Introduction
What things should older patients watch out for before and after surgery? How would they react to certain situations?
As per WHO, chronic diseases such as diabetes often occur in the elderly. Moreover, they also face challenges such as functional decline due to age-related changes, cognitive impairment and frailty syndrome. These conditions require special attention during hospitalization and on the days after discharge.
Older people tend to be more vulnerable to anaesthesia because their bodies don’t metabolize drugs as efficiently. They also often experience mental status, cognition, vision and hearing changes, and memory. These symptoms can interfere with effective pain management. Anaesthesia can cause other side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, constipation, urinary retention, and dry mouth. If these side effects occur, they usually resolve within 24 hours.
This article will teach you everything about senior care, from preoperative preparation to postoperative care.
- Pre Surgery Care
The time preceding surgery is critical for the elderly patient, the family and the carers who assist them. A few necessary precautions taken ahead of time will help your senior loved one go into their treatment with confidence, increasing their chances of making a full recovery.
- Physical Preparation: Helping the elderly prepare physically for surgery can make a significant difference in their recovery. Help seniors exercise, consume a good diet, and get enough rest, as their doctor prescribes.
- Continuous communication: The elderly may experience anxiety or tension before surgery. Make sure you support their need by being present. Make yourself available to listen to their concerns and collaborate to develop answers. Spend some time assisting seniors in researching their procedures and understanding the risks and benefits so they may go into the big day with more confidence.
- Post Surgery Care
We should help the seniors in their decisions right after the surgery, which can help them on their journey to complete health and independence. There are numerous important ways to assist the elderly as they make the difficult adjustment back to regular life following surgery.
- Ensure the things they require: Just before senior returns home, make sure to stock their refrigerator and pantry with fresh, nutritious, and easy-to-prepare items. Do their washing ahead of time, so they have a wardrobe full of outfits waiting for them when they return. Make an emergency contact list that your senior may access at all times. Ensure that the elderly have all their assistive gadgets (like their hearing aids, eyeglasses, walker or cane, medical alert alarms, and a water bottle). Assist them in portioning and remembering prescriptions and provide a comfortable environment for post-surgery physical therapy sessions. Explore various services that can improve the elderly’s day-to-day life, such as meal delivery and mobile laundry collection.
- Stay attentive and supportive to their needs: Elderly may grumble or withdraw in the days following surgery. Even in difficult times, be there and available for them. They may also feel disorientation or delirium; try not to become frustrated. Be encouraging and supportive, but avoid pushing too hard or too quickly. Instead, assist them in understanding their new personal boundaries.
Conclusion
Visit Artha Assisted Living if you’re searching for an assisted living residence. We’d be delighted to tell you about all the programmes and services we offer to make your life more convenient and enjoyable. Artha’s assisted living care plan has been created for elders who do not require continual nursing but need support with their daily activities, also for patients who require pre and post-surgery care as directed by your medical team. Our professional nurses and caregivers on each floor attend to the elderly’s daily and emergency requirements.
