Research has shown that the COVID-19 disease caused by a coronavirus makes the elderly vulnerable to life-threatening illnesses. Aged adults with medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, or even cancer are more prone to suffer from the severity of the coronavirus infection. Taking care of everyone is very important during these times, but older adults need more care. Keeping the elderly safe and caring for your loved ones might make you worried. However, even if older adults get infected with the coronavirus, you should always know how to keep them safe and help them recover soon.
Good ways of caregiving for the elderly during the Covid-19 as proposed by David JC Cutler
There are many ways to take care and stay protected. These are a few ways of caregiving for the elderly during this pandemic
• Maintain physical distancing, but it should not make the elderly socially isolated
To lower the risk of elderly family members getting infected with Covid 19, you should limit visitors. Still, it would benefit if you become careful not to make them socially isolated. It, however, can be difficult for those elderly ones who like to spend time with family members and friends. So, according to David JC Cutler, you should try to keep the elderly ones at a physical distance. Still, they should not get socially isolated, as this can create a negative impression on their mental health and immunity.
• Explore technology for helping them stay connected
To make the adults feel purposeful, involved, and less isolated during the Covid-19 pandemic, you can teach them how to video chat using their smartphones or laptops. For those adults who have hearing challenges, please provide them with devices that have captions.
• You should keep the elders involved
You can give the elderly adults who are homebound an activity to keep them engaged. It will help them kill time, enjoy themselves, and stay busy.
• Ty to lower the risk of getting infected with the coronavirus infection
If you take care of an older adult, try to postpone their doctor visits and annual check-ups if they are non-essential. It is vital to know that older adults who deal with chronic illness are more prone to contracting the virus. In addition, it would help if you tried to avoid getting exposed to larger crowds and keep them away from non-essential travel.
• Decide on a backup plan
If the elderly depend only on you, always stay prepared. For example, you can pick out a contact number your family can rely on if you fall ill. You can also stock medication of a few months’ supply and other necessities.
Thus, if you are involved in taking care of the elderly during Covid-19, it is a responsibility that you should carry out with a lot of care. In addition, you should always reach out for emergency medical services if you feel that anyone in the family or you are developing symptoms of COVID-19.