Signs Your Parent Needs Help At Home
It is difficult to know when to begin discussing in-home assistance or retirement homes with your aging parents. Mail may be piling up, they might be wearing wrinkled clothes, or they may have bruises on their arms, and when you point out your observations, they always respond with, “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”
Signs Your Parent Needs Assistance or Long Term Care
Admitting they need help means that they no longer are able to care for themselves, and the last thing that elderly want is to lose their independence. Accepting assistance isn’t easy for seniors who are aging and are in denial that they can’t take care of themselves anymore. The burden often falls on the family to recognize and react to the signs that their aging parent may need help with his or her daily tasks. But if your parent or parents are not willing to admit it, how do u know if they need extra care? Here are some red flags to look for:
- Unexplained bruises
- Difficulty walking or balancing
- Forgetfulness
- Decline in grooming habits or personal care
- Loss of interest in hobbies
- Sudden changes in mood
- Noticeable weight loss
- Unpleasant body odor
Once you realized that your elderly parent most likely needs extra assistance, it is time to determine if in-home health care is the best option. If your parent seems to only need minor assistance, then in-home care is probably the best option. However, if more professional and ongoing assistance is required, then you must consider assisted living homes as a strong option.
Assisted Living May Be the Best Option
Talking to your aging parent about their health and well being is a difficult topic to bring up, but it important and will pay off in the long run. At the end of the day you want your parents to be safe and healthy, and that road most likely requires assistance from a health care professional; whether it be in-home or at an assisted living home. If you are in the Northern Virginia area and are looking for a comforting, trustworthy, and safe place for your elderly parent to move into, consider Tysons Woods in Vienna, Virginia as an option.
