Elderly Care Tools La Jolla CA
Many seniors experience difficulty swallowing, particularly those in moderate to advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. This can make it difficult for them to enjoy favorite foods such as soups or to maintain their daily fluid intake. If your aging parents experience difficulty swallowing, choking, wheezing, or sputtering when trying to drink fluids or eat liquid foods, adjusting your elderly care plan to address these challenges helps keep your parents safer and ensures they get the nutrition and hydration they need.
Difficulty swallowing is not just uncomfortable and frightening, it can actually cause your senior to draw fluid into their lungs, leading to infections, or aspirate, putting them at serious risk. Thickeners are a useful elderly care tool that enable you to thicken the fluids your aging loved ones consume so they are easier to swallow. These thickeners allow the fluids to move down their throat slower so they are easier to control and are far less likely to get into the lungs.
Some things you should keep in mind when incorporating fluid thickeners include:
- Thicken everything. Seniors who have difficulty swallowing should not try to consume any type of thin liquid. You should thicken all of the fluids you give them, including water, soup, broth, coffee, milk, and juices. This ensures everything is comfortable and easy to swallow.
- Avoid changing thicknesses. Avoid giving your elderly parents anything that becomes thinner over time. Seniors tend to eat more slowly so foods and beverages that melt, such as ice cream, become more difficult to consume over time.
- Pay attention to fluid intake. Getting enough fluids is critical to health, but elderly adults who have swallowing challenges often do not consume enough fluids on a daily basis. Thickened fluids may cause your seniors to feel full more quickly, but it is important that they still get at least 6 to 8 cups of fluid each day. Focus on high-nutrition fluids such as soups and milk to hydrate their bodies while also getting them important nutrients.
- Know what thickness is best. Consult your aging parents’ physician about the severity of their swallowing challenges and what level of thickness is right for their fluids. Experts refer to three different levels of thickness: nectar-thick, honey-thick, and pudding-thick. Choosing the right thickness is critical to ensuring your parents’ health and safety. If in doubt or you add more thickener than you anticipated, remember that it is better to serve foods and beverages that are too thick rather than too thin.
- Try food-based thickeners. Commercial thickening powders are available, but there are several food-based ways you can thicken your parents’ fluids. These food-based thickeners are often less expensive than commercial thickeners, add nutrition, and offer extra flavor. Try instant potato flakes, rice cereal, baby foods such as pureed fruits, vegetables, or meats, gelatin powder, or instant pudding mix.
It may take experimentation to find the thickeners that work best for your elderly parents. Get in touch with the elder care agency in your area for recommendations and to find out about hiring an elder home care provider with experience helping seniors with swallowing problems so you can get help managing these challenges.
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 senior care in La Costa, CA, and the surrounding communities."]” data-sheets-userformat=”[null,null,767,[null,0],[null,2,10667209],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],2,2,null,0]”>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 senior care in La Jolla, CA, and the surrounding communities.
Today we are the oldest and most experienced private duty agency in San Diego County.She saw a need for quality private duty home health care and she worked diligently to build an agency that filled that need.I am proud to say, her vision is carried on today with our dedicated staff.
I believe our tenure in the community speaks well for us.We have had the opportunity to be of service to countless interesting individuals, including local and worldwide celebrities.It is the people we care for that makes this a fascinating industry.Whether high profile or a more ordinary citizen, we are proud that thousands have entrusted us with their care or the care of their loved ones.Our Mission is to provide high quality, very secure and the most compassionate home health care.We believe that patients heal faster and are happiest when they can stay in their homes.”
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