As a caregiver for your senior parents, you want to do everything you can to ensure their health and safety. With the onset of cold weather and flu season, it's important to take extra precautions to minimize the risk of flu. If you take care of elderly parents with potentially compromised immune systems, here are five tips that can help.
1. Get Vaccinated
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone over 6 months old get a seasonal flu vaccine each year. Seniors should also consider additional vaccines such as pneumonia and shingles. Talk with your senior parent's doctor or pharmacist about which vaccinations are right for them.
2. Wash Hands Regularly
Washing hands is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself and others from germs that cause illnesses like the flu. Encourage your senior parents to wash their hands often with soap and water, especially after using the restroom, before eating, and when they come in contact with people who may be sick. If soap and water aren't available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer instead.
3. Keep the Home Clean
Germs can linger on the surfaces of our homes. It's important to keep things clean and disinfected as much as possible. Regularly wipe down hard surfaces such as countertops, doorknobs, refrigerator handles, phones, remotes, light switches, etc. Try using a household cleaner or diluted bleach solution (one tablespoon of unscented liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water). It's also a good idea to change bedding once a week during the cold season since germs can build up there too.
4. Exercise Regularly
Exercise can help boost immunity by increasing circulation throughout the body. Encourage your senior loved ones to get moving each day—even something as simple as walking around the block counts. This will also help keep them in good physical shape, so they have the strength necessary to ward off any potential viruses and minimize the risk of flu.
5. Eat Well
Eating healthy foods rich in vitamins A and C will help strengthen seniors' immune systems naturally. Good examples include oranges, kiwis, pineapple, spinach, and kale. Encourage them to drink plenty of water, too, since dehydration can weaken their body's natural defenses. Additionally, try making meals or plan grocery store trips together to stay stocked up on nutritious options throughout the cold season.
Help Your Senior Loved Ones Avoid the Flu
Taking steps now will help minimize the risk of flu for your senior parents during this cold season while keeping them active and healthy overall. Senior Helpers Kansas City is here for any questions you may have about taking care of seniors during this time. We offer different services such as companion care, home care, and respite care in Lee's Summit, Kansas City, and Blue Springs, MO, to help make life a little easier for seniors and their families.
Contact us today for more information about how we can help support you through it all.