Health problems and medical emergencies are an inevitable part of our lives. Sometimes it’s impossible to avoid calling an ambulance or rushing towards a pharmacy when we or our relatives are sick or experience other unpleasant problems.
Some health issues are easy to predict and prevent, but others can be more surprising. For example, feeling sick after eating bad food is not a rare situation, and at the same time, it’s difficult to eliminate the risk in advance.
Being prepared and knowing how to react in case of such emergencies is vital for everyone, but it’s even more crucial in the case of elderly people. They usually don’t want to bother their kids or other younger family members, even when they truly need help and care. That’s why it may be a good idea to familiarize the elderly in your family with other emergency solutions – such as https://medicalalertsystemshq.com/ – and share some useful tips with them.
What can you do to help your parents avoid unpredictable health problems and emergencies? Below, we share some of the most helpful tips.
Table of Contents
Update Their First Aid Kit
A first aid kit is present in almost every home, but it’s not always complete. It happens very often that the medications are expired, or their doses are not correct. In such a case, the usefulness of a first aid kit significantly decreases.
That’s why it’s extremely important to take care of the medical equipment and make sure that your parents have all the essential medications and items ready to be used. What are these?
- different sizes and shapes of patches and band-aids
- small, medium, and large gauzes
- different bandages
- painkillers containing paracetamol, aspirin, or ibuprofen
- skin irritation ointment
- cough syrup
- antihistamine medication
- distilled water or other disinfecting substance
- scissors
- burn-relief spray
- other more specific medications (according to individual needs)
Remember to keep all the items in one place that’s easily accessible and to store the medications in original packaging – sometimes, in an emergency situation, it would be impossible to find the right item if it’s not named properly.
Try to update your parents’ first aid kit regularly, for example, every month. Sensitize them to the importance of such a kit and ask for any recommendations as far as the medications they need are concerned.
Make Them Visit the Doctor Regularly
Having regular checkups at the doctors’ is extremely important for everyone, but in the case of elderly people it’s even more vital. Visiting a doctor regularly, for example, every quarter or month, can be a great way to prevent many diseases and potentially serious conditions.
If your parents tend to forget about making doctor appointments, try to remind them about it or put some sticky notes in their calendar. You can also arrange the checkups by yourself, simply informing the parents about the date and time of their appointment.
Try to stay in touch with your parents’ doctor – it will make it a lot easier for you to keep track of their medical history and other issues.
Inform Them about Important Telephone Numbers and CPR
Knowing the rules of CPR is not that obvious – we all know something about helping others in emergency situations, but this knowledge is not always complete or correct. That’s why teaching the elderly how to react in emergency cases is crucial for their health and safety. You can either go for a CPR course together, or you can find some Online CPR course. There are also courses that are prepared specially for seniors.
Apart from that, you may want to make sure your parents know emergency numbers and helplines available in your country. There are a lot of places that offer remote help in case of health emergencies – online chats or telephone lines may be of use. To make sure your parents know how to use them, put the number in an easily visible place in the house and discuss them together.
Conclusion
Everyone would like their significant others to be safe and sound. However, sometimes it’s not enough to simply stay in touch. If you know that your elderly parents won’t be able to cope with emergencies on their own, it is crucial to provide some organized help.
Ways of preventing your parents from getting unpredictable health problems are numerous. You can start off with updating their first aid kid and convincing them to regular doctor checkups. Finally, it’s also crucial to make your parents aware of the emergency helplines and telephone numbers, so that they know where to seek help.
Your parents’ health can be well-protected regardless of their age and condition – you, as a child, simply need to take care of it. Once you put the aforementioned measures into practice, you will feel relieved that you don’t have to worry that much about any unpredictable situations in your parents’ lives.
