You might have an idea that something is off with your senior’s health, even if you’re not sure what that might be. As her primary caregiver, you might feel obligated to dig a bit deeper, but what if she doesn’t want to discuss it?

Ask Her Openly Rather than Beating Around the Bush

Lots of times caregivers don’t want to step on their senior’s toes with direct questions. Sometimes seniors get defensive with questions about their health, so that doesn’t help, of course. But if you’re asking questions that aren’t direct and open, you’re going to find it more difficult to get straight answers. It’s a lot easier to give roundabout answers to indirect questions.

Pay Close Attention to What You Can Observe
There’s a lot that you can learn from observations when it comes to your senior’s health. Spending a little bit of time with her can help you to spot all sorts of things that might cause you to ask better questions that can get you some better answers. Try not to use your observations as your only evidence for something being wrong, though. Follow up with questions about how your senior is feeling or what she’s observed as well so that you can pool your information and confirm or reassess your assumptions.

Try Talking to Her Doctor
You can also talk to your senior’s doctor about what she’s experiencing and what you’ve observed. Talking with your elderly family member’s doctor can help you to understand what is important about what you’ve noticed and what might not be so important at all. Her doctor can also let you know what you do need to be on the lookout for so that you have a better idea what is something to worry about and what isn’t.

Exercise Some Patience with Difficult Topics
If you’re pushing your senior for more information and you’re not getting much back from her, you might need to back off a little bit. Patience is going to pay off better than being pushy will. This isn’t always easy, of course, because you care about your senior and you want to make sure that she’s as safe and as healthy as she can be.

It’s not always easy to know what’s going on with your elderly family member’s health. As her caregiver, it’s often up to you to spot potential issues, even when the clues are tiny.

Excerpt: Every now and again you might find yourself concerned about whether your senior is getting sick or not.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring a Caregiver in Greenville, SC, contact Heart of the Carolinas Home Care at 864-991-3116. Providing Home Care Services in Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer, Anderson, Spartanburg, Mauldin, Seneca, Laurens, Charleston, Columbia and the surrounding areas.

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Edward Harrison

Founder at Heart of the Carolinas

Edward Harrison founded the Heart of the Carolinas Homecare in 2007 when he saw there was a need for caregivers that provide non-medical home care services, at a price that most people could afford. It was standard in the industry to require hourly minimums and it was common to be assigned a caregiver, not matched with one based on your individual personal needs. Edward understood that to make a successful relationship between caregiver and client, skills were not enough, personality and compatibility plays as much a role as do skills.

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