Home Care: Reasons Many Senior Citizens Avoid Eating

Home Care: Has a home care provider told you that your elderly loved one is avoiding eating?

Maybe, your elderly loved one has lost their appetite. Maybe, there is a health condition that is causing your elderly loved one to stop eating. Learning more about the reasons why many senior citizens avoid eating is important. By doing this, you and your home care provider can help solve this issue for your elderly loved one, so they can start eating properly again.

 

Homecare in Sacramento CA: Home Care

Homecare in Sacramento CA: Home Care

 

Becoming Dehydrated

You already know that staying hydrated is so important. It can help to prevent heatstroke. However, that isn’t the only issue that can be caused as a result of dehydration. If your elderly loved one is dehydrated, they may become dizzy and weak. They may have headaches, stomachaches, and become constipated. All of these things can cause pain and discomfort for your elderly loved one. When feeling like this, your elderly loved one might not feel like eating.

If you or a home care provider have noticed your elderly loved one is avoiding eating, the first thing you should do is have them drink plenty of water. After drinking at least 40 ounces of water, your elderly loved one should start feeling a bit better.

Diminished Taste

Your elderly loved one may avoid eating if they have diminished taste. There are numerous things that can cause this issue, too. As people get older, they naturally can’t taste certain flavors as well as they did when they were younger. This can make their food less appealing. If you find that this is the case, you or home care providers can add more flavor to their food. This can be done with spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruit.

Chewing or Swallowing Issues

You or home care providers may find that your loved one has chewing or swallowing issues. Some of the things that can cause this might include teeth problems, medication side effects, large nodules in the throat, and many other things. If your elderly loved one often chokes on food, this is likely the reason why. In addition, choking on food (even once, can cause your elderly loved one to avoid eating. They might be scared to eat again, for the fear that they might choke again.

Conclusion

Has your elderly loved one been avoiding eating? There could be numerous reasons why they aren’t eating well or at all. Determining the cause as soon as possible is important. The longer your elderly loved one goes without eating properly, the more health issues that can arise. Once you find the problem, make sure it gets handled immediately. If this can’t be done by you or a home care provider, get your elderly loved one in to see their doctor quickly.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Homecare in Sacramento, CA, talk to the caring staff at Partners in Care today. Serving El Dorado, Nevada, Yuba, Sutter, Sacramento, Placer, Butte, Glenn, Yolo, & Colusa Counties!  Call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! (530) 268-7423

Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Shaun Clinkinbeard
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