Daily care tips for the elderly

Don’t just apply universal standards to find an adaptation, don’t pursue excessive refinement and seek sustainability, don’t wait for problems to occur before fixing them, and focus on the front-end. All the remaining practical skills are based on these three points. I have been working as a nursing specialist in a community elderly care service station for almost 6 years. I have dealt with more than 200 elderly families. I have seen too many examples of problems caused by following the online list. These experiences are all gained in real life.

Take dietary care, which is the easiest to get into trouble, for example. Nowadays, it is said all over the Internet that "elderly people should be light, eat less salt and oil, and eat more whole grains." This statement is correct in itself, but it really varies greatly among individuals. Last year, Uncle Li in our community had a history of gout. He was a filial son. He searched for health posts every day and cooked multi-grain rice for his father, mixed with quinoa and oats. As a result, Uncle Li's toes were so swollen that he couldn't even put on slippers after eating for half a month, and his uric acid level soared to over 600. Later, we adjusted the diet for him, replacing the cereals with a small amount of beans and polished rice, and eating steamed deep-sea fish twice a week. However, his uric acid stabilized at around 400, and his overall complexion became much better. Nowadays, there are two schools of debate on the diet of the elderly. One school says that sugar and fat must be strictly controlled, and even porridge is not allowed. The other school says that after a lifetime of hard work, the elderly can eat whatever they want. In fact, there is a complete compromise: for the elderly with stable blood sugar, cook some pumpkin and millet porridge with a boiled egg and a small dish of cold vegetables. The rate of blood sugar rise is much slower than drinking porridge alone. If you are not allowed to touch porridge that has been consumed for decades in order to control sugar, the elderly will be upset every day, and endocrine disorders will be much more harmful than drinking a bowl of porridge occasionally.

Once the food issue is adjusted, many people will ignore the inconspicuous matter of skin care. A family member of a bedridden old man came over and said that even though he wiped his whole body twice a day, he still complained of itching and his lower back was red, fearing that it might develop into a bedsore. I went over to take a look and found that the old man's skin was so dry that it was peeling. His family members used strong detergent soap every time they wiped their bodies. It was strange that it didn't itch. Regarding the frequency of bathing, there is a big difference between the north and the south. Many families in the south are used to bathing every day and feel that they are clean only if they wash frequently. In the north, most families wash once every two or three days. In fact, the sebaceous glands of the elderly have atrophied, and the amount of oil secretion in the skin is only one-third of that of young people. Excessive cleaning will only destroy the skin barrier, but it will easily dry out and ulcerate, and even induce bedsores. The correct way is to only wipe the perineum, armpits, and neck, which are the key areas that sweat a lot, every day. Washing the whole body once or twice a week is enough. After washing, be sure to apply body lotion, especially the waist, legs, and back, which are easy to dry. The bedridden old man I just mentioned used this method for half a month, and his skin redness and itchiness was completely gone.

Oh, by the way, another point where people are particularly prone to go to extremes is exercise rehabilitation. I met an aunt before. Just after she was discharged from the hospital after a cerebral infarction, her son helped her practice walking every day, saying, "The more you practice, the faster your recovery will be." As a result, synovitis developed in the knee after a week of practice, and she lay down unable to move for half a month. There are currently two views in the rehabilitation circle. One group advocates high-intensity training to stimulate nerve recovery, while the other advocates passive activities rather than forced carrying. In fact, the key point depends on the old man's muscle strength level: if the muscle strength is less than level 3, that is, the legs cannot be lifted off the bed by themselves when lying down. Walking will only wear out the joints. It is better to massage the calf muscles for 15 minutes twice a day and rotate the ankles and wrists to prevent muscle atrophy. Even if you are an old man with a strong body, you don’t need to force him to walk 10,000 steps a day. I have seen many people twist their waists and hurt their knees just to make up for the steps.

To be honest, after doing nursing care for so long, my deepest feeling is that the effect of all physical care is not as great as the emotional comfort of the elderly. Aunt Zhang's wife used to suffer from high blood pressure and always refused to take medicine on time. Aunt Zhang always scolded him as "an old fool who is desperate for his life." The two of them quarreled every day, and their blood pressure went up and down. Later, I came up with an idea for her. Every time I delivered the medicine, I peeled off his favorite orange and said, "Last week you told me that you were going to play chess with Uncle Wang. Last time he didn't take the medicine on time and he fainted and now he can't sit in a wheelchair. Take the medicine well and I will accompany you to the park to find him on the weekend." For such a simple matter, the old man never refused to take medicine again. There are two opinions now. One group says that we should set rules for the elderly, and care projects must be completed on time. The other group says that we should completely obey the elderly. In fact, the best way is "soft request": you don't have to get up at six o'clock to have breakfast. If he wants to sleep for half an hour longer, wait until he wakes up and heat the meal. ； You don’t have to follow the recipe. You can satisfy your occasional craving for fried dough sticks or sugary water, as long as you don’t eat it every day. Laws are dead, people are alive, and if your emotions are smooth, it will work better than any other nursing method.

In fact, these tips are nothing profound to be honest. There is no standard that is universally applicable, and there is no need to pursue perfection. The best method is to observe the condition of the elderly and make adjustments to suit your elderly.