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3 Ways to Make Your Life Easier and Safer as a Caregiver

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The rules have changed! Was it only a couple of years ago that you had no problem bringing a caregiver into your home to help with your aging parent? It was always possible to get an in-home health care worker to relieve you or support you perhaps three times a week. Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, however, this isn’t the safest thing to do. Now it is up to you to care for mom or dad in their senior years, and you are wondering how you will go about it without any support staff along the way. Just know that you can do this, but you will need a few things to make your life easier and safer. 

1. Bring in a Supply of PPE

Have you ever woken up from surgery in a hospital only to be staring in the face of an astronaut or alien? That’s what it must have seemed like at the time, but there is a very good reason why those medical professionals donned that PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) in the first place. Germs run rampant in a hospital setting, and patients are always the ones in danger of catching yet another bug. You can easily order medical-grade caregiver products online for those times when you’ve been out and aren’t sure if you will test positive. You might not get sick, but your aging mom or dad might.

2. Get Safe Relief Where You Can Find It

This is one subject that is getting old quickly. Everyone is sick of dealing with COVID, and it seems as though it will never end. However, there is every hope that we will have seen the worst of it by spring as greater numbers of people get fully immunized. Unfortunately, you are just not sure who you can bring in your home to relieve you from time to time until that time. Even the caregiver needs some TLC from time to time, so maybe a covid-free relative or friend can give you a couple of hours off to shop or simply chill. It is important that you understand that you need some support as well, especially if you will be the caregiver for any length of time. 

3. Cook More – Feed Less

Here is one more bit of advice you might not have been given in the past. How many hours do you stand in the kitchen each day cooking meals when you really ‘could’ be taking a few minutes out to put up your feet or take that nice, warm bath you’ve been dying to soak in? Many seasoned caregivers find that it helps to take one day to cook several dishes which can be divided and frozen. If you spend more time on just one-day planning and preparing meals for the week, you’ll buy yourself some much-needed time to just sit back and relax.

Don’t forget to take care of yourself while you’re caring for your loved one. If you break down, no one will get the help they need, so do take time for yourself. That probably should be number one on your list!

Featured Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels