Home health care enables people to receive medical attention in the comfort of their home, but it also means that the patient has much less supervision than they would in a hospital or nursing facility. Patients and their family members must communicate openly and honestly with visiting nurses.
The information the family supplies to home care service workers could be what enables the medical professionals to give adequate care.
Mention Potential Exposure
A family outing that led to an encounter with someone sick, or a visitor in the home with the flu or another contagious illness, may put the patient at risk. A home care nurse needs to know about these unexpected exposures as soon as possible. The information about potential exposure enables nurses to check for signs of an illness they may otherwise miss.
Do not underestimate the risk of exposing seniors to infectious diseases. Older adults may get sicker and take longer to recover. Immunizations do not protect seniors like they once did because seniors have weaker immune systems. A minor illness for someone in their 30s could severely affect someone in their 80s. An early diagnosis may improve treatment and outcome.
Discuss Unusual Symptoms
The signs of infection in seniors may not be what people expect. Elderly
COVID-19 patients
often suffered confusion, fatigue, and dizziness when first exposed to the virus instead of developing a cough and fever as experienced by younger patients. Even common infections could lead to easily misidentified unusual symptoms.
A common concern for elderly patients is a urinary tract infection (UTI). Younger adults may expect the infections to cause a frequent need to urinate and pain when relieving themselves. Seniors could experience behavioral changes, hallucinate, and show a reduction in their motor control skills, among other symptoms. Always mention any change in behavior or ability.
Mention Medication Problems
Elderly patients may refuse to take their prescribed antibiotics or want to stop their medication as soon as they start to feel better. Some patients may dislike the side effects of the drug, refuse to believe they need the medication, or simply not want to take one more pill. Not consuming an antibiotic as prescribed could allow an infection to worsen.
Sepsis, sometimes inaccurately referred to as blood poisoning, develops when an infection gets out of control in the body. The problem can occur in anyone with any infection, but the elderly account for 65 percent of all hospitalized cases. Sepsis can become permanently disabling or fatal quickly because the condition causes tissue damage throughout the body.
Discuss Caregiver Concerns
Successful infection control only happens if everyone involved takes proper precautions. Family members concerned about inappropriate care from a visiting caregiver should mention their concerns to the company or a supervising nurse as soon as possible. The home care aides may even have advice about how to correct the caregiving habits of other family caregivers.
Mention any concerns related to poor infection control behaviors. The problems may include inadequate hand washing or sanitizing, a failure to wear gloves when treating the patient, or arriving to work while visibly sick. Not cleaning wounds, being careless with food preparation, and not cleaning or replacing medical equipment as needed could also become a concern.
A lack of infection control can affect everyone treated by the caregivers and anyone they or their patients meet.
Redi-Nurse
wants nothing more than to have all our patients healthy and happy. Clients that understand the risks and talk openly with their caregivers will enable the service to provide better care. Contact us today to learn more about what we offer and how we can help you and your family.
