Six Ways In-Home Care Helps Your Mom Deal With Long COVID
Long COVID, also known as post-COVID, occurs in people that had COVID. The virus may last longer than usual or go away and come back over weeks or months. Some studies are finding that post-COVID is more likely in people who have other chronic health conditions like high blood pressure, obesity, or diabetes.
Your mom has long COVID. She’s experiencing a lot of the key indicators of the disease, including fatigue, headaches, difficulty concentrating, breathing difficulties, and joint pain. Her doctor confirmed it’s post-COVID symptoms to blame. But, that doesn’t help her keep up with her daily care needs.
Talk to Her About What Isn’t Getting Done
Ask your mom what she’s unable to get done each day. You want to focus your attention on the things she just cannot
handle. If she’s unable to cook meals on her own, make sure a family caregiver is there to prepare meals and snacks for her.
Your mom says she has a hard time keeping up with routine housekeeping chores. Arrange to have someone else handle the vacuuming, dusting, and laundry for now. If she needs help remembering when she has appointments or wants help with medication reminders, arrange whatever she needs.
Six Services That Will Help Her
Once you know where she struggles, start scheduling others to help out. These six services are essential.
- Housekeeping – Caregivers or family members should handle all of the housekeeping for now. That includes having someone available to change the sheets when needed, make the bed, change towels, and do all of the laundry.
- Meal preparation – If your mom doesn’t have the energy to cook, she needs someone to take over for now. Sit down and ask her what she wants to eat, build a shopping list from it, and do the shopping. Back at home, the caregiver can put items away and prepare meals and snacks as desired.
- Transportation – Your mom doesn’t have the appropriate focus to drive a car for now. Make sure someone is free to drive her to her follow-up appointments, assist her when she runs errands, and get new prescriptions when needed.
- Medication Reminders – Your mom has a hard time remembering what pills she’s taken so far today and what she still needs to take. She struggles to keep track of the pain medication she’s taken already and when she can take another dose. Help her track doses and offer reminders when it’s time for another dose.
- Grooming and Hygiene – The joint pain your mom experiences makes it very hard for her to complete some tasks like brushing and styling her hair, brushing and flossing her teeth, and getting dressed. She needs help buttoning shirts and tying shoes.
- Companionship – Your mom doesn’t like being alone all day. Some of the things she really dislikes are taking walks by herself or eating alone. She needs someone around for the company.
Hire In-Home Care Aides to Help Her With Daily Routines
In-home care is helpful when it comes to your mom managing her post-COVID symptoms. She has the help she needs from caregivers until she feels better. Learn more about in-home care by calling and talking to a specialist.