Seniors often experience physical, emotional, and spiritual pain while struggling with chronic or terminal illnesses. It's natural for them to feel overwhelmed. At Senior Helpers Orange County (and Irvine, Santa Ana, and Tustin), we offer care options that include palliative medicine, which focuses on managing the symptoms of seniors who are battling a life-limiting illness or injury.
What Is Palliative Medicine?
Palliative medicine is a comprehensive care approach that focuses on the relief of physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering by preventing and decreasing pain, easing symptoms, and offering support. It's most beneficial during any stage of illness when seniors need help managing their condition to maintain quality of life. The goal is to maximize comfort while providing compassionate care without necessarily curing an underlying illness.
How Does Palliative Medicine Work?
Palliative medicine is not the same as hospice care or end-of-life care. Hospice care is a type of palliative care that is provided to patients who are expected to live six months or less and have decided to stop curative treatments. End-of-life care is part of palliative care that focuses on the last days or hours of life. Palliative medicine can be provided at any stage of an illness, along with curative treatments or alone when curative treatments are no longer effective or desired by the patient.
Pain Management
Palliative medicine treatments can include physical, occupational, and speech therapy. The care plan is designed to address symptoms like pain management, symptom control, emotional support, and psychological distress. Plans designed by palliative care practitioners may include medications or alternative therapies such as massage therapy and acupuncture in order to provide relief from the physical discomforts of a condition. Aids that allow comfort while maintaining independence are also provided when needed, such as specialized cushions or positioning devices.
Symptom Control
It can be performed through targeted methods, including simple modifications in diet, lifestyle choices, or medication changes, with the goal of making patients as comfortable and independent as possible at any stage of their illness journey. Additionally, emotional support for patients and family members includes educational resources about how to best assist with care, connecting them with other caregivers who have had similar experiences, engaging in therapeutic activities (such as music therapy), and providing personal counseling services on an individual basis if desired.
Benefits of Palliative Medicine
This type of medicine offers numerous benefits for seniors and their families, such as providing comfort care, allowing them to maintain independence in their homes or other living environments, giving family members relief from the stress involved with trying to care for a sick loved one, creating better lines of communication between physicians and patients or family members about end-of-life conversations, and improving quality of life for those dealing with chronic illnesses.
Finally, palliative medicine can help seniors and their families find relief from symptoms related to an illness or injury in several ways. In-Home senior care agencies such as Senior Helpers Orange County provide access to this specialized care through focused treatment plans that are tailored to individual needs. Contact us today to learn more!