Hospice care offers compassionate support to people near the end of their lives. This type of care is holistic in nature and looks for ways to manage symptoms. Keeping symptoms, especially pain, under better control makes it much easier for seniors near the end of life to remain as present as possible.
Comprehensive Pain Management
It’s incredibly difficult to be present when someone is in a lot of pain. Pain causes a lot of discomfort and distress. It has a huge impact on every aspect of someone’s well-being. That’s why so much of what hospice care does works toward helping seniors keep pain under control as much as possible. Because the goal is no longer curative, it’s easier for hospice to find solutions that work.
Comfort and Symptom Management
After managing pain, hospice’s next most important aspect is controlling other symptoms that affect comfort. Symptoms like nausea, shortness of breath, anxiety, and fatigue can all be distracting for seniors near the end of life and greatly impact overall quality of life. Keeping uncomfortable symptoms under better control allows seniors to be more in touch with what’s happening around them.
Maintaining Alertness
One reason some patients don’t want to take pain medications or try some solutions for managing symptoms is that they don’t want to be “out of it” or unaware of what’s happening around them. Especially as seniors get closer to the end of life, they don’t want to miss any of the time they have left. Because hospice can try a variety of different solutions, patients are more likely to stay alert.
Enhancing Quality of Life
Hospice care is geared mostly toward protecting the quality of life for people nearing the end of life. Keeping symptoms under control improves comfort and well-being, even when seniors are facing big life-limiting illnesses. Spending time with beloved family members, engaging in favorite hobbies, and participating in what’s happening around them is often extremely important to seniors to have the best quality of life.
Offering Emotional Support
Physical comfort is important for seniors who are near the end of life, but there are emotional needs, too. These can be equally distracting from what’s happening around them if seniors don’t have a source of support.
Hospice care providers can offer compassionate listening and help seniors and family members find other sources of emotional support if they need it. Dealing with their emotional needs helps seniors be more present in what’s happening around them instead of retreating.
Helping with Meaningful End-of-life Experiences
When seniors are facing the end of life, it’s vital that they have the chance to have the end-of-life experiences that they want. If seniors are distracted by discomfort, pain, or other symptoms, it’s much harder for them to have the connections and experiences they want. Keeping those issues in check frees them up to stay more present overall.
The last few months of someone’s life are ones that family members and friends tend to remember most afterward. When seniors are more present during that time, it’s another chance to create positive memories. Hospice care assists with that goal by helping seniors keep symptoms better controlled.
If you or an aging loved one needs Hospice Care in Carmichael, CA, contact A Better Living Home Care today (916) 514-7006
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