Precautions for daily care of the elderly do not include

Precautions for daily care of the elderly do not include complete restrictions on the elderly's independent activities in order to reduce the risk of accidents.

Not long ago, when I was helping with home assessments at a community nursing home, I met Uncle Wang, who lives in Building 3. He slipped and fractured his bones at the vegetable market last winter. After three months of nursing, he was finally able to get off the ground. His children simply locked his bicycle. He usually wouldn't let him go downstairs to throw away garbage, and would only let him move slowly in the living room for two steps at most. As a result, only half a year later, the old man who could carry rice upstairs by himself now feels weak in his legs after standing for ten minutes. He used to play chess with his old friend for a walk every day, but now he sits on the sofa and watches TV every day. His memory is so bad that he can't even remember all the rules of chess that he loved before.

In fact, in the field of elderly care, there have always been different views on the trade-off between "safety" and "autonomy." The older generation's nursing ideas are more towards "zero risk". They believe that as long as the elderly are not allowed to move, there will be no possibility of falling or bumping. Many family members also hold the mentality of "one less thing is worse than one more thing" and would rather let the elderly stay at home than take the risk of an accident. However, in recent years, more and more clinical data and practical experience have proven that this “one size fits all” restriction does more harm than good. According to survey data from the Chinese Geriatrics Society in 2023, elderly people who have been restricted from daily independent activities for a long time have muscle strength decay rate three times that of elderly people with normal activities, and cognitive function decline rate 170% higher. Even due to long-term lack of social interaction, the rate of depression is 2.4 times higher than that of ordinary elderly people. On the contrary, those elderly people who maintain normal activities while taking precautions have a 32% lower risk of falling than those who are bedridden for a long time - to put it bluntly, the more immobile they are, the less powerful their muscles are, and they are more likely to fall if they really have to take two steps.

I previously chatted with Sister Li, who has been working as an elderly care provider for 12 years. She always said that many family members have misunderstood the key points of care, which is not to "block" but to "drain". If the elderly are afraid of falling while walking, they should lay out non-slip mats at home, install handrails in the bathroom, buy suitable non-slip shoes, and keep them by their side when going out. ； If you are afraid that the old man will be tired when shopping for groceries, go with him and let him choose the groceries he likes without having to carry heavy objects. ； Even if you are an elderly person with cognitive impairment, you can ask him to help clean the table, pick vegetables, and do other small things within his ability, which is more effective than any supplement.

Oh, by the way, many people think that "complying with all the elderly's requirements" is also one of the nursing care precautions, but it is actually not within the scope. For example, an elderly person with diabetes insists on eating half a watermelon, and an elderly person with high blood pressure insists on drinking secretly. In this case, he must not obey unconditionally, and there is no need to choke with the elderly. Just find a compromise. For example, give him two small bites of watermelon to satisfy his craving, or switch to low-sugar melon to satisfy his appetite. It is better than either not eating it at all and causing a tantrum, or being hospitalized if he eats too much.

To be honest, after working in elderly care for so long, my biggest feeling is that the elderly are independent people first, and then they are the ones who need care. Those practices that deprive the elderly of their right to make independent choices and activities under the guise of "for your own good" are never the correct care options. Instead, they are the minefields where it is easiest for good intentions to do bad things.