La Jolla Senior Care News

Mom’s Looking Thin; Could She be Starving? Elder Care Considerations near La Costa, CA

“A Daughter’s Concern for her Mother near La Costa, CA”

Jen had been concerned about her aging mother for some time. She lived a couple of hours away and wasn’t able to visit all that often. However, when she did visit she noticed that her mother was having more trouble with certain things around her house. She had discussed the option of hiring elder care a long time ago and her mother seemed adamantly against it.Elder Care La Costa CA

During the most recent visit that she had with her mother, Jen noticed how thin she was getting. She asked her mother if she was eating properly and was assured that she was eating her normal meals every day. Jen didn’t think to check the cupboards to make sure there was food. She also didn’t check the type of food that her mother had.

Jen was driving home that evening and continually thought that her mother could very well be starving to death. She had never seen her mother looks so thin and frail. She kept thinking that elderly health care was needed and she would need to find a way to encourage her mother to accept that level of help.

An elderly individual who appears thin could be dealing with a number of situations. Being thin is not necessarily a sign that they are not eating right or that they are starving. As people age, they begin to lose muscle mass in their legs, arms, and the rest of their body. As they lose muscle, the body consumes some of these cells naturally. This begins to cause the body to thin down.

Certain medications can also suppress appetite. Common side effects of various prescription medications could be nausea. When an individual is nauseous, he or she is less likely to have an appetite or want to eat a lot.

An elderly individual who can no longer drive or has trouble with mobility may not be able to get to the store and purchase food on a regular basis. They also may struggle with preparing a healthy meal.

Many of these issues can be resolved and the senior can get the help he or she needs through proper elderly health care. This could include a home care aide or visiting nurse checking on them and assisting them with various activities such as preparing healthy meals.

For Jen, encouraging her mother to accept elder care was going to be a challenge, but from what she could see, she believed that her mother might be ready to accept help rather than continue to grow thinner.

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

Brittnei Salerno

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