Summer Health Tips for the Elderly – Summer implies gardening, cookouts, and simply enjoying the great outdoors, but a heat wave can pose a major threat, especially for seniors. Summer is the time of year lots of people look forward to most when we’re able to get outside and enjoy the warmth, sunshine and longer days with family and friends.
The summertime is a period of fun and relaxation for great people. But for seniors, the heat and sun can be dangerous if the proper precautions aren’t taken.
Best 7 Summer Health Tips for the Elderly
Here are some important tips that the elderly, as well as their caregivers, can use to ensure they have a fun, safe summer.
Avoid Heat Stroke –
Heat stroke is a very serious heat-related illness and is a life-threatening condition. It occurs when the body cannot cool itself down properly. Symptoms of heat stroke include a headache, dizziness, disorientation, agitation and confusion, body temperature over 104 degrees, staggering, flushed or hot, dry skin, rapid heartbeat, and loss of consciousness.
If you or an elderly loved one is experiencing any of these symptoms, it’s vital to seek emergency medical help immediately.
Stay Cool –
Use your air conditioning throughout the summer if you have it. If A/C isn’t an option for you, cover windows in direct sunlight during the daytime to keep the house cooler, and open them at night to let in some fresh air.
Use ceiling fans or floor fans, too. Shopping malls, movie theatres, and libraries provide welcome, cool spaces if a senior’s own home isn’t air-conditioned. They likewise bear the cost a great opportunity to get out of the house and get some exercise, without the exhaustion of the heat.
All Elders are substantially more helpless to the harmful effects of heat, as their bodies do not adjust as well to sudden changes in temperature. Some ceaseless health conditions and prescription medications can debilitate the body’s capacity to react efficiently to rising temperature.
Drink Up –
All seniors are more vulnerable to dehydration than younger people because they lose their ability to conserve water as they age. They additionally can turn out to be less aware of their thirst and have difficulty adjusting to temperature changes.
Always to remember to drink water often, and make sure to pack some for those long summer drives. Caregivers should make sure seniors are drinking sweat replacement products (that contain salt and potassium) to replace the water they lose during the summer.
Dress Appropriately –
Everyone, including seniors, should dress for the weather. When it’s warm out, some people find natural fabrics to be cooler than synthetic fibers. Stock your summer wardrobe with light-colored and loose-fitting clothes to help feel cooler and more comfortable.
Plan Your Exercise Time –
When you do daily exercise, then keeps both the mind and body functioning at peak performance, and it can boost your attitude as well.
Summer is regularly view considered the prime season to head outdoors to work out, but overwhelming heat and humidity can be a concern for people of all ages.
Sunscreen & Hats –
Everybody, young and old, should apply sunscreen when outdoors. The elderly especially need the extra sun protection to help keep them healthy. Guardians, friends and family members can help by tenderly reminding loved ones about applying sunscreen and helping to put it on when important.
In summers, Hats are additionally the best idea, especially for those with light colored hair and those with just distant memories of a full head of hair.
Summer Food –
Eat light, cold meals like chicken or pasta salad instead of heavy, hot dishes like pot roast, Eat cooling snacks like homemade popsicles with cupcake liner as a drip catcher, frozen peas, or slightly frozen grapes.