Elderly Recover from an Injury: Recovering from an injury is no easy task, and it’s even harder if you are older. As our bodies age, they often become more fragile, meaning the elderly may take longer to recover from injuries. On top of that, they will also be at higher risk of complications after the injuries.
If there is an elderly person in your life who has recently been injured, you may want to help them, but not know how. If this is the case, you’ve come to the right place, as we’ll be discussing some things that you can do to help them during the recovery process.
Prevent them from injuring themselves further
Even once they’ve received treatment for their injury, there is still a high likelihood of them hurting themselves again and injuring themselves further.
As you can imagine, the first step is thus to try to prevent this from happening. You can get them a wheelchair or crutches to make it easier for them to move around, and you should encourage them to take it easy until their injury is fully healed. Devices like the best medical alert systems can help to alert you if something does happen so that you can get to them as soon as possible.
Get their medication for them
Ideally, an elderly person should try to stay home as much as possible after their injury so that they don’t move around too much. This means you should do everything you can to make life easier for them. A simple thing that you can do that will help them is to get their medication for them.
Alternatively, if they are stubborn and insist on doing it themselves, you can always have their prescriptions delivered to them, or you can order an Uber for them so that they don’t have to walk to the pharmacy. Of course, this can be dangerous, so be sure that they know how to stay safe in an Uber.
Take them for checkups
No matter how mild their injury was, the odds are that their doctor will want to see them to ensure that they are recovering properly and that there aren’t any complications.
Once again, you can help them by driving them to any doctor’s appointments or checkups they may need. This may seem like a small thing to do, but it will likely mean a lot to them, especially because they may not want to go through the checkup alone and will appreciate your support. Some older people also feel confused after injuries, so they may forget their appointments. You should, therefore, keep track of when their appointments are scheduled, just in case they forget.
Support them
We often tend to focus on the physical effects of an injury, but the truth is that there are also many mental side effects, especially for the elderly.
People who suffer from an injury when they are older may feel worried about their health, and this can negatively impact their mental state. You should try to support them in any way you can, and also encourage them to seek professional help if you think that they aren’t coping.
You can also get them to try some of these ways of relieving stress to see if that helps. This may seem like a tiny thing, but you may be surprised at what a massive difference it can make to their mood.
Keep them entertained
Some people are very active and busy despite their age, which means that if they suddenly need to stay home on bed rest, it can be very hard for them to adjust.
This is understandable – after all, most of us would get frustrated and bored after a while. So, it can be a good idea to keep them entertained while they recover, as this will lift their spirits.
First and foremost, you should visit them, so that they don’t feel lonely. Then, you can keep them entertained by having them stream movies. Just be sure you know when the latest movies will be available to stream. For example, you can find out when Top Gun Maverick will be streaming here.
In conclusion
Helping the elderly recover from an injury isn’t that much different from helping anyone else recover, aside from the fact that it may take them a bit longer to recover, and you may need to keep a more careful eye on them.
Overall, the most important things are to make sure that they are taking care of both their physical and mental health. You should also try to make life as easy as possible for them during their recovery period so that they can focus on getting better.
Jorden Smith is a passionate writer and researcher with a knack for exploring news and website reviews. With a keen eye for detail and a love for uncovering hidden gems, Jorden’s work is always thorough and informative. When not busy writing, Jorden enjoys traveling and discovering new places. Stay tuned for more insightful articles from this up-and-coming writer.