What Emergency Response Skills Should You Have for Your Home Care Journey?

By Julie McCormick, Co-Owner | March 18, 2016 | Comments Off on What Emergency Response Skills Should You Have for Your Home Care Journey?

Home Care in Arlington County VA

When you are on a home care journey with your elderly parent, it is important that you feel as prepared as possible to handle any emergencies that might arise. While you hope that you will never have to encounter any such emergency in the course of your care with him, ignoring the potential could put your loved one in very serious danger. It is likely that you paid close attention to the Home-Care-in-Arlington-County-VAskills and abilities of the in home health care services provider you hired for your parent. You should not hold yourself at a lower standard. By preparing yourself with response skills and a solid plan you can feel more confident that you are ready to act if the need arises.

 

Some of the emergency response skills that you should have for your home care journey with your aging parent include:

  • Fall response. Millions of elderly adults experience serious falls each year. While some of these falls result in little more than a few bumps and bruises, others are extremely serious and can result in broken bones and traumatic brain injuries. Knowing how to respond if your parent falls will help you to minimize the damage caused by the fall and improve the chances that your senior will be able to recover and move forward after falling. This appropriate response includes discouraging your parent from moving, evaluating for obvious injury, helping your parent get up safely, and knowing when to call for medical assistance.
  • Potential poisoning response. Poisoning can mean anything from taking too much of a medication or mixing medications improperly, to ingesting chemicals, to exposure to carbon monoxide. These incidents can be extremely dangerous, causing a variety of injuries and even death depending on the type of poisoning and the level of exposure. Be aware of the Poisoning Hotline in your area and how to get in touch with them. You should also know the potential effects of over-use of the medications that he is taking, or combining medications that he should not. Many people are under the assumption that they should respond to potential poisoning by trying to “absorb” the poison or by inducing vomiting, these are not always recommended.
  • Choking response. Many elderly adults, particularly those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, have challenges chewing and swallowing. These issues increase the risk that your senior will experience choking. This can become a very dangerous situation very quickly. Reach out to the local community center, YMCA, Red Cross, or other organization to find out about classes that you can take to teach you the safest, most effective ways to respond to choking.
  • CPR. The same organizations that can instruct you on proper choking response can also provide valuable instruction in the area of CPR. Having these skills enables you to respond to a situation in which a person around you is not breathing. This is a valuable set of skills to have any time you are offering care, as well as any time that you are involved in a risky activity such as swimming.

 

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring a professional home care in Arlington County, VA, please contact the caring staff at LivinRite Home Care. Call Us Today at (703) 369-6677. Serving Northern Virginia, The Valley, and Surrounding Communities

 

Julie McCormick, Co-Owner
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