Your senior might find dealing with incontinence to be embarrassing, but as her caregiver you might be a little embarrassed, too. is one of those topics that people don’t like to talk about often, so it feels like something that should be ignored. But if you and your senior remove some of that stigma, you can work together to put together a plan that works for her.
Open a Conversation with Your Senior’s Doctor
One of the first things that you and your senior need to do is to talk to her doctor about what she’s experiencing. There may be some medical causes for incontinence that her doctor can help you to manage. Once you’ve ruled those out, though, there are other factors to consider and to talk about with her doctor.
Limiting Fluids Isn’t the Answer
Your senior may have thought about limiting her fluid intake to help her to deal with incontinence. This is the wrong approach, though. Dehydration, bladder infections, and other complications are all a common result of limiting fluids. Plus, the root cause of incontinence isn’t addressed at all. It’s much better for your elderly family member to develop other potential ways forward.
Develop a Bathroom Schedule
Your senior might find that having a set bathroom schedule is a great way to ensure she’s regularly emptying her bladder. This might not eliminate all of the leaks she experiences, but it can definitely help her bladder to get into a routine, especially if irritation from being too full is part of what’s been contributing to incontinence issues.
Monitor and Adjust to Keep the Plan Working
Keep an eye on what helps and on what doesn’t. The key to effectively managing your senior’s incontinence is helping her to continue to do what’s working and to switch up what isn’t working for her any longer. It might help to do a little bit of experimenting with incontinence products, too. Some seniors find that some combinations of products work better for them than others do. This can help to build your senior’s confidence as well.
Your senior might start to feel less embarrassed about her incontinence as she learns more about what helps and what doesn’t. Having a plan that you two can follow may be the best thing that you can do for her. The plan doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to work well for now.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering caregivers in Denver, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare today. Call us at (303) 756-9322.
