The Benefits of Companion Care at Home When a Cold, Flu, or COVID Hit
It doesn’t matter if it’s the flu, a bad chest cold, or COVID, when your mom feels sick, she’s not going to have the energy to keep up with normal household routines. Help her out and ensure she gets the rest she needs. Discover the different ways companion care at home can help your mom with self-care until she feels better.
There Are Similarities Between These Viruses
The flu and COVID often have similar symptoms, like headaches and fever. A cold is less likely to present with a fever, but a runny nose is prevalent. Right now, there’s also a surge in the viral infection RSV, which can cause cold-like symptoms focusing on the throat and lungs.
Whatever your mom’s virus is, she should recover well on her own, but she needs to take it easy. Many older adults have immune systems that work a little slower than they used to. If she doesn’t focus on her health, there is the risk that she could end up with pneumonia.
Stock Her Kitchen
Make sure your mom’s kitchen is stocked with essentials like bone broth, juice, water, and fresh fruits and vegetables. If she has a sore, scratchy throat, a smoothie made with frozen berries, pineapple juice, and ginger can be soothing.
If she keeps items like vitamins, prescriptions, and over-the-counter medications in a kitchen cupboard instead of the bathroom, do an inventory before you go shopping. Does she have enough ibuprofen and acetaminophen? How about cough medicines, cough drops, or decongestants?
Keep easy-to-make foods on hand. Miso paste, tofu, and unsalted vegetable broth can make a quick, healthy miso soup. Add spinach or bok choy for greens.
Check Out Her Supply of Tissues
Your mom might go through many tissues in a hurry. Get those stocked up, too. Look for the tissues with lotion added in to help keep skin irritation to a minimum.
You can arrange to have caregivers pick up groceries and household supplies for your mom. Order them for pick-up, and the caregiver can stop and get them on the way to your mom’s house.
Hire Others to Help With Household Chores
In addition to running errands, your mom’s caregiver can clean her home. She’ll have a caregiver available to wash dishes, sanitize the counters, and vacuum. Her caregiver can also change the sheets, do the laundry, and put things away.
Arrange companion care at home as soon as your mom feels ill. She may love having help and want to keep companion care services, but she should have a helping hand when she’s sick. She can focus on getting enough rest and avoiding overexertion, which makes it harder for her body to heal. Learn more by calling a companion care at home advisor.