When a person can’t breathe effectively, it can cause a great deal of anxiety. It can also cause a person to avoid strenuous activities, exercise, and more. For seniors, after a hospitalization due to major surgery, injuries sustained in a slip and fall accident, a major health emergency, surgery, or something else, if they have difficulty breathing, it can limit their ability to stay on track with regard to their recovery.
They may not be able to exercise.
Plain and simple, the senior may not have the ability to exercise as other elderly individuals can. If a person can’t exercise, they can’t help strengthen their muscles, including the heart.
That’s going to interfere with recovery tremendously. What can be done about that? There may be certain medications or other devices that can be used to make it easier for them to breathe, but only their doctor will have the answer for them.
Their doctor might even limit activity level.
If the senior is dealing with some type of breathing difficulty, his or her doctor may have already admonished them to avoid strenuous activity, at least for a few weeks or months.
Even after pneumonia, when the senior is discharged, they are not out of the woods. They need to rest and make sure their body completely expels the virus or bacteria from their system. Otherwise, the pneumonia can come back, possibly even stronger than ever.
Without exercise, they will lose muscle mass.
When a person cannot exercise, they will lose more and more strength. This can make it difficult to get up and down stairs and perform some of the most basic tasks of everyday life. This is where the elderly person may need more assistance.
Just because they can’t exercise and might be getting weaker as time progresses, that doesn’t mean they can’t remain at home and stay active. It simply means they might need a different type of physical support on hand to assist them.
It can lead to increased frustration.
When people are unable to do the things they enjoy or that are beneficial for their health and recovery, it can be frustrating. When a person has difficulty breathing, it can be frightening and frustrating.
The best thing family and friends can do for these individuals is offer encouragement and help them stay focused on their recovery, no matter how limited it may be at the moment.
If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in West Memorial, TX, please call the caring staff at At Your Side Home Care. We will answer all of your senior care questions. Call today: (832) 271-1600.
Our Certified Nurse Aides, 24-Hour Live-in Assistants and Home Health Aides are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We also provide the security and confidence of 24-hour Telephone Assistance, so fast, reliable help is always available when it's needed. To learn more about our homecare services see our homecare services page.
Different people need different levels of homecare. To meet the requirements of our clients, At Your Side Homecare maintains consistent staffing levels of caring professionals. Homecare service is available for as little as a few hours a week, or as many as 24 hours a day, seven days a week
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