Has your senior loved one suffered a head injury?

You’re understandably concerned, and you want to know which symptoms to watch for and when to seek help. Here are some tips to help you navigate this situation to ensure their safety and well-being.

Assess the Situation

Does your senior loved one have a minor bump or bruise from a fall? If it’s not a head injury, you may be able to treat this at home with first aid, like RICE or compression.

However, if they have experienced even a mild head injury, or if you suspect they have, call their doctor or medical professional for guidance on a course of action.

If the head injury is severe, call 911. The severity of head injuries is difficult to assess unless you’re a medical professional yourself, so err on the side of caution. Even mild traumatic brain injuries can have serious long-term consequences.

Watch for These Head Injury Symptoms

If you receive guidance from their doctor that you do not need to bring your senior loved one in immediately, the medical professional will likely advise you to keep an eye on them for 24-48 hours after a head injury.

Watch for signs of a concussion, including the concerning symptoms listed below. Jot down any to communicate with their doctor.

• Loss of consciousness
• Headache
• Vomiting
• Slurred speech
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Blurred vision
• Confusion
• Memory problems
• Difficulty with balance
• Seizures
• Weakness or numbness in the extremities
• Unusual behavior
• Difficulty concentrating
• Irritability

Next Steps

If your senior loved one has experienced a head injury, or you notice any of the above symptoms and you suspect they have experienced one, err on the side of caution and seek medical attention, even if the injury seems minor.

Prompt medical attention can help prevent complications and ensure your senior loved one makes a full recovery.

The post What to Do If Your Senior Loved One Falls and Hits Their Head appeared first on Benton House.

You probably want to know how long their recovery might take, what you can do for them if they’re healing at home, and when to bring in extra help.

Let’s dive in.

How long does it take the elderly to recover after a hospital stay?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer for how long your senior loved one’s recovery will take. Healing depends on what they were hospitalized for, and the unfortunate reality is the hospital visit alone can have lasting consequences.

The truth is, it’s unrealistic to expect your senior loved one to return home from their hospital stay and bounce quickly back to their pre-visit health. It’s not uncommon for seniors discharged from the hospital to experience physical and mental fatigue for several weeks. But while ample recovery time should be expected, there are ways to both ease and speed up the process.

Plan how you will take care of yourself as well

Our first tip might surprise you, but hear us out.

Yes, this is like putting on your own oxygen mask first. Chronic caregiver burnout related to supporting your senior loved ones is high to begin with. When a hospital stay is involved, your risk of burnout is even higher. For everyone’s sake, before you begin planning how you’ll take care of your loved one, take stock of your own boundaries and capacities first.

Get clear on your senior loved one’s specific recovery needs

Post-hospital support needs can run from minor to major support.

Talk to your senior loved one’s team of doctors to understand what recovery might look like. Sometimes this can be simple as adjusting their home to accommodate their healing time, coordinating medication, and scheduling follow up doctor visits.

Rehab for your elderly after hospital stay: inpatient vs outpatient

More often than not, though, your senior loved one may require some level of rehab when they return from a hospital stay.

Outpatient rehabilitation can be a great choice for those who need support but also want to return home. In this case, you’ll want to organize transportation to and from their rehab facility as well as create a plan to help them reach therapy goals by practicing at home. If your senior loved one can’t be home alone yet, or outpatient therapy ends up feeling too difficult to maintain, it may be right to consider inpatient rehab.

Inpatient rehabilitation usually involves staying in a senior living community for short-term or long-term support. This is typically better suited for your senior loved ones who need intensive care after a hospital stay. Inpatient rehab also has the benefit of freeing family caregivers from the burden of transportation and coordination, so you have more space and energy to be there for your loved one, while trusting they are in good hands.

Get Your Free 1:1 Caregiving Support

We hope this article helps reduce any overwhelm about how to help your senior loved one heal after a hospital stay.

Would you like personal, customized help deciding how to take care of your senior loved after a hospital stay—completely free of charge?

Get compassionate and tailored caregiving support in one of these three easy ways.

Visit our support page and request your complimentary Caregiver Workbook.

Call our Caregiver Hotline for free custom support at 855-461-2552. We’re here to help.

Send us a message describing how we can support you. Choose whether you’d like us to reach out: text, email, or snail mail.

Again, there is no charge for these services. They’re simply an extension of our mission to help every family who calls.

The post Home After Hospitalization: How to Help Your Senior Loved One Heal appeared first on Benton House.

Of course, chocolate and flowers will never go out of style. But a study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships shows that most of us agree: Positive behavioral actions (what we do) are what make us feel most loved.

It turns out these don’t have to be grandiose gifts or actions, either. In fact, small gestures top the list.

Here are four categories of ways to make your senior loved one feel adored on Valentine’s Day or any time of year.

Spend Time with Your Parents

Our top Valentine’s Day gift idea for making your elderly parents feel loved: Spend time together. Quality time ranked high in this study for what makes any of us feel loved—and the results show that time with our children in particular ranks even higher. Not to mention, the importance of connecting with your parents increases with age: social isolation and loneliness carry serious consequences.

Make them feel cherished by initiating some one on one time together that’s focused on connection rather than caregiving. Some ideas include treating them to brunch, scheduling a community art class to take together, joining them to complete a jigsaw puzzle, or simply sitting with them doing whatever they’re feeling up for that day.

Show Them You Accept Them

It’s no surprise, but this study showed that feeling genuinely accepted goes a long way in making all of us feel loved. Your senior loved one will appreciate any way you can meet them where they are and adapt to the changes and challenges that invariably come with aging.

Perhaps they’re experiencing more social anxiety around larger gatherings, but you know it means a lot to them to see their grandchildren. What if you spread out a few 1:1 dates with each grandkid? This might reduce overwhelm, while still giving them the Valentine’s Day gift of togetherness.

Cheer Them on to Reach a Goal

This study showed that feeling supported to reach our life goals makes us feel loved. Find out what your senior loved one wants to accomplish. How can you show your support?

Did you hear dad say he wants to finally learn to paint? Show you believe in him with a fresh set of brushes. Know mom wants to finish that book she started writing years ago? Give her your vote of confidence with a blank journal or an upgraded computer setup.

Treat Them to Physical Affection

As signals of love go, this study suggests that physical affection ranks high for most of us. In fact, another study published by the Oxford University Press links physical touch not only to lower blood pressure and higher oxytocin levels but even a lower likelihood of inflammation.

Give your elderly parents the gift of physical affection for Valentine’s Day. This can be as simple as making sure time spent together includes touch, like a hug from you or snuggles from the grandchildren. You might also consider treating them to a professional self-care service, like a therapeutic massage or an appointment at a nice hair salon (the kind that includes a delicious scalp massage).

Next Steps

It turns out that positive behavioral actions (what we do) are what make any of us feel most loved.

When it comes to Valentine’s Day gift ideas for your senior loved ones, the most meaningful gifts are the small gestures: time spent together, unconditional acceptance, supporting their goals, and physical affection.

If you could use support with your senior loved one, we’re always available to help. Feel free to call us at 855-461-2552, or send us a message, anytime.

The post 4 Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas to Make Your Senior Loved Ones Feel Cherished appeared first on Benton House.