care for the elderly
Personal Care: How to Sleep Restfully
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 | home care | No Comments
It would seem that at least one might be perfectly free in sleep. But the habits of cleaving to mistaken ways of living cannot be thrown off at night and taken up again in the morning. They go to sleep with us and they wake with us.
If, however, we learn better habits of sleeping, that helps us in our life through the day. And learning better habits through the day helps us to get more rest from our sleep. At the end of a good day we can settle down more quickly to get ready for sleep, and, when we wake in the morning, find ourselves more ready to begin the day to come.
There are three things that prevent sleep,–overfatigue, material disturbances from the outside, and mental disturbances from, within.
It is not uncommon to hear people say, “I was too tired to sleep” –but it is not generally known how great a help it is at such times not to try to sleep, but to go to work deliberately to get I rested in preparation for it. In nine cases out of ten it is the unwillingness to lie awake that keeps us awake. We wonder why we do not sleep. We toss and turn and wish we could sleep. We fret, and fume, and worry, because we do not sleep. We think of all we have to do on the following day, and are oppressed with the thought that we cannot do it if we do not sleep. First, we try one experiment to see if it will not make us sleep, and when it fails, we try another, and perhaps another. In each experiment we, are watching to see if it will work. There are many things to do, any one of which might help us to sleep, but the _watching to see if they will work keeps us awake._
When we are kept awake from our fatigue, the first thing to do is to say over and over to ourselves that we do not care whether we sleep or not, in order to imbue ourselves with a healthy indifference about it. It will help toward gaining this wholesome indifference to say “I am too tired to sleep, and therefore, the first thing for me to do is to get rested in order to prepare for sleep. When my brain is well rested, it will go to sleep; it cannot help it. When it is well rested, it will sleep just as naturally as my lungs breathe, or as my heart beats.”
In order to rest our brains we want to lie quietly, relaxing all our muscles, and taking even, quiet breaths. It is good when we can take long, full breaths, but sometimes that is too fatiguing; and then we must not only take moderately long, breaths, but be careful to have them gentle, quiet, and rhythmic. To make a plan of breathing and follow it keeps the mind steadily concentrated on the breathing, and gives the rest of the brain, which has been working on other things, a chance to relax and find its own freedom and rest. It is helpful to inhale while we count seven, exhale while we count seven, then rest and breathe naturally while we count seven, and to repeat the series of three for seven times; but to be strict with ourselves and see that we only do it seven times, not once more nor once less.
Then we should wait a little and try it again,–and so keep on for a number of times, repeating the same series; and we should always be sure to have the air in our bedrooms as fresh as possible. If the breathing is steady and rhythmical it helps very much, and to inhale and exhale over and over for half an hour has a very pleasant, quieting effect–sometimes such exercises make us nervous at first, and, if we are very tired, that often happens; but, if we keep steadily at work, the nervousness disappears and restful quiet follows which very often brings restoring and refreshing sleep.
Home Care for the Elderly: Through Laws Achieve the Freedom of Life
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 | home care | No Comments
There are laws for rest, laws for work, and laws for play, which, if we find and follow them, lead us to quiet, useful lines of life, which would be impossible without them. They are the laws of our own being, and should carry us as naturally as the instincts of the animals carry them, and so enable us to do right in the right way, and make us so sure of the manner in which we do our work that we can give all our attention to the work itself; and when we have the right habit of working, the work itself must necessarily gain, because we can put the best of ourselves into it. And, especially after you retire, it’s no more about work so much.
It is right for most people to sleep eight hours every night. The wrong way of doing it is to go to sleep all doubled up, and to continue to work all night in our sleep, instead of giving up and resting entirely. The right way gives us the fullest possible amount of rest and refreshment.
It is right to take our three meals a day, and all the nourishing food we need. The wrong way of doing it, is to eat very fast, without chewing our food carefully, and to give our stomachs no restful opportunity of preparation to receive its food, or to take good care of it after it is received. The right way gives us the opportunity to assimilate the food entirely, so that every bit of fuel we put into our bodies is burnt to some good purpose, and makes us more truly ready to receive more.
It is right to play and amuse ourselves for rest and recreation. We play in the wrong way when we use ourselves up in the strain of playing, in the anxiety lest we should not win in a game, or when we play in bad air. When we play in the right way, there is no strain, no anxiety, only good fun and refreshment and rest.
