Everyone ages. No matter how much you try to dodge those numbers adding up, you will soon wake up one day without the spark of youth. But when the elderly happens to be a member of your family, it gives you all the more reason to make sure that they don’t feel more aged than necessary.
Do you have a loved one who needs assistance because of their declining well-being or deteriorating health condition? This is where personal care can come in handy.
Various factors may come into play as to why someone will require personal care. These may include, but are not limited to:
• Physical impairments or disabilities
• New Diagnosis
• Worsening symptoms or conditions
• Post-surgery recovery
• Declining overall health
Aging in the comforts of one’s home is one of the best options for elder family members who have already lost their good health or are no longer as independent as they used to be.
However, let’s face it: caring for an elderly loved one suffering from health issues is no easy feat, no matter how dedicated you are.
If your senior family member already needs more regular assistance for their everyday activities, it might be the perfect time for you to consider all care options available at your disposal.
Aging in place has now become the most appreciated and popular choice as an alternative to moving to a special living facility for the elderly.
The purpose of this article is to give you some of the top reasons why it is important to have personal care for your elderly family member.

Personal Care Defined

Personal care pertains to the compassionate supervision and assistance given to persons in maintaining personal hygiene and carrying out day-to-day living tasks. This special form of care becomes more critical as a person ages and encounters difficulties in terms of dressing, bathroom use, bathing, and the like.
Personal care is considered significant due to its important role when it comes to the preservation of the health, quality of life, and dignity of people who need respectful and compassionate assistance. This is also essential to help prevent illnesses as it addresses requirements regarding personal hygiene, which contributes to a person’s physical health in general.
Aside from the physical benefits, personal care also supports a person’s mental well-being as it offers them the opportunity to retain a safe and independent lifestyle right in their own homes. Caregivers can extend their support beyond just personal hygiene alone as they can also aid with errands, mobility assistance, cooking, cleaning, and medication reminders, just to mention a few.

What’s Involved in Personal Care Services?

As mentioned earlier, personal care for the elderly is the supervision and support of toileting and private hygiene as well as everyday personal living tasks, together with maintaining personal appearance and dressing.
Personal care services may also involve lending a hand with bed changing, laundry, and meal preparation. This also provides the elderly with the opportunity to receive sensitive and discreet one-to-one support from a professional and trained private caregiver.
Every person has unique needs for personal care. However, it often involves assistance provided by the caregiver with the following tasks:
• Assistance with medication
• Bathing/ showering/cleaning
• Changing the bed
• Eating habits
• Laundry
• Seeing family and friends
• Shaving
• Skincare
• Toilet assistance
• Using local services

The tasks above become even more important as a person gets older because the elderly tend to be more prone to illnesses or infections.

To give you a good idea, a carer can help you with:

• Showering and bathing
A personal carer can sensitively help with personal hygiene to help the person feel more confident every day.
• Getting dressed
Dressing and undressing become simpler and faster with the help of a carer.
• Oral hygiene
Carers can assist with brushing the teeth as well as other areas of oral hygiene.
• Applying makeup
A personal carer can also assist with make-up application and help with hair care and shaving.

• Foot care
Proper foot care is specifically important for people suffering from diabetes and should be extra vigilant with their feet.
• Stoma management
A personal carer can help maintain or change a catheter bag or stoma.
• Moving position in bed
Carers can assist with moving position in bed to stretch and prevent pressure injuries.
• Continence and toileting
A carer can help with cleaning intimate areas, toileting, and changing continence pads.

Why Do Elderly Family Members Need Personal Care Services?

Elderly family members need personal care services for a plethora of reasons depending on their particular situation and needs. Mobility challenges may require people to seek help with tasks such as bathing or getting out of bed. Some may also need support in recalling essential duties, specifically people with complex medication schedules or dementia.

Personal care services are even more beneficial to older people, those with complex care needs, and people with disabilities. People living alone might also require assistance because of issues regarding maintaining routines in personal care independently, resulting in a higher risk of accidents.

Difficulties in hygiene maintenance can also affect a person’s sense of independence and confidence, which makes personal care assistance even more critical. Most of the time, it can be challenging for family members to deal with personal care tasks and their intimate nature. This makes professionally trained caregivers a more efficient and comfortable choice when it comes to offering essential support.

Services involving personal care may also vary, from round-the-clock care to short visits several times a week. Each service is detailed within the personalized care plan made based on the needs of the person.

Benefits of Personal Care for Elderly Family Members

1. It creates a safe environment.

The lack of safe and secure surroundings is one of the most pressing concerns for elderly family members aging at home. Instead of trying to uproot their whole life from the comforts of their home, you can create a safe environment for them.
You can easily transform your home into a comfortable and safe space where your elderly loved one can live. You can also integrate a few safety precautions to make things better.

For example, you can install shower bars, and lower cabinet items, install slip-proof coverings on bath and shower floors, and get rid of clutter from floors. The keyword here is to simplify the space.

2. Personal care is personalized.

While you can’t deny all the perks that assisted living facilities can offer, it is still ideal to work with your elderly loved ones and assist them at home. The best and most important thing here is that home care patients get to enjoy more personalized and one-on-one care.

