How to Prepare A Senior for A Medical Emergency?

The thing about medical emergencies is that they do not announce themselves. Especially if a senior is battling a health crisis. It is imperative that in such a situation you have taken adequate steps to prepare for a medical emergency, but what about the ones who are in the emergency? In this article we will see how to prepare our loved ones to face a medical emergency and come out unharmed. However, before we learn how to actually do that, we must understand that we should have an open, continuous and clear line of communication with our doctors. Primary Medical Care Center for Seniors in North Lauderdale emphasizes on the need of clear communication channels between the patient and the care center for faster action in the time of need. Let’s learn further.

1. Make the seniors aware of any medical emergency that can happen

Usually people go out of their way to avoid talking about their worst nightmares (that of a medical emergency) coming true. However, the importance of this cannot be emphasized enough. If seniors are aware of any sharp physiological change, they can report it quick enough for you and the emergency services to spring into action. Ask them to notice mild chest pains, unexplained body pains and breathing difficulties and report them as soon as they encounter them. Recognizing the threat and reporting it adequately is the key to correct diagnosis and further action by the doctors.

2. Preparation of an Emergency Kit

An emergency kit can contain important medicines, any medical devices, prescriptions of medicines, medical record copies, contacts of the doctors, test reports, diagnosis made and treatment done so far. A physical copy of your health insurance, financial records etc. along with a soft copy must be kept handy to email when necessary. Contacts of close family members, neighbours or other friends who can be of assistance during emergencies must also be kept in the kit.

3. Plan of Action

Immediate family members must know what procedure to follow in an emergency. Doctors from Primary Medical Care Center for Seniors in North Lauderdale advise that a detailed procedure must be obtained from the consulting physician as to avoid panic and cluelessness at the time of emergency. The idea is to ensure that the treatment is done on time and nothing untoward happens before it.

4. Ensure they have a plan B

Sometimes emergencies take place far away from the immediate reach of mobile phones, therefore as a precaution, install buzzers, sound alarms etc. to help the seniors in case they have fallen and are unable to call for help. Ask the house helps and every member of the family are aware of these alarms and spring into action once they go off. A phone is away from the senior’s reach, must not cause any serious trouble.

5. Teach the family members to recognize signs of difficulties

Sometimes seniors might not be able to communicate their problems due to excessive pain and limited ability due to the grip of the condition. If family members are aware of the key symptoms such as slurring of speech, sudden numbness or weakness especially in one part of the body, they must be able to recognize it and flag it. In certain cases they must also be able to provide first aid in case of breathlessness or a heart attack.

So these are some of the ways in which you can prepare a senior as well as your close family members for any health emergency. It is important to note that emergency preparedness will be as thorough as your care plan- meaning if you have devised a care plan that suits the requirement of the senior-right from necessary modifications in the house and presence of informed individuals, any emergency can be smoothly tackled without any panic or terror. All the best.