We might go through the narrative of an average life in showing briefly the wonderful difference between doing right in the right way, and doing right in the wrong way. It is not too much to say that the difference in tendency is as great as that between life and death.
It is one thing to read about orderly living and to acknowledge that the ways described are good and true, and quite another to have one’s eyes opened and to act from the new knowledge, day by day, until a normal mode of life is firmly established. It requires quiet, steady force of will to get one’s self out of bad, and well established in good habits. After the first interest and relief there often has to be steady plodding before the new way becomes easy; but if we do not allow ourselves to get discouraged, we are sure to gain our end, for we are opening ourselves to the influence of the true laws within us, and in finding and obeying these we are approaching the only possible Freedom of Life.
Senior Care: How Can We Be Free Despite All Those Barriers?
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 | home care | No Comments
INTERIOR freedom rests upon the principle of non-resistance to all the things which seem evil or painful to our natural love of self. But non-resistance alone can accomplish nothing good unless, behind it, there is a strong love for righteousness and truth. By refusing to resist the ill will of others, or the stress of circumstances, for the sake of greater usefulness and a clearer point of view, we deepen our conviction of righteousness as the fundamental law of fife, and broaden our horizon so as to appreciate varying and opposite points of view.
The only non-resistance that brings this power is the kind which yields mere personal and selfish considerations for the sake of principles. Selfish and weak yielding must always do harm. Unselfish yielding, on the other hand, strengthens the will and increases strength of purpose as the petty obstacles of mere self-love are removed. Concentration alone cannot long remain wholesome, for it needs the light of growing self-knowledge to prevent its becoming self-centred.
Yielding alone is of no avail, for in itself it has no constructive power. But if we try to look at ourselves as we really are, we shall find great strength in yielding where only our small and private interests are concerned, and concentrating upon living the broad principles of righteousness which must directly or indirectly affect all those with whom we come into contact.
Home Care Ireland: Practical Home Care Skills
Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 | home care | No Comments
Sometimes it’s easy to understand what you, as a carer for the elderly, should do every day. But maybe there still are certain points that you might forget about. According to The Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC), you should be able to show these practical home care skills:
- Understand the importance of dignity, privacy and confidentiality in providing care to vulnerable people
- Respect the right of the person being cared for to autonomy, independence and choice
- Discuss the normal ageing process and the limitations of age related conditions
- Explain how to provide support with nutrition and feeding of the person being cared for
- Recognise the importance of a well-balanced diet for people who need care
- Discuss how important it is to assist the person being cared for in maintaining personal hygiene routines in the care of hair, teeth and personal grooming, bathing and dressing
- Outline how to manage the personal hygiene routines for elimination and continence for a person in their care
- Outline how to manage moving a person safely who has limited mobility with proper moving and handling techniques
- Identify how to make a bed which is occupied and unoccupied with the use of the particular aids for the process
- Explain how pressure areas occur and know what measures to put in place to prevent them
This applies even more when you don’t have a very close relationship with the person you are looking after. While in families, you might find yourself doing all these points almost automatically, when caring after seniors you don’t know, you usually need to put more effort to be able to perform them successfully.
If you find these difficult to deal with or if you would like to discuss any of these issues, give us a call on 1890 500 005 and see how our carers can help you straight away.
Care for the Elderly: New Year Resolutions of a Carer
Thursday, January 1st, 2009 | home care | 1 Comment
So here we go - a new year arrived and maybe we forgot to review the 2008 one, or to set goals for 2009.
Nevermind, what really is important is, whether the change will actually happen.
Here is a tip for this year: just watch and measure, if possible, all that you do and try to overcome yourself the next time. Especially in the caring business, we see how important it is to work on our own personal skills so that we can be better communicators, better helpers, better friends.
Anyway, don’t forget to wish something nice for yourself as well - how about giving yourself a smile every morning?
Wish you good luck and a successful year!
