Simply put, arthritis is joint inflammation. While there are many different types of arthritis, the symptoms are fairly common – pain, redness, heat, and swelling of joints. It may not be life-threatening, but it can hinder many daily living life skills, making it difficult to function from sunrise to sunset.
With treatment and certain adjustments, most people can live with arthritis but as a person gets older, it can often become debilitating. If your loved one has arthritis and struggles with daily tasks, hiring a personal care at home provider to help her manage those tasks may be a great choice to help her manage her day with confidence.
For some people, arthritis only affects specific joints such as their knees or their hands. For others, it seems to affect every joint in the body. Depending on what your loved one needs help with, you might find having a personal care at home provider help with the following tasks will be greatly appreciated by your loved one.
Getting Ready
Whether it’s getting ready for the day, getting ready to go outside, or getting ready to go to bed, changing or adding clothes can be tough for someone with arthritis. Swollen finger and knuckle joints can make buttoning up a shirt or zipping up pants a painful struggle. One step to make your loved one’s life easier is to help her make sure her wardrobe is complete with clothing that doesn’t require dexterity to put on and off. Elastic-waist pants, pullover shirts, and slip-on shoes can make getting dressed and undressed easier.
Moving Around
Arthritis in the knees, hips, and back can make sitting down in a chair or getting out of bed difficult. It can even make using the bathroom difficult. To help your loved one move around her home, add plenty of support bars and rails so that she can use her arms to lift herself up or set herself down when her knees are failing. If she loves to go for walks but struggles with walking safely outside, have her take her walks when her companion care at home provider visits so she’ll have someone to safely lean on for support during her walks.
Preparing Meals
If your loved one cannot grip a knife or twist a can opener, it can make preparing meals difficult. Look for adaptive devices that can help her prepare a meal without worrying about accidentally cutting herself or not being able to open a jar while halfway through the meal prep. You can also have a personal care at home provider help with meal prep, such as slicing all of the vegetables up, and putting them in a container in the fridge so that when your loved one wants to make a fresh soup that night, she can simply add the cut up vegetables.
Assistance in these areas can help your loved one manage her arthritis while still living an independent life.
The staff at Home Care Matters is available to talk with you and your family about all of your needs. Home Care Matters is a home care agency providing quality and affordable personal care at home in Sugar Hill, GA, and the surrounding areas. Call (770) 965-4004 for more information.
We provide elder care in Braselton, Buford, Dacula, Duluth, Flowery Branch, Gainesville, Johns Creek, Lawrenceville, Oakwood, Sugar Hill, Suwanee, Barrow County, Forsyth County, Gwinnett County, Hall County, Jackson County, North Fulton County.
Valerie has the unique experience with home care as she has experienced it from both ends of the spectrum, as a caregiver and as needing care herself as a cancer survivor. Valerie says, “Taking care of someone you love is a physically, mentally and demanding labor of love.Taking care of my mom was the hardest thing I have ever done. It has given me an insight and perspective not many people understand unless you are doing it or have done it.I loved taking care of my mom.I love helping others take care of their love ones too.And now that I’ve been sick, it’s given me a whole new level of empathy and understanding for those who are sick and need help.”
Valerie’s schedule varies daily, but she loves visiting with our clients, families, caregivers, our network partners and being in the office.Says Valerie, “Every day is different, but I wake up excited about what we do, inspired by our team, clients and caregivers.I strive to be a resource to the community.I love my team and I love what we do every day. I like to think my mom would be proud.”
You can reach Valerie by email (Valerie@homecarematters.com) or in our office (770.965.4004).
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