What are some common sense for daily care of the elderly?

Having worked as a community home care provider for the elderly for 5 years, the most practical answer I can give is that there is no unified "list of standard answers". All care actions must be based on the elderly's physical condition and living habits. Imposing standardized requirements online can easily make the elderly suffer.

A while ago, I met Aunt Zhang who lives in Building 3. Her son specifically checked the popular science and asked her to drink 8 glasses of water every day. However, Aunt Zhang had mild bladder sphincter relaxation. She always went to the toilet after drinking too much and got up frequently at night. Last month, she fell in the bathroom in the dark and her knees were bruised. Later, we helped her adjust her drinking habits, switching to drinking warm tea in small amounts and frequently during the day, and drinking as little water as possible after 4 p.m. In less than half a month, Aunt Zhang’s frequency of waking up at night dropped from three or four times to once, and she felt much better.

Speaking of this, we have to mention the issue of "should the elderly exercise more", which has been quite controversial recently. One group of people says that the elderly should move more and walk 10,000 steps a day to keep fit. The other group says that the elderly have brittle bones and should rest and exercise less to be safe. In fact, both views are too absolute. Uncle Li, who lives in our community, was forced by his daughter to walk 10,000 steps a day. Within a month of walking, his knees hurt and he couldn't go downstairs. He went to the hospital to check whether the degenerative disease of the knee joint had worsened. Later, he changed to doing 20 minutes of sitting and knee extension exercises in the morning and evening, and walked slowly for half an hour after meals. Now his knees no longer hurt, and he can go downstairs every day to play chess with his old friend.

In addition to the common concerns about eating, drinking, and exercising, many people tend to neglect the skin care of the elderly. After all, it is common for the elderly to have atrophic sebaceous glands and dry and itchy skin. Many younger generations will buy thick moisturizers for the elderly to apply thickly. However, if the elderly themselves have dry eczema, an occlusive moisturizer that is too thick will make the skin more itchy. Grandpa Wang, who used to take care of me, was like this. He always complained about itching on his back after applying the thick body lotion his daughter bought for him. Later, he switched to a refreshing ceramide moisturizer. He applied a thin layer after each bath when his skin was semi-dry. Within a few days, he no longer complained about itching.

Another point that many people struggle with is whether to give supplements to the elderly. Some people think that dietary supplements are enough. Supplements are all about IQ tax. Others think that the elderly have poor absorption and need to take regular supplements of various vitamins and calcium tablets to be healthy. In fact, it must be combined with the results of the physical examination. If you drink less milk and spend less time in the sun, and it is found that your bone density is low, it is perfectly fine to take appropriate vitamin D and calcium supplements. If you eat a balanced diet and eat enough meat, eggs, milk and vegetables, there is really no need to supplement randomly. Taking too much will increase the burden on the liver and kidneys.

Don’t underestimate these small adjustments. Many times they are much more useful than buying health care products worth thousands of dollars. By the way, there is also a small detail that is easy to forget. Don’t have slippery long-haired carpets at home. It is best to install a handrail next to the toilet in the bathroom. Last time, an aunt slipped and fell on the carpet and broke her bones. Later, the carpet was removed and a handrail was installed, and nothing like this happened again.

In fact, to put it bluntly, caring for the elderly is like taking care of an old succulent that has been raised for decades. You cannot suddenly pour heavy water, bask in the sun, or apply heavy fertilizers to it. You have to slowly fine-tune it according to its growth habits for many years. When it is comfortable, it will be in good condition naturally.