COPD impacts your senior’s ability to breathe, but it does so much more, too. Having COPD means that your elderly family member’s approach to her entire life may need to change. She can modify some of these tasks or hand them over to someone else, but she’s going to need to make a decision.
Household Chores and Tasks
Elder Care Milton GA – Four Tasks That Are More Difficult if Your Senior Has COPD
The biggest place your senior might notice that her abilities have changed is with household tasks. Things she could normally do with ease may wear her out now. Dusting, vacuuming, and other chores seem as if they don’t burn a lot of energy, but they really do. And your senior is far more likely to become winded now when she’s trying to do those things. Cleaning products can also affect her breathing now, even if they never did in the past.
Cooking and Food Preparation
Moving around the kitchen, dealing with dishes, and even digging through the fridge and pantry for food can all be a lot more taxing than your senior remembers those activities being. She might find that it’s so difficult that she resists cooking, too. But this can leave her eating foods that aren’t all that healthy for her and that leave her feeling worse in terms of energy and overall well-being.
Daily Personal Care
Taking a bath or shower is a lot more demanding of your senior’s energy than she or even you might imagine. Then there’s the fact that warm and hot water is more humid, which can make breathing more difficult for your senior. Your senior might not feel as safe as she once did when bathing, which can affect how often she’s willing to even give it a try.
Errands and Shopping
Running a quick errand is a lot easier when your senior’s breathing is easy. Unfortunately, with COPD your senior might not find that to be the case. Even errands that should take only a few minutes can feel incredibly difficult. And if she’s trying to hurry, that burns more energy and oxygen, which she can’t afford to squander.
Helping your elderly family member to conserve her energy is crucial when she has COPD. It’s not always easy to know what she needs, though. One solution can be to hire elder care providers to help your senior to figure out when she needs to rest and when she has the strength to push herself a little more.
