The term home-bound refers to a situation in which an individual is unable to leave their home due to any one of several reasons (e. g. medical, economic, or social). In this situation, the individual requires care, supervision, and/or accompaniment in terms of activities but cannot fully rely on others for these things.
In this situation, the individual needs help from family members or relatives alike. This can be difficult for individuals who are not used to being needed and have no plan for what they want for their care. It can be even more challenging when there is not enough time to get ready and go out looking for help.
Getting help can make all the difference in your day-to-day life.
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Prepare the home environment
As the senior citizen stays in their home longer, it is important to maintain a peaceful and relaxing environment for them. This includes preparing the house environment.
You can prepare the home environment by setting up a prayer room for them, inviting friends over for meals, or just watching TV or other entertainment programs they enjoy. It’s important to have this program set up and ready because you will need to use it when you visit.
The other area that needs preparation is their medical treatment space. Many elderly people don’t understand what treatments mean and who should be treating them. Having this space defined and organized can help save some time and energy in your treatment space.
Finally, having a set of clothes they like and the equipment they wears determines if they get anything new or update with technology, technology means “clothes”.
Prepare the family environment
The first step in caring for the family environment is preparing the environment. This includes cleaning and organizing the home environment.
Moving a senior into your home will require extra effort. They will need help with their belongings, assistance with getting about, and possibly some assistance with activities.
With very vigorous activity, you can often go by “no problem”! But no one should go without help with activities. No one should be forced to get out of the house or be required to help with household tasks.
It is important to know what steps your senior can take to prepare their own personal space and experience homes as soon as they are able. No one should feel like they are not being safe or taking care of themselves or their health, but it can take a few months to fully implement this into their lifestyle.
It is also important to know what services your senior needs.
Talk to family members about their roles
There are many roles family members can play during a bedtime or sleepover. Family members can be the children who visit the bed at night, the grandchildren they like to chat with at sleepover, or the close relatives they like to jokingly tag along for a fun night.
As with any new role definition, it is important to discuss what each person does best and how that can be translated into helping others during an event like a sleepover.
To help prepare people for what they might do at a sleepover, make sure to buy enough supplies. You will probably need to use some of these the next day since more people will show up than expected.
It is also important to learn how to avoid being disruptive or embarrassing Yourself in case someone else needs help during the event.
Keep the bed perfectly clean
When an elderly person is in the bed, the most you can do is keep the room clean. Other than that, leave the rest up to them.
Some people find cleaning the room somewhat disheartening, since they see all of the mess that they have to remove. However, this takes away from their desire to clean, which is a good thing.
By teaching others to clean the room and taking on some of the work themselves, they learn how to take care of themselves and you learn something about them. A lot of people feel like they are burdening you with what should be done, but it’s important for them to learn this on their own.
If there are specific things an older person needs and wants, let them decide what those are.
Change the bed sheets frequently
When the bed sheets are too long, they can get stuck in the mattress at the top. This is not good because this can be uncomfortable for the person sleeping in it.
To prevent this, you should do your best to shorten the sheets when you get them. To do so, just pull on one end of the sheet and let go!
To make it easy to take off the headboard cover, add a shelf or two underneath it. You can also add another blanket if needed!
When changing beds at night, you should put your new bed partner on top so they are covered with a blanket as they fall asleep.
Use blankets carefully
Your elderly loved one may be quite warm in winter or cold in summer, so it is important to know how to use bedding properly.
If your person is very warm, then use warmer blankets to save on heat loss. If they are cold, then use heat resistant blankets to preserve comfort. If they are hot or dry, then use wet blankets to retain warmth and protection.
In the summer, keep them dried out within a blanket or waterproof fabric covering. In the winter, preserving comfortable temperature is the best saved against cold.
Who knows how long someone will be before they need a new bed? After that time comes, they want a new bed! Keeping an old bed until then gives them some time to sit on it and learn how to get in and out of it without having too much damage done.
Set up a call system with family members
If the senior family member is unable to visit, set up a way to communicate. This includes using a phone or email, and having someone nearby to take your place.
In the case of an emergency, contacting another family member or person in the community can also help save lives. It is your responsibility to watch out for this and make sure it is always accessible.
Creating a system where family members can contact each other in an emergency is important too. Most of all you must trust that those who answer the phone will send someone out if something urgent comes up.
Making sure there is a way for the parent(s) or guardian(s) to contact the rest of the family in case of an emergency is also important. These people need to be educated on how to handle an emergency call.
Install grab bars in the bathroom
Install a ledge in the bathtub or toilet to create a safer space to wash your hands. This will help prevent falls and ensure your elderly friend is not exposed to any danger while bathing.
Make sure there is a safe place to store excess clothing. These can be divided into two piles- one for old clothes and one for new. Old friends should have special privileges when it comes to cleanliness and bathing, so give them that.
In the event of an emergency, you can put new clothes in a dryer and have them out within an hour or so. Old clothes should not dry thoroughly without treatment, which is why they are divided up in the first place.
Beds are important piece of furniture that everyone needs to know about.