How Home Health Care Helps Seniors Manage COPD At Home
If you have a senior parent with COPD home health care can be a great way to help them manage their symptoms at home. It can be very difficult and sometimes even dangerous for seniors with COPD to try and get to their doctor’s office for routine care.
Traveling in a car with an oxygen tank can be very challenging. And seniors may not be able to physically walk long distances to get to a medical office from a large parking lot. Seniors who have COPD also run the risk of exposure to illnesses like Covid-19 and the flu if they are sitting in a public waiting room waiting for a medical appointment.
Home health care is health care delivered at home by a licensed nurse or medical professional. For seniors with COPD being able to get the care they need to manage their COPD symptoms at home is much more comfortable and less stressful.
How Home Health Care Helps Seniors With COPD
A home health care provider can’t deliver all of the medical services that a doctor would deliver. However, they can do a lot of things that will help seniors with COPD manage their symptoms at home like:
Medication Management
Seniors who have COPD must take multiple medications to relieve their symptoms and help their ability to breathe. A trained home health care professional can make sure that your senior parent is taking their medications properly. They can also monitor your senior parent for any side effects and chart the severity of those side effects. If you or your senior parent have questions about their medications you can ask a home health care provider.
Oxygen Therapy Management
Most seniors who have COPD use supplemental oxygen. A home nurse ensures that oxygen therapy equipment is properly set up, maintained, and used according to the doctor’s orders. They monitor oxygen saturation levels and adjust the flow rate as needed to optimize therapeutic benefits.
Respiratory Assessment
Home nurses also can regularly assess how well your senior parent is breathing. They will assess things like your senior parent’s breathing patterns, lung sounds, coughing, and sputum production. They can track your senior parent’s vital signs and essential lung function so that your senior parent’s doctor will be able to keep track of the progression of the disease.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation Support
Pulmonary rehabilitation is something that can help your senior parent live more comfortably with COPD and manage their symptoms. It can include things like exercise training, education, and support to improve breathing, reduce symptoms, and enhance overall quality of life. A home health care provider can talk to your senior parent one-on-one, answer their questions, and work with them to improve their quality of life.
Symptom Management
COPD symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, and fatigue can make life difficult for seniors. A home nurse assists seniors in managing these symptoms by using breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, positioning techniques, and medication adjustments.
Home Environment Assessment
Another thing that a home nurse can do is make sure that the home environment is safe for your senior parent. They can test for and identify potential allergens or irritants in the air and suggest ways to minimize the number of particles in the air that can make breathing more difficult.