5 Must-Know Safety Tips in Caring for the Elderly
Sunday, December 28th, 2008 | home care | No Comments
Everyone knows that you should not put cables in one’s way because they could stumble and fall easily. This is even more important to remember when your are caring for the elderly. However, there are much more issues you should remember when looking after your elderly Mum or Dad. In this case you become a carer and as such it would be useful to do as is advised to the attendees of the FETAC Practical Home Care Skills Course:
- Identify the different ways that a Carer’s personal standard of hygiene assists in the prevention of infection
- Understand how infection can be transmitted in a care environment
- Prevent cross-infection. This prevention includes the correct and appropriate use of cleaning procedures and the use of protective equipment
- Food should be stored hygienically, safely and free from hazards
- Recognise the importance of fire prevention, accident prevention and learn the different ways that fire and accidents are prevented in the home and caring environment
If you find these difficult to deal with or if you would like to discuss any of these issues, give us a call on 1890 500 005 and see how our carers can help you straight away.
Elderly Care: Spend Christmas with Your Dearest
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 | home care | No Comments
How important is it for you to be with your children at Christmas? Sometimes whole families gather together and they celebrate these most fabulous seasons of the year. We all want to spend our Christmas dinner surrounded by those we love - our parents, our kids, grandparents, and sometimes even friends who are not our direct relatives.
Sometimes we are not aware how tough it can be to leave an elderly person on their own at Christmas - so make sure that you invite your family members to spend the evening with you. They will give it back, believe me - their smile and maybe even slightly improved health will let you know that you’ve done something really good.
Wish you a merry Christmas!
What a Good Carer Should Know
Thursday, December 18th, 2008 | home care | No Comments
Caring for the elderly really is a hard work. Not only is it physically demanding, but, what is even more difficult, it requires a good level of psychological involvement. Emotional pain which arises when you look after a person who is suffering or dying, can be a huge distress and if a carer is not fully aware of how to cope with it, it can lead to their own breakdown.
Therefore, all carers of Sandra Cooney’s Home Care in Dublin have completed a Manual Handling Course and they hold an up-to-date first aid certificate and FETAC Level 5 in Practical Home Care Skills.
According to The Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC), the core skills that attendees of this course will develop, include:
• taking initiative
• taking responsibility for one’s own learning and progress
• problem solving
• applying theoretical knowledge in practical contexts
• being numerate and literate
• having information and communication technology skills
• sourcing and organising information effectively
• listening effectively
• communicating orally and in writing
• working effectively in group situations
• understanding health and safety issues
• reflecting on and evaluating quality of own learning and achievement.
Still, there’s much more to it than just to systematically put these into practice. We in Sandra Cooney’s Home Care in Dublin constantly talk to our carers, ensuring they love what they do, because only then we will achieve results and develop very strong relationships with our clients.
Senior Care: Help Them Be More Independent
Friday, December 5th, 2008 | home care | 1 Comment
How can we make sure that our elderly parents do not end up in a nursing home where they cannot decide on their own what to do and where to go - as usually there is a rigid regime they need to follow?
Well, this is not to say anything against the excellent service nursing homes provide, as sometimes without their help, the lives of many elders would be so much more difficult, and actually some older people are happy to go to such a home, as they can enjoy the presence of the like-minded friends of similar age and life experiences - so why not?
But if your parents like to go for long walks, enjoy the nature, feed little birds, or just go fishing or play golf - why not to enable them do what they like? This is what services of a home care company are for - well-educated and skilled carers will look after elderly people - and actually your Mum or Dad could get a carer who would suit their personality, of a like-minded character, somebody with similar hobbies - the chances are, that there is an ideal carer for every single person.
So why not give it a try and see how your parents, unless you have enough time to spend with them yourself, could benefit from having a friend who would enable them still continue to do what they really enjoy!
Elderly Care: Fresh Air Heals
Thursday, December 4th, 2008 | home care | No Comments
Hey, do you enjoy walking in a forest or in a park on a lovely sunny day? How about bringing your loved ones with you? As you know, sometimes it can be difficult to move on your own - but when you get some help, you can enjoy last autumn sun beams as well - and breathing the fresh air makes wonders to how you feel and what mood you are in.
It is sad that people in hospitals and sometimes people in nursing homes don’t get much sun. Aren’t their days then too dark? I hate the feeling when I am sitting in bed, looking out of the window, feeling the sunshine, but not being able to go out and actually be in the nature and feel the touch of the sun on my shoulders.
So what - do you agree how important it is now to share these beauties with those who cannot make it on their own? Can you give them a helping hand and bring them out?
And to say thank you, their smile will shine on their faces.
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