All too often seniors are dealing with more than one serious health issue all at the same time. That typically also means that they’re taking multiple medications. What happens in those situations is that side effects and complications related to medications become more of a concern. It’s important for seniors and their family caregivers to understand what those complications are and how to cope. Personal care at home can be a huge help with that goal.
Cognitive Changes
Some medications can really impact cognitive function, even causing memory issues or central nervous system side effects. Sometimes these impacts may present as symptoms that feel as if they might be more serious and scarier, like a prelude to dementia. Working with medical providers is really important to monitor how these changes are progressing.
Functional Decline
Functional decline is another potential problem. Some medications have a sedative effect or can affect how muscles function. This can lead to decreased mobility, increased need for rest, and more. Having help from home care providers can be instrumental in making sure that seniors are able to have the assistance they need with activities of daily living.
Dehydration
Diuretics, blood pressure medications, and other medications that can contribute to dehydration require that seniors closely monitor their fluid intake. Becoming too dehydrated can cause other issues, like kidney issues, increased fall risk, and electrolyte imbalances. Senior home care providers are able to assist seniors with their hydration goals.
Falls, Dizziness, and Drowsiness
Many medications have side effects that cause coordination issues or that affect balance. These medications often come with fall risk warnings that absolutely should be heeded. If seniors already have significant fall risks, then medical providers might need to re-evaluate whether these medications are the right ones at this time.
Nutritional Difficulties
Some medications affect how well seniors absorb nutrients. Others affect appetite or how foods and drinks taste. These variables can mean that seniors start to have nutritional difficulties that didn’t exist before taking the medication in question. Personal care at home can help seniors to stay on target with nutritional intake, focusing on getting healthy meals every day.
Drug Interactions
When seniors are battling a lot of health issues and therefore taking several medications, they may start to run into issues with drug interactions. Even vitamins can interfere with medications, which is why medical providers ask about everything that seniors take when they’re prescribing medications. Pharmacists and medical providers can all work together to help seniors determine what medications might be interfering with each other and causing worsened symptoms or other challenges.
Understanding and addressing the challenges around medication complications is a vital part of helping seniors to have the best possible quality of life. Personal care at home can assist with watching for side effects and other issues that might be causing problems for seniors. That information can be invaluable when medical providers are trying to resolve these issues and help seniors have the best possible chance at being both healthier and happier.
If you or an aging loved one are considering personal care at home in Brownwood, TX, please contact the caring staff at Clear Path Home Care today. Call 325-430-0151
Clear Path Home Care provides compassionate, high quality home care in McCulloch County, San Saba County, Mills County, Hamilton County, Runnels County, Coleman County, Brown County, Comanche County, Eastland County, Callahan County, Palo Pinto County, Stephens County, Shackleford County, Jack County, Young County, Throckmorton County, Concho County, Archer County, Clay County, Wilbarger County, and Wichita County in Texas.
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