How Can You Protect Yourself When Caring for a Senior with Hepatitis?

If you are a family caregiver for one of the millions of people throughout the United States who are living with a hepatitis infection, you know how important the care that they receive is for how well they are able to manage their condition, and the quality of their life moving forward. It is critical, however, that you recognize the importance of keeping your own health and safety in mind while giving your senior the care that they need. Protecting yourself properly minimizes the risk that you will contract this infection from your parent, protecting your health and well-being, and also preserving the quality of your caregiving for your loved one.

Use these tips to help you protect yourself when caring for a senior who is living with hepatitis:

• Understand the infection. With five identified variations of the hepatitis infection, each with its own way of impacting the body, it is important that you understand which one that your aging loved one is dealing with. This enables you to work with their doctor to ensure that you are giving them the care that they need and that you are able to avoid potentially risky activities that might spread the virus.
• Avoid sharing items. If you have a very close relationship with someone it might seem normal to share certain personal items with your loved ones. This, however, can quickly spread serious infections such as hepatitis. When caring for your elderly loved one, avoid sharing any personal items that might carry the infection, including razors, toothbrushes, nail clippers, earrings, or anything else that might transfer infected blood.
• Cover up. If you are cleaning up anything that might involve bodily fluids or helping your loved one with tasks that might involve these fluids, make sure that you wear gloves and cover any cuts, scrapes, or punctures that you have in your skin.
• Clean carefully. Keep in mind that the hepatitis virus can last much longer on hard, dry surfaces than many other viruses. In fact, the hepatitis B virus can survive up to 10 days, while the hepatitis C virus can survive up to 4. Something as simple as your parent getting a small cut or sneezing when they have irritation in their nose that might spread blood can leave common surfaces infected for days. Eradicate this by washing their home carefully with bleach on a regular basis.

If your aging parent has recently been diagnosed with hepatitis, now may be the ideal time for you to consider starting elderly care for them. Managing the issues and challenges associated with serious health complications such as hepatitis is challenging, and having the highly personalized support of an elderly home care services provider with your parent can give both them and you as their family caregiver reassurance that they will have the care, support, encouragement, and assistance they need to maintain their quality of life as they age in place. This can include helping them to understand the issues that they are facing, giving them reminders to help them remain compliant with their medications, treatments, and the guidelines set forth for them by their doctor, and helping them to make good lifestyle choices that will support overall health and well-being, such as eating a healthy diet and getting enough exercise. Being able to rely on the services of an elderly care provider also means that you can feel confident that your aging loved one will get the care that they need if you are unable to fulfill their care tasks. Whether it is because you are particularly vulnerable to contracting the condition from them, you live at a distance from them and are unable to give the level of care that they need and deserve, or you have other limitations, the care from an elderly care provider can mean that your parent still has access to their support necessary to manage their daily needs.

For more information about how the caregivers at La Jolla Nurses Homecare can help your aging parents remain in their own homes, call 858-454-9339. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable elderly care in La Costa, CA, and the surrounding communities.