Here's How to Take Care of the Elderly at Home During the Pandemic COVID-19

If you are at home with parents, grandparents, or elderly grandmothers, you must pay extra attention and care to them in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic. Because, they are more at risk of contracting the Corona virus.

Corona virus or SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that attacks the respiratory system. This virus is easier to attack people with weak immune systems. One of them is the elderly (elderly), which is a group of people who are older than 60 years.

Tips for Caring for the Elder During the Pandemic COVID-19

Besides being more susceptible to being infected with Corona virus, the elderly can also experience more severe symptoms if they are exposed to COVID-19, especially the elderly who have heart, lung, or diabetes.

This is because the immune system of the elderly has weakened and the work of the body's organs is also generally not optimal, and may even have experienced interference. Under these conditions, the virus will more easily multiply and cause damage, and aggravate existing disorders.

Well, to take care of the elderly at home and prevent it from getting COVID-19, do the following tips:

1. Take care of your health

As someone who takes care or has direct contact with the elderly, you yourself must be more careful in protecting yourself from the Corona virus. This is to reduce the risk of you transmitting the Corona virus to the elderly you care for.

Wash hands frequently with soap and running water, and increase endurance by eating healthy foods and exercising regularly. In addition, reduce traveling outside the home when there is no urgent need. When you have to go outside, wear a mask and apply physical distancing.

2. Minimize the risk of the elderly being exposed to the Corona virus

Make sure you always wash your hands before and after helping the elderly to move. If you are still active outside the home, change all your clothes before seeing or caring for the elderly. If necessary, use a cloth mask while in the vicinity of the elderly.

In addition, frequently clean items in the house that are often touched by residents, especially elderly, such as doorknobs or telephones.

3. Take care of the health of the elderly

Take care of the health of the elderly by providing healthy and certainly hygienic food. Choose foods with balanced nutrition that contain protein, good fats, complex carbohydrates, fiber, and vitamins and minerals. Apart from being a source of energy, healthy food can also strengthen the immune system of the elderly.

Invite the elderly to do light physical exercise or stretching muscles for at least 20-30 minutes every day. This is important to maintain muscle strength and balance of the elderly so that they are not easily injured. It would be better if physical exercise is done while basking in the morning sun.

If possible, carry out routine checks at home, such as checking blood pressure, temperature, blood sugar levels, or blood cholesterol levels. Ask if there are complaints that bother him, especially if the elderly do have a history of chronic diseases, such as diabetes or stroke.

If the elderly experience symptoms of Corona virus infection, immediately do independent isolation and call the COVID-19 hotline at 119 Ext. 9 to get further directions.

4. Limit traveling outside the house

During the COVID-19 pandemic as it is today, everyone is encouraged to remain at home except to buy food or urgent needs, for example seeking emergency medical help.

Even though the elderly at home are still fit and active, keep them from traveling, let alone hanging out with other people. The reason, the risk of being infected in a place that many people are far greater than at home.

If the elderly at home have an illness that needs regular medication and control to the doctor, do not forget to remind him to take medication routinely according to the doctor's recommendations. However, as long as the situation is fine, postpone routine control to the doctor for a while.

If you really need a consultation with a doctor, do it online through a health application that has a direct chat feature with the doctor, for example the ALODOKTER application.

5. Apply physical distancing

While in the house, physical distancing remains important to implement. Limit the visits of people who usually come home to meet the elderly. In addition, fellow residents also need to keep their distance during meeting the elderly, especially when you are sick.

However, you also need to remember, do not let this make the elderly feel shunned and alienated from others, yes. They are still allowed to do social interactions, really. Socializing and establishing communication with others is important to maintain the mood of the elderly is always good while at home, but there needs to be a limit.

6. Teach the elderly how to use gadgets or devices

Being at home every day can make anyone bored, including the elderly. So they don't feel fed up, teach them how to use gadgets or devices. Through the gadget, they can make video calls with families who don't live in the same house or relatives, without the need for face-to-face-to-face contact.

Not only that, they can also be entertained with a wide selection of games that can be downloaded easily and watch a lot of movies or videos they like.

7. Provide activities at home

Elderly people are usually advised not to do too much activity, especially those that are draining or have a high risk of injury. However, that does not mean they cannot do any activities.

So that older people don't get bored, you need to give them activities while at home. If they like to cook, invite them to cook together. But, make sure the tasks they do are light and harmless, yes.

If they like to knit, paint, or care for flowers, complete their hobby needs and let them keep on creating. Aside from making them active, hobbies can also make their moods better and not be grumpy while staying at home.

Living with the elderly in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic like this requires you to be more careful, both in taking care of their health and yourself. You also have to be patient because caring for an elderly person in this condition is not easy.

If there is anything you want to ask about elderly health or how to care for the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic, you can use health applications that offer telemedicine facilities, such as ALODOKTER.

Through the ALODOKTER application, you can chat directly with the doctor. And if a direct examination is needed, you can also make an appointment with a doctor in the hospital through this application.

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