You can hear your father wheezing again before you even get inside his house. This is his third asthma attack in three days – allergy season is the worst. You try to keep all of the windows closed and wash the pollen off of him and his clothes as soon as he gets into the house, but the allergens seem to be inescapable. You have made him a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow, but that will only solve one problem.
Changing his medication or whatever else the doctor suggests will make his asthma easier to deal with, but he still needs someone to help him live a more comfortable life. You worry about him being alone in his house, but you have to take care of your children and your own home as well, so you can’t always be there to make sure that he is alright, and that he is taking his medications properly.
So what can you do?
Home care can actually be a great option if your loved one is suffering from asthma. Even if your ailing loved one doesn’t suffer from any conditions other than serious asthma, a home care aide can help them in many ways. They can help to make sure that they take any medications they have been prescribed, and they can be on hand in case of an emergency. While they can’t administer medical treatment themselves because they aren’t certified nurses, home care aides can get the inhaler for your father if he needs it, and they can call 911 if they have a very serious breathing problem.
One of the biggest benefits that comes with hiring a home care aide is peace of mind. You have peace of mind because you don’t have to worry that your loved one is suffering from an asthma attack all alone in their home, unable to call for help or reach their inhaler, and your loved one has peace of mind knowing that they aren’t alone.
If your loved one is not only asthmatic but suffers from mobility problems as well, a home care aide can help with other tasks like helping them get dressed, bathe, and brush their hair and teeth. They can also help keep the house clean (which is helpful for the lungs, because dust has been known to cause asthma attacks as well), and cook meals.
In some cases, home care aides can even drive your loved one to their doctor’s appointments, which can be beneficial if you are in a time crunch. With a home care aide, you don’t have to constantly worry or feel guilty about your father because you can’t be with him all the time, and your father can feel safe knowing that someone is always around to help him if need be.
So, as you enter the house and help your father to calm down his lungs after a panic attack, consider discussing hiring home care with him later on. You both might find that it could be exactly the help you were looking for.