Do You Have a Warm Weather Plan for Your Aging Adult?

When the weather starts warming up, it makes sense for you and your elderly family member to work out a plan for keeping her cooler. Here are some ideas to get you started with a plan that can work.

Why Do You Need a Plan?

You might think it’s a little bit silly to start thinking about a warm weather plan for your elderly family member, especially if it’s not quite toasty yet. But your elderly family member might need some extra help managing the temperature of her environment. As people grow older, they often aren’t able to recognize when they’re too hot, which is a problem. Your senior could also be trying to budget her funds as well as possible, which can lead to her avoiding the air conditioner even on really hot days.

Call or Visit Often

As the weather gets much warmer, it’s important to stop in or to somehow check on your elderly family member as much as you can. This allows you to see and hear how she’s doing and try to assess whether she needs some extra help. If you can’t be there yourself, consider hiring senior care providers to help you to stay on top of the situation.

Use a Temperature and Humidity Monitor

Your elderly family member might be able to argue with you that she doesn’t feel warm or hot, but what she can’t argue with is a factual measurement of the ambient temperature in the room. Using a separate temperature monitor that also measures humidity can give you and your elderly family member a solid idea what is going on in her home. From there, you can work toward lowering the temperature, the humidity, or both.

Strike a Compromise about the Air Conditioner

Running the air conditioner can definitely get expensive, which is often why your senior might not want to turn it on. But you can come to a compromise about this large piece of equipment, too. Consider adding ceiling fans, box fans, or even a dehumidifier. All of these can help the air conditioner to work a little more efficiently and hopefully be less expensive to run.

Excess heat can be really dangerous for your elderly family member. Depending on her situation, you might need to be more hands-on about helping her to stay cool. Fleshing out a plan for doing so can help you to hit all your targets efficiently.

If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Edison, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Care Street Home Care of New Brunswick today. Call (732) 607-8870.