8 Practical Ways to Reduce a Senior’s Risk of Coronavirus

Since coronavirus can be dangerous for seniors, caregivers need to do everything they can to keep their senior loved ones from catching the virus and experiencing the more severe complications of the disease. In general, lowering coronavirus risk is about keeping seniors healthy and reducing their chances of coming into contact with virus particles. Here are a few simple ways you can work to reduce coronavirus risk. 

1. Reduce Outside Contact

Cut back on your loved one’s chances of encountering the virus by keeping him or her at home as much as possible. It’s especially important to avoid risky areas packed with people, such as grocery stores and churches. Though you may be thinking about sending your loved one to an assisted living facility, consider the number of people he or she might come into contact with each day in one of these facilities. Instead, encourage your loved one to stay at home, and hire a caregiver to assist with errands and care as needed.

To keep your loved one from having to go out, a home caregiver can run errands for him or her, including shopping for groceries and picking up prescriptions. If your aging loved one needs help managing everyday tasks or encouragement to adopt healthier lifestyle choices, turn to Home Care Assistance, a leading provider of elderly home care. Home Care Assistance provides professional in-home caregivers around the clock to help seniors live longer, happier, and healthier lives.

2. Wash Your Hands Often

Basic hot water and soap is typically enough to remove virus particles from the hands before they can infect someone else. Make sure to wash your hands before eating or preparing food, after sneezing or coughing, and after being outside the home.

3. Teach Them How to Contact Friends with Technology

Staying at home is one of the best ways to avoid the virus, but this can lead to loneliness and isolation. Help your loved one set up voice calls, instant message chats, and video calls to keep in touch with others.

4. Prepare Healthy Meals

Help your loved one stay as healthy as possible with meals loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C, B vitamins, zinc, and vitamin D can all be particularly helpful for boosting the immune system.

If your loved one needs help following healthy habits that can boost his or her immune system, a home caregiver can be a wonderful source of support. Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of homecare. Arlington families can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide individualized care plans to meet your elderly loved one’s unique care needs. Our holistic Balanced Care Method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia.

5. Change Your Coughing & Sneezing Habits

If possible, cough or sneeze directly into a tissue you can throw away immediately. Otherwise, use your elbow instead of your hand to cover your mouth and nose to keep virus particles away from your loved one. 

6. Learn How to Identify Symptoms

Be on the lookout for symptoms so you can get your loved one care as soon as possible if he or she gets sick. The basic signs are coughing, fever, and shortness of breath. Many people with COVID-19 also experience fatigue, headaches, and the loss of smell and taste.

7. Minimize the Number of Errands

Try to plan ahead so you only have to leave the home every other week or so. Focus on foods that last a while, such as potatoes, onions, rice, beans, citrus fruits, and frozen meats. If possible, ask the doctor about extending your loved one’s prescription limit so you can pick up more doses at once. 

8. Manage Preexisting Health Conditions

Seniors with chronic health problems such as diabetes, COPD, or heart failure are more likely to have issues if they catch the virus. Therefore, you need to work with the doctor to find the best treatment plan for any conditions your loved one has.

Families who find it difficult to care for their aging loved ones without assistance can benefit greatly from professional respite care. Arlington, TX, family caregivers who need a break from their caregiving duties can turn to Home Care Assistance. Using our proprietary Balanced Care Method, our respite caregivers can encourage your loved one to eat well, exercise regularly, get plenty of mental and social stimulation, and focus on other lifestyle factors that promote longevity. Trust Home Care Assistance to provide high-quality compassionate, professional home care for your loved one. If your loved one needs help with the challenges of aging, call one of our compassionate Care Managers today at (817) 591-1580.

With information surrounding coronavirus/COVID-19 changing by the hour, it’s challenging to stay updated on the most recent best practices for keeping seniors safe at home. At Home Care Assistance, we understand how critical it is for seniors and their caregivers to protect against coronavirus as much as possible. All our team members have received detailed communication on infection control protocols, including effective cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and hands. Our caregivers can pick up medications, groceries, and anything else a senior needs, minimizing their interaction with large groups of people. For more information on how Home Care Assistance helps protect clients, click here: https://www.homecareassistancearlingtontx.com/covid-19-home-care/.