Your family is discussing the pros and cons of medical alert systems. While you go over your parents’ options, have you considered today’s smartwatches? Many have features that make them a better choice than traditional medical alert systems.
Fall Detection
Several smartwatches have fall detection sensors. If your parent falls, the watch allows them to push a button and call for help. Some even have technology that makes the call for them if they do not push a button within a certain amount of time.
Heart Rate Monitoring
Many smartwatches now track heart rate and alert the wearer to dips or increases. If your parent’s heart rate spikes while they were walking, it makes sense. If their heart races when they were sleeping, it may indicate a problem that’s worth looking at.
GPS
A parent with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia may start wandering. You may get warning signs, but you might not. You don’t want to show up to help your dad with his housework and find he’s missing.
Many smartwatches now have GPS tracking within them. If your parent goes for a walk and gets lost or wanders off while you’re sleeping, you can track their location.
Oxygen Sensors
Several smartwatches can check blood oxygen saturation levels. If oxygen levels dip, the watch alerts the wearer to the dip. This can be useful if your parent has sleep apnea, asthma, or cardiovascular disease. With the alert, they can contact their doctor.
If the doctor wants them to schedule an appointment, you’ll be able to do that. The doctor may recommend keeping track of oxygen levels and symptoms experienced when the levels change to determine if there’s a problem.
Sleep Tracking
Do your parents get enough sleep? Today’s smartwatches can track the number of hours your parents are sleeping. Some can tell you how much of that sleep was deep sleep versus tossing and turning. It can help alert you to periods of insomnia or if sleep apnea may be present.
Phones
Some smartwatches connect to cellular towers making it possible to send a voice-to-text message from the watch. Your parent tells the watch what message to send and who to send the message to. That can be helpful in an emergency.
Nothing beats the personal touch that home care aides offer. Your parents have a person stopping by to see how they’re doing and help them out with things they cannot do on their own. They stay social and independent in their home with their caregiver’s help. Call a home care agency to make arrangements.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering home care in Centennial, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare today. Call us at (303) 756-9322.
