Caring For the Ill, the Elderly, and Other Members

Prepared by:Loyola Bernardine Collado

When Someone gets sick in the family, it is important to know

1. How to make the patient comfortable2. What diet to prepare3. What to do while the doctor has not arrived

Making the patient comfortable

1. Provide loose and comfortable clothing. Loose cottons are preferable to other fabrics. They give warmth and comfort to wearer.

2. Place the patient in a quiet place, clean, and orderly room. Children should be kept away from the sick. Moderate lightning, proper ventilation, and a lot of fresh air are needed.

Making the patient comfortable

3. Provide enough attention and encouragement to cheer up the patient. Tell humorous stories. Fresh flowers help cheer up the atmosphere.

4. Clean and comfortable beddings add fluff the pillows when needed.

Preparing the diet of a sick person

1. Follow the doctor’s order on what diet to prepare.2. Choose foods prescribed by the doctor.3. Cook the food the way the patients likes it.4. Encourage the patient to eat. Diet always poses a problem because ill persons do not have the appetite to eat.

Preparing the diet of a sick person

5. Place food attractively on a tray. It may encourage the patient to eat.6. Serve foods that consist mostly o soft-boiled or hard boiled eggs, biscuits, milk, fruits and fruit juices, boiled and soft-cooked rice, fish usually broiled and boiled vegetables.

7. Follow what the doctor recommended – liquid, soft, or light depending on the illness.

While the doctor has not arrived:

1. Ask the patient what he feels. Is there pain? Where?2. Take his temperature. Shake the thermometer to bring down the mercury. Wipe it with alcohol. Place it under his tongue and let it stay there for at least 3 minutes. Remove it, then read the number where the mercury stops. Record.

*These observations can help the doctor in diagnosing the patient.

After the doctor has seen the patient

1. Keep him comfortable. If he feels cold, give him a warm blanket. If he has a fever, give him clothing.2. Keep the patient clean. Give him a sponge bath. Change his clothing; keep his beddings clean.3. In almost all types of illness, sufficient liquid such as water, fruit juice, tea, or soup is good for the patient . Give him plenty of this.

Some signs of illness are redness or paleness of the skin, pain, dizziness, nausea, weakness of the senses, listlessness, headache, coughing, lack of appetite, sleeplessness, and irritability.

Signs of serious illness are:

1. Hemorrhage or continuous flow of blood2. Continuous vomiting3. Difficulty in breathing4. Weakening

5. Diarrhea6. Continuous pain in the stomach

Signs of serious illness are:

7. High fever that runs 4 to 5 days8. Patient becoming thin9. Blood in the urine10. Wounds that do not heal11. Patient cannot take in liquid12. Change in the color of skin and eyes

Taking Care of the Elderly

One of the most important cultural values of the Filipinos is respect for elders. It is also taking care of them until they get old. This is one beautiful custom that is still practiced in many Filipino homes where the family is of extended type.

Taking care of the elderly includes taking care of the lola and lolo or young mother and father when they grow old. This is a sign of love and respect. It is also a sign of close family ties.

Being old is different from being young in a

lot of ways:1. Being old makes you less active because the body tends to be weak as years pass by. Hence, old people become less active than young ones.

2. When the body is not as young and active as before, there is a tendency to experience pain some parts.

Being old is different from being young in a

lot of ways:Arthritis, for instance, is common among the elderly. In general, people 40 years and over experience more illness than younger ones.3. Old people tend to be moody or temperamental. This is partly due to what they feel and partly because of disappointment in not being able to do what they want to do.

Being old is different from being young in a

lot of ways:4. Old people tend to be overly sensitive to what others say, especially coming from members of the family. This sensitivity is partly due to the feeling that they are not as useful as they had been to the family, or partly because they think they are not loved anymore.

5. There is a feeling of insecurity brought about aging. When one grows old, there is a craving for attention and affection from the loved ones because this gives a feeling of belongingness.

Here are some guidelines in taking care of the elderly:

1. Be concerned with their health. Provide for adequate and nutritious food suitable for their age. Easy to digest foods such as well-cooked meat, broiled fish, nonfat milk, fresh fruits and vegetables gives energy, build strong resistance to disease, and repair body tissue.

Here are some guidelines in taking care of the elderly:

2. Be helpful in observing diet prescribed by the doctor in case of an illness. Elders tend to neglect their diets. Help in observing the diet by giving the food which is allowed.

Here are some guidelines in taking care of the elderly:

3. Be considerate by providing a place or room where there is a good ventilation, fresh air, and quiet. This kind of surrounding is soothing to the body and helps relieve pain, worries, or tiredness. Be considerate, too, by keeping quiet when they are resting or sleeping.

Here are some guidelines in taking care of the elderly:4. Be affectionate. Shower them with

love and affection. A simple “Hello” or “How are you?” can brighten their day. Take a few minutes to converse with them about the day’s events.5. Be thoughtful. Once in a while, bring home a pasalubong. At times give an invitation to a snack, a walk, to visit a relative or to attend a birthday party.

Here are some guidelines in taking care of the elderly:

6. Be humorous. Nothing can set the moods right but some laughter. It takes the problem off your mind, and it gives a light feeling.

For listening…