Caring for the Elderly this Christmas

The Christmas season is, traditionally, a joyous time when we can all get together, focus on our families, and celebrate without a worry in the world. However, for the growing elderly population, this year is a bit different.

With record lows sweeping half the globe, and a multitude of other problems looking to interrupt the holiday celebrations, your elderly neighbours and independent-living family members are facing some harsh threats.

We want to give you a few pointers to help them through the holiday season safely.

Let’s get started.

1: Check on Your Elderly Neighbours

First and foremost, the holiday season is all about giving. So, give a little bit of your time to check up on your elderly neighbours.

Just because your elderly neighbours live on their own or with their partners doesn’t mean that they are 100% capable of handling everything they might need to. They might be reliant on daily or weekly visits from younger family members to make sure they haven’t fallen, run out of food, hurt themselves, etc.

However, one of the risks that are posed by such cold weather is that roadways can get clogged up, people can get snowed into their houses, or those younger family members might decide to stay home for several visits due to the cold.

When that happens, anything can happen to your elderly neighbours, and the family members that check up on them might not know anything is wrong.

Just take a few moments, drop by your neighbours’ houses, and make sure they’re all doing okay. If you can’t get an answer for an extended period, you might want to ask the police to perform a wellness check.

2: Make Sure They’re Warm

Whether we’re talking about your elderly neighbours or your family members, you have to make sure they’re warm.

With the ongoing energy crisis and extremely cold weather, elderly people living on their own are at risk. A lot of elderly individuals can’t afford to keep their HVAC systems running with the high cost of energy, and even if they can afford it, there is always the chance for a pilot light to go out or a power outage to leave them in the frigid cold.

If you know an elderly person without heat in this energy crisis, stop by to see how they’re solving the problem, and consider offering space blankets, some time to warm up in your home, or any resource you can offer; their life might depend on it.

3: It’s a Growing Problem to Solve

Protecting the elderly people in our lives isn’t a shrinking problem. It’s a growing one. The population across most of Europe is aging, especially in Ireland, and that means that more and more people will be subjected to the risks we’ve talked about here.

This is important to keep in mind because as the population gets older and there are fewer youths to care for those older members, many elderly people will be left without help.

If we all band together and make it our mission to watch out for each other, we can minimize the injuries and unfortunate passings caused by that.

4. Consider an SOS System

If you have an elderly family member who lives independently but might need help, don’t rely on daily visits or phone calls. You might not be there when something happens, and they might not be able to reach the phone to call for help.

Instead, consider a wearable SOS system such as the WatchOvers SOS Personal Alarm Watch. With fall alerts with automatic calling, SOS calls, reminder alerts, GPS location,  and more, you can rest easy knowing your elderly loved one is safe.

Thank you for considering our growing elderly population, and Merry Christmas!