Whether you’ve been caring for your aging parent for several years, or you are just at the beginning of your family caregiver journey, one issue you are likely to have heard a considerable amount about is pneumonia.
As the weather gets colder and cold and flu season comes, elderly adults are warned to be aware of the risks of pneumonia and to take steps to prevent it. It is important for you to understand the potential danger of pneumonia, and how it can impact your parent, so that you can make meaningful modifications to your parent’s care routines to help them stay healthier, and also to cope with pneumonia should it occur.
Some things you should understand about pneumonia and its potential danger for your senior include:
- There are approximately 3 million cases of pneumonia throughout the United States each year.
- Around 30 percent of cases of pneumonia occur in adults over the age of 64.
- This number accounts for approximately 1 million cases of pneumonia in the United States each year.
- Approximately 60,000 people each year die from pneumonia.
- Rates for death from pneumonia for elderly adults are increasing.
- Approximately 85 percent of the deaths that occur from pneumonia occur among those over the age of 64.
- More women than men die of pneumonia each year, but because there are more women in the country than there are men, men have a 25 percent higher risk of dying from the disease.
- Native Alaskans, American Indians, and blacks are at the highest risk of dying from pneumonia.
- Asians and Hispanics are at the lowest risk for dying from pneumonia.
- Pneumonia is a leading form of hospital-acquired infection, particularly among elderly adults.
Helping your aging parent stay healthier is just one of the many ways senior care can benefit your parent throughout their later years.
A senior home care services provider can help your parent to maintain better physical health and well-being in a variety of ways. Because their scheduling and services are fully customizable, you can feel confident as a family caregiver that your senior will get the exact level of care they need, when they need it, to stay healthy and strong, and enjoy their best quality of life. This can include helping them to create and follow a germ control approach, helping them to eat a healthy, balanced diet, encouraging them to stay physically active, and offering medication and guideline reminders to keep them compliant with their doctor’s instructions.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring a Caregiver in San Francisco, CA, call the caring staff at Aviva In-Home Care. Call today: (415) 795-2203
Source:
Lung.org
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