What are the methods of daily care for the elderly?

There is no uniform standardized list of daily care for the elderly. The core principle is to make individual adjustments based on the elderly's physical condition and living habits, which is much more reliable than a one-size-fits-all guide. I had previously contacted Aunt Zhang, who lives in Building 3. She is 72 years old and suffers from diabetes and knee arthritis. Her children used to follow the general guideline on the Internet, which required her to walk 8,000 steps a day and eat whole grains every meal. As a result, within half a month, her knees hurt and she could not go downstairs. I suffered from hypoglycemia twice, and later adjusted to walking slowly for 20 minutes after meals every day. Whole grains only accounted for one-third of the staple food. I added half a handful of small tomatoes as a snack between meals. After three months, my glycosylated hemoglobin stabilized within the normal range, and my knee pain symptoms were mostly relieved.

When many people talk about nursing, they think of taking medicine, controlling diet, and exercising according to the process. In fact, many small details that are easily overlooked are the key to the condition of the elderly. Take the elderly with high blood pressure as an example. When getting up in winter, you must remember the "three three minutes": lie down for 3 minutes when you wake up, sit up and lean on the head of the bed for 3 minutes, and touch the floor with your feet. Stand for 3 minutes and then walk slowly. Don’t underestimate these few minutes. Last winter, two elderly people in our community got dizzy and fell and fractured bones. Among them, Uncle Li’s blood pressure was usually well controlled. But that day, he was rushing out to buy freshly baked fried dough sticks.

Nowadays, there is a fierce debate on the Internet about whether the elderly should move or rest. On the one hand, they say that "life lies in exercise" and they must force the elderly to go out and take enough steps every day. On the other hand, they say that the elderly should lie down at home and move less because their bones are fragile. In fact, both of these opinions are too extreme. It depends on the specific situation. Physical condition: If you have severe osteoporosis and have just undergone joint replacement, you really cannot do square dancing or climb stairs. You can usually sit on the sofa and do ankle pump exercises, or hold a mineral water bottle filled with half a bottle of rice to exercise your upper limb muscles. The exercise effect can still be achieved.； If you don’t have any underlying illnesses and your legs and feet are strong, you can go out for walks more often and practice Tai Chi with your old friends, which can prevent cognitive deterioration and be good for your mood.

As for food, many people think that the diet of the elderly should be as light as possible, and there should be no oily starch in every meal of whole grains. In fact, this is not the case. During the free clinic last month, I met several elderly people in their 80s with low albumin and concave edema in their legs. When asked, they were worried about high blood lipids, so they drank white porridge with pickles and even eggs every day. They didn't dare to eat it, so I told them to eat at least one boiled egg every day, drink half a cup of warm milk in the afternoon, and eat two meals of lean pork or steamed fish a week. It's not necessary to completely cut out fat meat. It's okay to have one or two bites when you want to eat. During the follow-up visit last month, the albumin levels of several elderly people increased, and the leg swelling disappeared.

There is also psychological care that is easily overlooked by everyone. It is really not only good for the elderly to "enjoy happiness" without doing anything, but also to be good to them. There used to be a grandfather in our community who was a middle school mathematics teacher before retiring. His children were filial and he was not allowed to do any work. He was just allowed to watch TV at home every day. As a result, he always said that he had "become a useless person" and was bored in the house every day. He didn't like to go out. Later, his children listened to the community's advice and brought his grandson's math homework over every week for him to help check. They also arranged "exclusive tasks" for him: watering several pots of orchids at home every day, and going to the gate of the community to pick up express delivery in the evening. Within two months, Grandpa Wang was happy every day, and he even took the initiative to sign up for the community's calligraphy class for the elderly.

By the way, there is still a controversial point now, which is whether to buy smart care equipment for the elderly, such as anti-fall bracelets, smart pill boxes, and surveillance cameras. Some people think it is an IQ tax and the elderly will not use it at all. Others think it can save their children a lot of worry. In fact, it also depends on the acceptance of the elderly: For example, the elderly who usually browse short videos and use WeChat should be equipped with a bracelet with positioning and one-click calling for help. If they fall or get lost when they go out, they can call their children with just one click. It is really practical.； If an elderly person finds it troublesome to even press the buttons on his mobile phone, and you put a bracelet on him and he takes it off every day and throws it on the coffee table, it would be better to install physical handrails next to the toilet or at the head of the bed, and spread a non-slip mat on the kitchen floor.

I have been doing community nursing for the elderly for almost 5 years, and my biggest feeling is that there is really no one-size-fits-all nursing method. Sit down and chat with the elderly more often, and ask them if their legs hurt today and whether their meals are delicious. It is much more useful than checking the options on the online list. After all, nursing cares for "people", not cold standards.