Senior Sidekicks
  • Home
    • About
    • Advocacy
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Parenting Your Parent
  • Consultations & Plans
    • Consultations
    • Medical Visit Companion Stand-by Plan
    • Medical Visit Companion Vacation Plan
  • Blogs & Articles
    • A Senior Moment
    • "A Senior Moment." - Archive
    • Article Portfolio
  • Home
    • About
    • Advocacy
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Parenting Your Parent
  • Consultations & Plans
    • Consultations
    • Medical Visit Companion Stand-by Plan
    • Medical Visit Companion Vacation Plan
  • Blogs & Articles
    • A Senior Moment
    • "A Senior Moment." - Archive
    • Article Portfolio

Seniors In Hot Weather - Part I

6/11/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
If you put a frog in cold water it will stay there, even as the temperature is gradually increased until it’s cooked. However, if you drop a frog in hot water it will jump out. This illustrates to seniors’ lack of tolerance for hot weather.

Every summer there are warnings to check on the elderly, and make sure they are keeping cool and hydrating. Our seniors are survivors of a bygone age when there was little or no air conditioning; often only found in restaurants and movie theaters. The signs from that era showed the words with snow on the letters! Many seniors may consider it an expensive luxury, or an annoyance when the cool house is affects the joints. After all they have enjoyed many summers, and did just fine!!

What they don’t take into consideration is that their physiology is changing as they age. They become less tolerant of extreme temperatures. Also, they often don’t take into consideration that health issues, and medications play a part. Climate change has made summers hotter and today’s houses assume air conditioning in the way they are built.


The particular danger occurs when the air conditioning has been on for a while and then turned off. The senior, like the frog in cold water, feels too cold. As the house gradually warms, the body will attempt to adjust. Sometimes they fall asleep. They are unaware that the house is heating to the realm of being dangerous. This drowsiness or daytime sleep may interfere with taking medications or proper hydration.


When you call or check on seniors, if they speak more slowly, or have slurred speech, get help. If the senior is slower or more wobbly than usual answering the door, has evidence of confused mental processes, it is imperative to get them to medical attention.


Prevention:


Here are some very useful ways to avoid these problems. If the senior is feeling too cold, sweaters and socks are recommended. Protect the joints and keep the air conditioning on. Turn up the thermostat set point; even if the house is set in the high 70’s it will still be cooler than the outside air. Check for drafts. Perhaps the favorite chair is too close to a vent. Deflectors can keep the air circulating away from the senior. This way, the climate control will keep things from getting dangerously hot.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

     "A Senior Moment" is written by Ms. Sara Lieber, owner of Senior Sidekicks. Ms. Lieber has over 30 years of experience in senior care.


    Archives

    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    1918 Spanish Flu
    AARP
    Adult Children
    Age
    Aging Population
    Alocohol
    Alzheimer's Association
    Alzheimr's
    American Society On Aging
    Art
    Bbc
    Bbc Worklife
    Bosses
    Campaign
    Caregivers
    Caregivers Guilt
    Caregiver Shortage
    Cargiving
    Catastrophic
    CDC
    CDC Guidelines
    Changes
    Children
    Christmas
    Churches
    Classes
    Community
    Consulting
    Coronavirus
    Corona Virus 19
    Corona Virus-19
    Cortisol
    Counselors
    Course
    Crazy
    Dementia
    Depressoin
    Designer Drugs
    Downsizing
    Drugs
    Drug Testing
    Elder Boom
    Elderly
    Employer
    Employers
    Employment
    Face Masks
    Faith
    Families
    Family Medical Leave Act
    Fight Or Flight Response
    FLMA
    Flu
    God
    Greeting Cards
    Guilt
    Hanukka
    Health Complaints
    Hearing Aids
    Holidays
    Home
    House
    Hr
    Human Rescources
    Illinois
    Immune System
    Isolation
    Legacy
    Mail
    Maine
    Mandate
    Medicaid
    Medical Visit Companion
    Memory
    Memory Loss
    Million
    News
    Next Avenue
    Nursing Home
    Opioid Epidemic
    Opioids
    Organizations
    Paid Time Off
    Pandemic
    Parents
    Pastoral Counselors
    Performance
    Photos
    Planning
    Plans
    Post Office
    Preparing To Parent Your Parent Course
    Presidential Campaign 2020
    Psychiatric Disorder
    PTO
    Public Education Program
    Quarantine
    Real Estate
    Realtors
    Realty
    Religious
    Retirement
    Sara Lieber
    Self Care
    Self-care
    Senior Depression
    Senior Population
    Seniors
    Senior Sidekicks
    Sheltering In Place
    Shelter In Place
    Shortage
    SHRM
    Sisters
    Social Distancing
    Social Isolation Task Force
    Solcial Isolation
    Special Occassion Service
    Special Occassion Services
    Springfield
    Stamps
    State Agencies
    Stay-At-Home Orders
    Stress
    Stress Hormone
    Stressors
    Study
    Sugar
    Sundowner
    Symptom
    Symptom Picture
    Symptoms
    Synagogues
    Thanksgiving
    The Aid & Attendance Pension Benefit
    The Older Americans Act
    Two
    United States
    United States Wages
    Unpaid Family Care
    US Mail
    U.S. Wages
    VA
    Veterans
    Veterans Financial
    Virus
    Visits
    Worker Shortage
    Worklife
    Young People

Proudly powered by Weebly