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According to the Ministry of Health, who can be called elderly are those aged over 60 years or more. The elderly need special attention, because their abilities are no longer the same as before. Caring for the elderly can be neither difficult nor easy.
Some of the following things are important for you to pay attention to in caring for the elderly.
1. Pay attention to nutritional intake
The nutritional needs at each stage of life are of course different, including the elderly. Based on Nutrition.org.uk, men aged 65-74 years are advised to consume 2342 kcal per day and those over 75 years old need 2294 kcal. Meanwhile, women aged 65-74 years need 1912 kcal and those over 75 years old need 1840 kcal.
Just like most people, the elderly also need a balanced and varied nutritional intake. Applying the concept of balanced nutrition to the elderly can help prevent disease and is part of how to care for older people that need attention.
To overcome a decreased appetite, you can try the following tips quoted from the NHS.uk:
- Switch to eating smaller portions but offering them more frequently.
- Increase calorie intake by consuming dairy products such as cheese.
- Avoid consuming foods high in fat and sugar such as soft drinks, cakes and biscuits.
How to care for older people to meet their nutritional needs can also be done by providing supplements in the form of milk to help increase nutritional intake as well as energy. You can consult a doctor before determining which products are right for the elderly.
This also applies to elderly people who are recovering or when caring for older people who are sick. According to a 2019 journal published in the Journal of Geriatric Care and Research, older people who are sick are at risk for malnutrition. Adequate nutrition can help the recovery process faster and prevent complications.
Try to include fruit vegetables in your daily menu to meet the daily needs of vitamins and minerals for the elderly. If the elderly have difficulty chewing, vegetables and fruit can be juiced.
Combine various ways of processing food so that chewing difficulties do not become an obstacle to meeting the daily nutritional needs of the elderly.
Don't forget that water intake must also be fulfilled. If the elderly cannot drink too much water, overcome them by serving food with soup or fruits that contain lots of water.
2. Skin health problems
Skin health is one of the important problems in caring for the elderly. As we get older, the skin also undergoes changes. These changes depend on several aspects such as lifestyle, diet, heredity, and other habits.
Sun exposure is one of the main causes of skin damage. Ultraviolet rays can cause damage to elastic tissue in the skin which can cause sagging skin, wrinkles, and even skin cancer.
Other contributing factors are the loss of fat tissue between the skin and facial muscles, stress, gravity, the habit of moving the face (both smiling and frowning), to obesity.
Some of the common skin health problems that occur in the elderly are the appearance of wrinkles, clearer facial lines, dry and itchy skin due to reduced oil glands in the skin, dark spots, and skin cancer.
3. Reduced muscle mass
The next point to know which includes how to care for the elderly is muscle mass. Age-related loss of muscle mass, also known as sarcopenia, is a natural part of the aging process.
According to Health.Harvard.edu, once you turn 30, you will start to lose muscle mass by 3-5% per decade.
Reduced muscle mass will result in weakened strength and mobility. Both of these can make it easier for older people to fall and increase the risk of fractures.
However, this can be prevented and muscle mass will not be lost forever. One way is to stay active in doing resistance training, such as weight training.
Nutritional intake also certainly needs to be considered, especially protein intake. For example, elderly people weighing 80 kg need 79 to 103 grams of protein per day. To fulfill this, the elderly need to eat protein-rich foods.
In addition, special milk for parents which usually contains protein can also be given to help meet this daily requirement.
To care for the health of the elderly or the elderly who are sick, do not want to eat or have difficulty eating, and suffer from serious illnesses such as stroke, special attention is needed, especially in nutritional intake. Starting from skin health problems, with adequate nutritional intake and maintaining physical activity, the risk of complications can be reduced and the health of the elderly can be maintained.
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