Senior Care: What You Need To Know About Preventing Heat-Related Illnesses For Your Senior

Senior Care: Aging family members are far more likely to develop heat-related illnesses, but the good news is that they’re preventable if you know what to do.

Senior Care: What Are Heat-related Illnesses?

Heat-related illnesses are illnesses created by exposure to heat. Your senior is more likely to experience a heat-related illness for a lot of reasons. Because her body doesn’t respond to temperatures in the same way that it did in the past, your senior may not recognize when she’s getting overheated. She may also take medications that make her more vulnerable to heat variations. Senior Care can help you with this.

Recognizing Heat-related Illnesses in Seniors

It’s really important that you and your senior are able to start recognizing the symptoms of heat-related illnesses, especially the initial symptoms so that you can take action if necessary. At first, your senior might be sweating more than usual or just feel uncomfortable. As her body is more affected by the heat, she’s more likely to feel tired or weak, have muscle cramps or headaches, and even feel nauseated. These initial symptoms are warning signs. If she starts to experience shallow breathing or faints, it’s important to seek medical attention.

Encourage Her to Sip Fluids

Besides wearing clothing that helps her to stay cool, your senior also needs to do a few other things, like stay as hydrated as possible. This can be tough for seniors at any time of the year, but it’s more urgent during hot weather. Sipping smaller amounts throughout the day can help your senior to stay consistently hydrated.

Check-in with Her Frequently

Whether you’re there with your senior or not, it’s important to find some ways to check in with her frequently. Having senior home care providers stopping in regularly can be a huge help. Elderly care providers are able to remind her to drink plenty of water and can be alert for any signs that your senior isn’t doing well in the heat.

What Should You Do if You Suspect She’s Not Okay?

If you do suspect that your elderly family member is experiencing a heat-related illness, it’s important to get her to a cool place as soon as possible and to get her to drink fluids. If she can lie down with some cool compresses, that’s a good idea, too. Having senior home care providers there with her can ensure that your senior gets help as soon after developing symptoms as possible.

Heat-related illnesses can quickly get out of hand so it’s much more important to focus on preventing issues as much as possible. A senior care services provider should be consulted to keep an eye on your senior’s health.

If you or an aging loved-one is considering Senior Care in Greenville, DE, please contact the caring staff at Macklyn Home Care today. (302) 691-3217