Making Sure You Can Handle Your Parents’ Transferring Needs
Elderly Care Loudoun County VA
Every aging adult is different and the care efforts that you will need to give to your senior loved ones throughout your elderly care journey will depend on their specific needs and challenges. Ensuring that you are physically and emotionally prepared to handle these specific needs is a critical element of ensuring that they get the support, care, and assistance that they require while all of you stay safe, healthy, and comfortable in your care relationship.
For many seniors with physical and mobility issues, transferring assistance becomes a pressing need in their daily routine. This means helping your loved ones move from one position to another, such as into or out of bed, into or out of the car, into or out of the bathtub, into or out of chairs, or from standing onto the toilet and back to standing. These can seem like minor movements in your daily routine, but if you are not properly prepared for this activity, you could put yourself and your elderly loved ones at risk of serious injury.
If transferring assistance is something that your aging parents need, use these tips to be sure you are ready to handle these need safely and confidently, or to determine if you could benefit from help from an elderly health care services provider:
• Understand their needs first. Not all transferring needs are the same. Some seniors just need a bit of guidance and “spotting” in order to move from one position to another, while others need a tremendous amount of physical support and guidance to help them move. Make sure that you understand how much help your parents need so that you are able to honestly and accurately determine if you are capable of offering this help yourself, or if you need to seek out more help.
• Get in better shape. Even if you feel confident that you can help your parents with their transferring needs, put focus on getting yourself in the best physical shape you can. Offering transferring assistance requires physical strength, particularly in the lower back, abdominals, thighs, and upper arms, but you must also have flexibility and range of motion to respond to movements and react to sudden shifts or falls, as well as balance to keep both of you on your feet. Work with your parents to condition your muscles and joints, get more flexible, and secure your balance so that you can all work together to make transferring safer and easier.
• Be ready to communicate. Safely and effectively transferring is not just about your physical capabilities when it comes to helping your parents. You must also be able to communicate with them effectively. This is important in timing your movements, asking for their cooperation, or letting them know when something is wrong so that they are prepared to react. Just as you need to determine if you are comfortable with this level of physical contact with your elderly parents, you must also determine if you are comfortable with communicating on this upfront, direct level. If this is not how your relationship with your loved ones has gone in past years, consider practicing with others, such as your partner, to get yourself more comfortable in your efforts.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring a professional elder care provider in Loudoun County VA, please contact the caring staff at LivinRite Home Care. Call Us Today at (703) 369-6677. Serving Northern Virginia, The Valley, and Surrounding Communities
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