By Kiarra Solomon
@by_kiarra
During the winter months, senior citizens tend to suffer from various mental and physical ailments. Slip and falls due to weather increase, but they can also face issues like depression and loneliness due to the holidays. Able Mind and Body Home Care has a few easy things that you can do to help your elderly family members avoid any problems during the winter. So many things happen to our family members during the winter months that can easily be avoided by making just a few minor changes”, said Chidelu Enigwe, President of Able Mind & Body Home Care.
1. Avoid Slips on Ice.
Icy, snowy roads and sidewalks make it easy to slip and fall. Unfortunately, falls are a common occurrence for senior citizens, especially during the winter months. While younger people can often recover more quickly from these kinds of injuries, older adults face complications. These resulting complications are a leading cause of death from injury in men and women over the age of 65.
Make sure your elderly family members have winter shoes with good traction and non-skid soles. Also, you can help them stay inside until the roads are clear by running any errands they need, and making sure they have supplies in the house. If you can, clear the snow and ice from their walkways, driveways and cars. Replacing a worn cane tip to making walking easier. Also, make sure they remove shoes as soon as you return indoors because often snow and ice attach to the soles and, once melted, can lead to slippery conditions inside the house.
2. Keep an eye on their medications and nutrition. A balanced diet becomes even more crucial during the winter when we are less active, at risk of catching colds and lacking vitamin D. Be sure your loved one is getting balanced meals that incorporate vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables. Also, keep an eye on their medications. Make sure they’re taking them, they aren’t expired and that they are getting their refills. Keep extra food on hand in the freezer as well as bottled or canned fruit juices and non-fat milk powder. Meals on Wheels delivers affordable hot, nutritious foods daily, if you aren’t able to get to the home regularly to drop off groceries and prepare meals.
3. Check on them. Checking on your elderly family members can help avoid a lot of issues around depression and loneliness, especially around the holidays. Just by stopping by for an hour or two, you can help a loved one not to feel neglected or isolated. Also, encourage them to participate in activities such as exercise classes, social activities, classes, and more. This will help alleviate some of the stress of the holiday season as well as the winter blues.
Again, these are simple and easy things that you can do to help keep your loved ones stay safe during the winter months. And if you aren’t able to provide your family members with this type of care, a provider like Able Mind Body Home Care can help.
Able Mind & Body Home Care provides a service that assists clients with various activities such as companionship, meal planning and preparation, light housekeeping, laundry, medication reminders, errands, shopping, as well as escort to and from appointments and events. All of the care providers at Able Mind and Body Home Care are carefully screened, trained, bonded, insured, and supervised. They offer flexible services that can be arranged for as little as a few hours a week or as many as 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays. Able Mind & Body Home Care, LLC is an OLTL (Office of Long Term Living) Provider, offering Personal Assistance Services. In addition, they are also a Medical Assistance Waiver provider for individuals with Intellectual Disabilities such as Adult Autism.
The company services clients in the Philadelphia, Bucks County, Montgomery County, Chester County, and Delaware County areas.
For more information about their services, you can visit www.ambhomecare.com or call 267-577-ABLE. You can follow them on Twitter or Instagram at @ambhomecare.
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