3 Things To Check On When Visiting An Elderly Loved One At Their Home

If you have elderly loved ones that still live at home on their own, it’s important that you spend your time visiting them not only catching up, but also checking in to ensure that they can still safely be caring for themselves. Otherwise, you might need to start thinking about having a conversation about moving into an assisted living community or another alternative. 

To help you to know when the time has arrived for this, here are three things to check on when visiting an elderly loved one at their home. 

The Overall Environment Of Their Home

One thing you’ll want to keep an eye on for your elderly loved one when visiting them at home is the overall environment of their home. Often when elderly people begin having a hard time taking care of things, the first evidence of this is within their home.

While it’s normal to have a little mess here and there, if there are days and days worth of dishes piled up, if there is spoiled food on the counters or in the refrigerator, if you notice a lot of unopened mail, or if you see that there is few clean clothes options for them to wear, these could all be indications that living on their own might not be a good idea anymore.

Their Weight And Overall Well Being

Another thing that can be a sign that your elderly loved one is taking as good of care of themselves as they should be is if their overall well being seems to have fallen. 

Many elderly people have a hard time bathing themselves, which can leave them looking and smelling unclean. Additionally, if your loved one has been struggling with cooking and feeding themselves, they may have a sudden drop in weight, which can be very unhealthy for them. If you notice anything related to their health, including medicine that should be taken but isn’t, you may need to step in with this kind of assistance. 

Who Is There For Them To Rely On

If you live close to your elderly loved one, you may need to start making more frequent visits to them to ensure that they are having their needs taken care of. But if you live far away, you should spend some of your time while visiting to see who is there for them to rely on when the need comes for it.

For many seniors, they might have a nice neighbor or someone in their church or other community members who you can meet and ask to keep an eye on things. You should give this person your contact information so that if they notice things are going downhill, you can come to help your loved one get things back on track.  read about funny wallpapers

If you are going to be visiting your elderly loved one and want to make sure that they’re taking proper care of themselves, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you know what to check on.