As seniors age, they could experience many changes that have negative impacts on their bodies. However, there are some health conditions senior women are more susceptible to than men. Here are some tips for your senior loved one to follow that could help her maintain good health and prevent various age-related issues. Remember the key to living longer and healthier is making good lifestyle choices.
Eat Healthy
Diabetes impacts seniors more than any other age group. However, women who have diabetes have a higher risk of developing other health conditions, such as:
- Vision loss
- Coronary heart disease
- Depression
- Hyperglycemia
Good nutrition helps senior women lose pounds and maintain a healthy weight. Eating fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, fish, and lean meats can also keep your loved one’s blood sugar levels within a healthy range, which lowers her risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Eating nutritious foods is one of the many ways seniors can boost their health and enjoy a high quality of life. If your older loved one needs help maintaining a high quality of life while aging in place, reach out to Assisting Hands Home Care, a trusted provider of senior home care. Our caregivers provide transportation to and from medical appointments and social events, nutritious meal preparation, assistance with daily exercise, and help with everyday tasks like bathing, grooming, and light housekeeping.
Stop Smoking
Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death for senior women, and smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer. However, it’s the easiest factor to prevent. Quitting can reduce your loved one’s chances of developing lung cancer even if she has smoked for a long time. Encourage your loved one to attend support groups or try out nicotine replacement products. Your loved one will also need to avoid secondhand smoke. Exposure to secondhand smoke can increase the odds of developing lung cancer. Therefore, your loved one will need to avoid events and venues that permit smoking.
Attend Regular Doctor Visits
Senior women are more susceptible to heart disease than senior men, which is why your loved one will need to have regular health screenings and doctor visits. While heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in men, women often go undiagnosed. Eating heart-healthy foods and exercising can lower the risk of strokes, heart attacks, and cardiovascular disease. However, going to the doctor when symptoms appear is also necessary. Some of the symptoms your loved one could experience include:
- Shoulder aches
- Chest pain
- Nausea
- Jaw pain
- Shortness of breath
Living with serious health conditions can make it challenging for seniors to age in place. However, they can maintain a higher quality of life with the help of professional home care. Northern Kentucky seniors can benefit from assistance with meal prep, bathing, transportation to the doctor’s office, medication reminders, and much more.
Engage in Moderate Exercise
To keep her bones healthy, your loved one will need to stay active and exercise on a regular basis. As a result, your loved one can increase her muscle strength, coordination, balance, and overall health. Moderate exercise and physical activity can also reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis, a disease that impacts a large percentage of senior women. Maintaining bone health helps senior women prevent osteoporosis as well as severe health issues caused by slips and falls.
Another way to help your loved one manage osteoporosis and other health conditions is to hire a professional caregiver who can assist with daily tasks. Some seniors need occasional assistance at home, and oftentimes the family members who take care of them need time away to run errands, take a nap, go to work, or take a vacation. Northern Kentucky home care services experts from Assisting Hands Home Care of Northern Kentucky are available on an as-needed basis, giving your family peace of mind that your loved one will remain safe and comfortable while you relax or focus on other important responsibilities. For more information about our flexible, customizable home care plans, call one of our compassionate Care Managers today at (859)-444-5699.
