In-home care services are invaluable for anyone who can no longer live alone safely. Many families share caregiver duties among family members but, eventually, these tasks may become overwhelming. In that case, an experienced in-home care provider can help fill those gaps and provide respite care and support for primary caregivers.

Family members are rarely prepared for the challenges they will face as their loved one’s condition progresses. Unless you have medical training specific to the needs of seniors, you are likely to face some situations that challenge you.

Comfort Home Care provides home health care in Rockville, Maryland, and the surrounding areas. Our caring and compassionate aides are highly skilled and experienced in providing the care and services your loved one needs. These are some of the most common challenges you might experience as a caregiver for your loved one.

Communication Challenges in Home Care

Communicating with a personal who needs care can be difficult. The family’s primary caregiver will likely be best able to facilitate communication while home health aides may need some time to get to know the person (and vice versa) before communication becomes easier.

Resolving communication challenges sometimes requires taking a closer look at the problem. If your loved one has trouble understanding or is unresponsive, for example, the issue could be related to a recent change in their hearing or vision. Sight and hearing loss sometimes go undiagnosed, and the symptoms can be mistakenly attributed to dementia.

Another common challenge can occur if your loved one doesn’t have a lot of healthcare knowledge – sometimes called health literacy. You and other caregivers may be using terms and concepts they aren’t familiar with. Typically, the best way to overcome this challenge is to provide simple, verbal explanations.

Personal Care Challenges for Seniors

If your loved one requires help in performing the tasks of daily living, you might encounter challenges related to bathing, dressing, toileting or other personal care matters. Much like the communication challenges described above, you might have to delve more deeply to find answers.

For example, if your loved one begins refusing food, it might be due to a dental problem such as a sore tooth or ill-fitting dentures. Food refusal could also indicate a problem with swallowing.

If your loved one begins to resist getting dressed, bathing, or other activities, it could be due to orthopedic pain or some other type of discomfort. This behavior could also be something as simple as keeping the home a few degrees warmer.

How a Professional Home Care Agency Can Help

Family members play an invaluable role in helping keep a loved one at home once they start to need assistance. But sometimes having a little help can make a big difference.

Comfort Home Care provides comprehensive in-home care, delivered by our compassionate and experienced Certified Nursing Assistants and Geriatric Nursing Assistants. We tailor our services to the needs of you and your loved one, to ensure they enjoy the best possible experience. We are committed to helping you keep your loved one safe, healthy and happy, and to overcoming the challenges you might experience.