The physical changes related to aging can be subtle but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a big impact on your senior’s life and on her emotional health. That’s true even for tiny changes that you and she don’t notice right away. Keeping a journal can help to pinpoint some of these changes and makes it easier to bring them up with her doctor.
Changing Senses
Your senior is going to experience the world around her differently as she ages, primarily because her senses are going to keep changing. Her vision and her hearing might be the most obvious senses that are changing, but there are others, too. Your senior’s sense of smell and taste can change, as well. All of her senses give her information and feedback about the world around her and when she’s not getting the information back that she expects, that can create issues for your senior.
Worsening Health
Existing health issues don’t stay the same. Many of them are chronic issues that are always going to persistently worsen over time. It’s important to keep up with health issues, especially ones that seem to be under control right now. Having a baseline for those situations and an understanding for how those conditions are changing is vital for keeping tabs on how well your senior is really doing.
Difficulty Walking
One of the biggest signs you need to watch for is how well your senior is walking. Her gait can tell you so much about how well she’s doing overall. Mobility is a huge factor in keeping your senior active and engaged in the world around her. Assistive tools, like canes, can be hugely helpful in keeping your senior moving, even if her balance is only a little bit off.
Trouble Completing Tasks
All of these issues and others can contribute to making daily tasks more difficult for your senior. She may find that health issues or mobility issues make bathing difficult, for instance. Or she might have trouble driving when she didn’t have problems doing so before. It might be time to bring in elderly careproviders to help her with those tasks.
Stay alert for the physical changes your senior is experiencing as much as you can. If you can both stay on top of what’s happening, she’ll be less frustrated and less likely to injure herself because she’s trying to do too much on her own.
If you or a loved one are looking for experienced Elderly Care in Ashburn, VA, contact SenCura at 703-880-2547. Providing in-home senior care in Northern Virginia.