7 caregiving tips you need to know to take care of your loved one and yourself.
Caregiving Can Be Stressful
As the Caregiver Action Network (CAN) reminds us, “Being a caregiver is stressful. When you add in helping their loved ones with many of their day-to-day activities, it can become overwhelming. Most family caregivers need to assist their loved ones with activities of daily living (ADLs)—eating, bathing/showering, dressing, mobility, and using the toilet. For someone caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, assisting with these types of activities may be happening more often.”
Around the Clock Caregiving
CAN has created stories and resources to address the following 7 topics:
- Getting Up covers how to turn and position a loved one in bed and how to transfer them from the bed to a chair or help them in or out of a car.
- Using the Bathroom discusses toileting tips and incontinence.
- Showering/Bathing goes over bathroom safety and gives bathing tips so that everyone feels comfortable.
- Getting Ready provides tips to it make easier to get ready for the day.
- Mealtimes covers kitchen safety, the importance of proper hydration, and ways to tempt poor appetites.
- End of Day discusses the sleep disorders common among loved ones with Alzheimer’s and how to cope with a loved one’s inability to sleep as well as strategies to prevent wandering.
- Caring for Yourself emphasizes the need for caregivers to remember to take care of themselves as well as their loved one.
“We hope that by sharing their own stories about how they have managed these activities of daily living, caregivers will feel less alone,” said John Schall, Chief Executive Officer of CAN. “Caregivers can learn from and help each other.”
For more details, please visit: Around the Clock Caregiving.
For other caregiving resources on PPAHS, please see:
- Caregiving and Telehealth in the World of Coronavirus – Mr. Schall discusses how telehealth has impacted caregiving. To read the article, please click here.
- Family Caregiving is Like Having a Full-Time Job – Mr. Schall discusses the full-time job of being a caregiver and provides advice to better manage these stresses.
- To read the article, please click here.
About CAN
Caregiver Action Network (www.CaregiverAction.org) is the nation’s leading family caregiver organization working to improve the quality of life for more than 90 million Americans who care for loved ones with chronic conditions, disabilities, disease, or the frailties of old age. CAN serves a broad spectrum of family caregivers ranging from the parents of children with significant health needs, to the families and friends of wounded soldiers; from a young couple dealing with a diagnosis of MS, to adult children caring for parents with Alzheimer’s disease. CAN reaches caregivers on multiple platforms. CAN (the National Family Caregivers Association) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing education, peer support, and resources to family caregivers across the country free of charge.