One of the respiratory challenges that occur in the senior years is COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). This condition serves as the overall label for all other respiratory conditions that occur at old age, which can worsen over time.
If it’s your first time to care for this type of condition, experienced providers of home care services in Orange, Connecticut can help you out until you become able to care for them yourself.
As an illness, COPD brings about unique needs for the patient. In this matter, the family caregiver can provide assistance in the following ways:
- Pulmonary rehabilitation
Encourage your loved one to undergo pulmonary rehabilitation. This can be performed at home after an assessment from reputable healthcare providers. It’s important that your loved one has to be present in these rehabilitation sessions so they can learn to manage the condition, as well as know what to do to avoid the triggers of an attack.
- Assistance in taking medications
Your loved one has to take medications depending on how severe their condition becomes. Some patients can end up taking more than one medicine a day. As a family caregiver, you can help keep track of their intake to ensure that they’re being adhered to. When you’re not around or on a break, a companion care in Connecticut can step in for you to make sure that your loved one is adhering to their intake schedule.
- Visit their doctor
Your aging family member must meet with their primary physician as agreed beforehand. This will be an opportunity to know the progress or regress of the illness and what can be done about it. The patient has to be accompanied to these appointments so that the doctor’s instructions will be duly noted. In addition, the care provider can also assist in asking the doctor about certain conditions that need clarifying about their particular COPD.
- Exercise monitoring of their health
Being their primary caregiver, you need to check the overall wellness of your aging loved one with COPD. You have to know from their doctor what warning signs you should watch out for so that these can be addressed immediately as soon as they occur. In particular, warning signs include the following:
- Breathing difficulty even in routine activities
- Chest pain caused by intense coughing
- Increased mucus discharge or discolored mucus appearance
- Hands or feet that have swelled
- Sleeping difficulty due to breathing problems
If you’re caring for a loved one with COPD at home, just remember to comply with the doctor’s instructions. When necessary, tap the assistance of our team that provides home care in Orange, Connecticut so that things can be made easier at home while you care for your loved one. If you would like to know more about our services, keep in touch with us at Amity Home Care.
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