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic since your loved one may be infected with both COVID-19 and the flu. Furthermore, getting the flu may make your loved one more susceptible to COVID-19 infection.

Because our in-home elderly care services include transportation, our caregivers can assist your loved one in getting to the nearest clinic or doctor's office to get a flu shot. We can also give them reminders after they've scheduled an appointment, and we can monitor them for any negative side effects.

The flu may be dangerous for seniors, but with appropriate planning and attentive in-home elderly care services from Visiting Angels of Boulder County, your loved one can avoid getting sick during flu season.

If you’d like more information on how in-home elderly care from Visiting Angels of Boulder County helps seniors stay safe during flu season, call our Longmont, CO office at 303-848-2331 to schedule a free in-home consultation.