Daily care education content for the elderly

There is no unified implementation standard for daily care for the elderly that applies to all groups. The core principle is Taking the elderly's individual comfort and quality of life as the first priority, and dynamically adjusting around the three core dimensions of basic care, risk prevention and control, and psychological support. All care measures need to be flexibly adjusted based on the elderly's age, chronic disease conditions, and personal wishes. They must not copy the general template on the Internet.

Last week, I met Aunt Zhang’s son at a community nursing station. I saved up half a month’s salary to buy an Internet-famous anti-decubitus air mattress for her mother who is bedridden with lumbar protrusion. However, after using it for three days, the old man’s back hurt so much that he couldn’t sleep all night. Finally, he took off the old quilt and found it more comfortable. To be honest, the first pitfall of many family members' care is "according to standards." Take diet as an example. There are actually two clear and different directions in the industry now: the traditional chronic disease management school advocates strict benchmarking indicators, and the elderly with diabetes strictly control carbohydrates, and the elderly with high blood pressure are absolutely low-salt, and even porridge is not allowed to be touched ； However, in recent years, the "frail elderly care school" of geriatric medicine is more inclined to the elderly who are over 85 years old and have a life expectancy of less than 10 years. There is no need to limit the indicators too much. As long as the body is not obviously unwell, it is perfectly fine to eat a bean paste bun or a bowl of salty porridge occasionally. After all, after a lifetime of taboos, you will not even be able to eat your favorite food in the end, and the quality of life is impossible to talk about. The most exaggerated family member I have ever encountered was to test the blood sugar of a 78-year-old diabetic elderly man four times a day. As a result, the old man started to tremble when he saw the blood glucose meter, and his blood sugar got higher and higher. Later, we suggested that the blood sugar be measured twice a week. The old man relaxed and the indicators became much more stable.

When it comes to basic care, many people’s first reaction is to eat and drink. In fact, there are more misunderstandings about skin care. If you sweat a lot in summer, it's okay to wipe your body every day. However, in winter, the elderly's sebaceous glands atrophy and the skin becomes dry and itchy. There is really no need to wash it every day. 2-3 times a week is enough. You must apply moisturizer after each wipe, otherwise it will become more itchy the more you wash it. If the elderly are bedridden for a long time, there is no need to buy ridiculously expensive care products. They can help them turn over every two hours (which is also known as position change in clinical terms), and use a soft towel to clean the folds of the thighs and lower back. It is more effective than anything else.

Many family members think that care is about taking care of food and drink. In fact, the most dangerous thing is risk prevention and control that everyone ignores. A while ago, Uncle Li's children in the community were afraid that he would fall, so they laid a layer of anti-slip mats in the living room and bathroom. As a result, the edges and corners were rolled up after being used for a long time, which caused the old man to trip and break his bones. There are now two completely different ideas about fall prevention and control: One school advocates reducing the frequency of the elderly going out and doing activities as much as possible, and reducing the probability of falls from the root cause. ； However, in the field of geriatric rehabilitation, it is recommended that as long as there are no absolute contraindications, the elderly are encouraged to walk for 10 minutes holding on to the handrails and practice standing on one foot every day. As their muscle strength and balance improve, the probability of falling is much lower than if they lie still every day. Oh, by the way, there is also the matter of medication. Many families will buy separate pill boxes and pack the week's medicine in advance. This method is fine in itself, but it must be checked once a week. A while ago, I met an old man who mixed the antihypertensive medicine he missed last week into this week's medicine box. He took an extra pill and was so dizzy that he couldn't stand, which almost caused a serious accident.

I have been doing home care for almost 8 years. The most regrettable thing is that many family members regard the elderly as "patients who need to be corrected", but miss the core emotional needs. Grandma Wang, who had taken care of her before, sent a bunch of health care products to her children in other places every month. As a result, the old man moved a small horse and sat at the door of the unit to wait every day. Finally, she said that she just wanted her son to come back and play two games of checkers with her. There is also a lot of controversy over whether to teach the elderly to use smartphones. Many people think that the elderly cannot learn how to use smartphones and are easily defrauded, so they simply do not allow them to use them. ； But many of the elderly people we have interacted with have significantly improved their spirits after learning to watch short videos and make video calls with their old colleagues. Even if they occasionally step into the trap and buy a fake silk scarf with free shipping for 9.9 yuan or a health tea worth more than ten yuan, as long as there is no big loss, happiness is much more important than that little money.

After all, elderly care is never a task for anyone to see, and there is no 100% correct standard. No matter how expensive the anti-bedsore mat you lay out for the elderly, it is not as important as making him lie comfortably. ； No matter how many imported health care products you buy for the elderly, they are not as important as making him happy every day. If you are really not sure what to do, asking the elderly for their thoughts is more effective than checking ten popular science articles.