Eldercare at Home

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Caregiving How To's

• Eldercare at Home: Caregiving

  Caring for an older person at home requires a team of people with different skills and perspectives. Doctors, nurses, social workers, and clergy all make important, specialized contributions, but family members or friends give the day-to-day care.

• Eldercare at Home: Advanced Directives

  Sometimes, decisions about medical treatments must be made when the older person is too sick or is unable to express his or her own wishes.

• Eldercare at Home: Bone Weakness

  As people age, their bones begin to thin and lose strength. Bone thinning is called osteopenia. Severe bone thinning to the point where a person is at a high risk for broken bones (fractures) is called osteoporosis.

• Eldercare at Home: Breathing Problems

  As people age, certain activities, such as going up a flight of stairs, can make them slightly winded or out of breath. This may be because they are out of condition due to physical inactivity

• Eldercare at Home: Choosing a Nursing Home

  A nursing home becomes a valuable option when the amount of medical care and nursing attention the older person needs cannot be provided at home.

• Eldercare at Home: Communication Problems

  Communication problems can be frustrating for the older person and his or her caregiver. The older person may become upset because of not being able to hear or understand what others are saying, or because of having trouble expressing thoughts.

• Eldercare at Home: Constipation

  Constipation is passage of small amounts of hard, dry bowel movements, usually fewer than three times a week. As a rule, if more than three days pass without a bowel movement (also called stool), the intestinal contents may harden, and a person may have difficulty or even pain during elimination.

• Eldercare at Home: Dental Problems

  Dental problems are among the most common health problems experienced by older adults. In fact, people over 65 with natural teeth have more tooth decay than any other age group and thus continue to need a yearly visit to the dentist.

• Eldercare at Home: Depression

  Older people often have life changes that lead to feeling depressed. Some people go through physical changes affecting their eyesight, hearing, or how well they can move. Others have changes in their health that are treated with many medicines. Still others have changes in their ability to think … more

• Eldercare at Home: Diarrhea

  Diarrhea is the passing of three or more loose or watery stools per day, or a definite decrease in consistency and increase in frequency of bowel movements based upon what is usual for the individual.

• Eldercare at Home: Hearing Problems

  Fifty percent of Americans over 65 suffer from hearing loss, although it is more common in older men than in older women. Problems can be small (missing certain sounds) or large (not hearing at all).

• Eldercare at Home: Helping with Recovery from Illness

  Taking care of a family member who is recovering from surgery or an illness can be very demanding for both the caregiver and the person who receives care.

• Eldercare at Home: Incontinence

  Urinary incontinence, or involuntary leaking of urine, is a problem for at least 30% of people over age 60. It is more common in women than in men and can range from occasional dribbling to total loss of bladder control.

• Eldercare at Home: Memory Problems

  In our busy lives, all of us forget things at one time or another. As we age, this can happen more frequently and can be a natural part of the aging process. Some older people have little or no change in their memory, but, in others, forgetfulness can begin to interfere with their lives in a … more

• Eldercare at Home: Mobility Problems

  The changes that occur with aging can lead to problems with a person’s ability to move around, or mobility.  Mobility problems may be unsteadiness while walking, difficulty getting in and out of a chair, or falls.

• Eldercare at Home: Pain

  Some people think that pain is natural with aging. Others may believe that older people are “just complaining” if they are not clear in explaining the cause or nature of their pain.

• Eldercare at Home: Problems of Daily Living

  Many older people experience problems in daily living because of chronic illnesses or health-related disabilities. Those difficulties restrict their ability to perform self-care. This inability for self-care is a common reason why older people seek help from outsiders, move to assisted living … more

• Eldercare at Home: Skin Problems

  Wrinkles and age spots are normal skin conditions that occur as a person ages. These are natural processes. Nevertheless, some elderly people can develop skin disorders that give rise to serious medical problems.

• Eldercare at Home: Sleep Problems

  People of all ages can have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep or have poor quality sleep (insomnia). There are many possible causes including stress, changes in schedule, diet, or as a side effect of medicines.

• Eldercare at Home: Using Medicines Safely

  People age 65 and over buy more than 30 percent of all prescription medicines and 40 percent of all nonprescription (over-the-counter) medicines sold in this country.

• Eldercare at Home: Vision Problems

  Growing older does not always lead to poor vision. However, age can bring about changes that might affect the eyes and vision. For example, some typical vision problems affecting older people include difficulty seeing well in dim light and/or difficulty seeing when going from bright light to dark … more