Vaccinations do a lot for your elderly family member, but how can you know which ones are the right ones for her situation? Your very first step is to talk to her doctor about whether vaccines are right for her and which ones to choose. This gives both you and your elderly family member a game plan to follow.
Influenza
The flu primarily attacks the respiratory system, which is why it’s so dangerous to the elderly in particular. Many seniors also have a weakened immune system, so they are not able to fight off the flu as well as younger people do. If your elderly family member does catch the flu, the symptoms are often much worse than they would be for someone else. An annual flu shot can help to prevent illness, especially if received early in flu season.
Shingles
Shingles is a tame name for a painful, itchy skin rash in the chickenpox family. Shingles may not stop at the skin, though. Many people with severe cases of shingles experience pain deep into their muscles. The rash itself can become extremely painful, with open sores. It spreads easily and can even show up in your senior’s eyes, inside her nose, and in her mouth. Avoiding shingles might be as simple as getting a simple immunization once a year or so.
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is a lung infection. Pneumonia can be bacterial or viral, which can make treating it rather complicated. If your senior has had pneumonia quite a few times, she may even start to get medication-resistant forms of pneumonia. Other complications, such as COPD, can mean that pneumonia is even more dangerous for your elderly family member. Pneumonia vaccines can help your elderly family member’s immune system to defend itself more effectively from the germs that cause the illness.
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B attacks your senior’s liver and can do some serious damage. The really big problem is that neither you nor your elderly family member might be aware that she has hepatitis B if she has the chronic form of the disease. The acute form of hepatitis B, on the other hand, might cause her to be obviously sick. Regardless, your senior’s doctor might recommend that she gets vaccinated, just in case.
Not all vaccinations are right for your senior, even when they are generally a good idea. Your senior’s situation may be such that she might be better served by not having a particular immunization just yet. If she is ready to get certain vaccinations, senior care providers can help you and her to watch for reactions afterward.
If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Aurora, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare Denver. Call today: (303) 756-9322.