A professional dedicated caregiver can offer a sense of compassion and companionship that you can never expect to get from a group setting. If an elderly family member requires specific care, letting them stay in a bigger living facility may mean that their needs might be overlooked at times.

Stay-at-home patients can receive personal assistance in a more intimate and familiar setting at their preferred pace. Personal care offers a higher level and overall quality of care.

A professional caregiver can get to know their patient on a deeper and more relational level, allowing them to serve and cater to their needs best.

Remember that your elderly loved one deserves all the personal attention so they can thrive and continue living their life to the fullest.

3. Health is always better at home.

One of the most critical components of elderly home care is to guarantee the comfort and safety of the patient. Letting them stay in their home can make most elderly adults feel much better both physically and mentally.

Staying at home also means that they will be surrounded by everything familiar to them. It helps them develop a sense of freedom and security.

4. Personal care preserves independence and health.

As a person ages, day-to-day tasks can become more challenging. Giving them the chance to live and stay at home provides a sense of independence and comfort. Personal care for the elderly at home can help patients preserve or even improve their confidence levels.

Living in an assisted living facility or a nursing home can sometimes make people feel helpless, defeated, or just downright bitter. Letting them stay at home encourages elderly people to communicate and reach out more.

Personal care can also empower elderly family members to do things on their own while still getting assistance when they need it the most. This sense of independence and self-reliance can be of great help to their overall sense of well-being and mental health.

5. It offers families the much-needed peace of mind.

When you have an elderly family member, it’s only normal that you worry about their well-being and safety. If your elderly loved ones can stay at home, you no longer have to stress about a life-altering change.

You will also free yourself from worries regarding their safety and feel more certain that their health and well-being are in great hands. You can have peace of mind knowing that your loved one receives the special care they deserve and need right at home.

6. It allows family members to stay involved in their care.

More often than not, you have to travel far or even cross state lines just to find the best-assisted living community or care home. This can make things more challenging for you and other family members to maintain a close involvement in the care of your elderly family member. Opting for personal care can help you say goodbye to this problem.

Since your loved one will be getting all the attention and support they need at home, you can always be there for them as you normally do. You don’t need to worry about strict visiting hours instead. You can be by their side and then leave when you have to.

7. It’s good for their cognitive skills and mental health.

The elderly must spend their golden years in the familiarity, safety, and comfort of their home. It has a significant positive effect on their memory function, cognitive skills, and emotional health. Take note that the members of the elderly population need to maintain their good memory skills. This can minimize or prevent the severity and onset of illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

8. It offers a practical financial option.

You and your elderly loved ones can also save more money if they receive the right form of care in their home. Senior living communities and care homes come at a price, which can take its toll on the finances of the elderly and their family alike.

But with personal care programs, you can get the assurance that your elderly family member will receive the best level of care possible at a more reasonable cost. Personal care programs usually have hourly charges, which means you will only be paying for the specific amount of time that the carer spent with the patient.

9. It allows pet companionship.

In case you don’t know, many senior assisted living communities and care homes don’t allow residents to keep their pets. Of course, this is for safety and health reasons. However, this might still have a negative effect on patients who have pets.

Personal care gets rid of this issue completely. Your elderly loved one can stay at their home so they don’t have to say goodbye to their beloved pets. It may sound simple but it offers a lot of amazing benefits.
Pets are proven to help combat anxiety, stress, and depression, and reduce feelings of loneliness from a psychological perspective. Fur friends can also help calm patients diagnosed with dementia and reduce the dangers of developing heart disease.

Meanwhile, if your elderly family member wants to keep their pets but can use some support, you also don’t have to worry because the carer can also help them as little or as much as they need.

10. It promotes independence.

One of the most critical perks of personal care is the fact that it can also help your elderly family members maintain a level of autonomy. The worker from the personal care service will visit them as frequently as needed and offer them the assistance they require.

Your elderly loved one will also have a sense of independence and freedom at the same time. This allows them to continue pursuing their everyday activities, social life, and hobbies as and when they please.

11. It’s customized to their specific needs.

Staying in a senior living community or care home doesn’t always guarantee that everything is specifically tailored to the individual patient’s needs and requirements.

On the other hand, personal care, as its name suggests, can be customized as needed. No matter what the specific needs of your loved one might be, and regardless of the amount and type of support they need, personal care programs can be tweaked and adjusted to cater to their specifications.

There is simply nothing that can beat the one-to-one attention that personal care can offer. Your elderly family member will form a genuine, close, and strong relationship with the carer. As a result, it will make them feel comforted, nurtured, and safe.

Support Your Elderly Family Member with Personal Care

Personal care can be your best choice out of the numerous options available right now to help you take care of your elderly family member who needs assistance. Receiving the highest level and quality of care from the familiarity, comfort, and safety of their home offers a long list of benefits and perks.

From creating a safe environment to making sure that they receive customized care, from offering peace of mind to promoting independence, personal care is no doubt a no-brainer option.

While each situation is unique on its own, letting your elderly family member stay in the comforts of their home is typically the best and most feasible option. Although there are indeed senior home care and nursing facilities available, many of them might not be the right option not only for your loved one but even for you.

With personal care services, you can be sure that the people you love will always be in safe hands.

If you are interested in learning more about this option, make sure to look for the best providers of personal care services that can offer excellent results for you and your family member’s peace of mind!