Things Needed to Look After Elderly Loved Ones In a Crisis Situation

 
In any crisis, it is important to make sure that you have essential supplies for you and your loved ones. A crisis situation, no matter how mild or severe, can be frightening for everyone and during these stressful times, it can be easy to forget to grab all of the essentials that you and your loved ones may need. Preparing for times like this beforehand can make survival during any situation significantly less difficult. It is important to prepare things that your family will need, especially your elderly family members.

 

When to Prepare

You never know when a crisis will arise, or what kind it will be so preparing as far ahead of time is usually the best way to go. When it comes to your older family members or loved ones prepping can be difficult because they will have different needs during a disaster or crisis. Unlike the average adult, your elderly loved ones will need some special care during a disaster scenario. In order to provide the level of care required you will want to prep the specific items and materials that the individual you are caring for will need. When it comes to deciding when to prepare, the key is to do so as soon as possible.

 

How to Prepare

When you are going to be prepping for a senior citizen it is going to be tremendously different from most prepping you would do for yourself. When you take into account all of the possible needs that your loved one may require it will likely become clear that prepping for this person should include some extra care and attention.

Prepping for an older adult will be different than the prepping you do for yourself because you have to tailor survival equipment and food to their mobility and health needs. One familiar tip that you may still be able to follow is to have a bug out bag or pack for every person that will be with you. Having said that, most elderly people cannot hike through the woods or mountains and survive off the land like most healthy adults. This is where it may be pertinent to change the common disaster or crisis prepping ideas. Instead of planning to spend long periods out in the wilderness, plan to bug in a specific location. Have a planned place or shelter in mind to go to in the event of a disaster, this way the stress on your loved ones is significantly reduced and they will be safer.

In this planned shelter, make sure that you have stocked it with enough batteries to power all equipment and devices for a minimum of one month. Also if possible have a Faraday cage to store all critical medical devices to protect them from an EMP (electromagnetic pulse). This way even in the event of the most severe crisis your older family members will still have access to the medical equipment they may need on a daily basis. Also, having an emergency generator stored at your specified location would greatly reduce the stress and risk for you and your family, especially your eldest loved ones. This will also help provide as much normalcy for your family as possible during a disaster, which will help provide psychological comfort for everyone especially the older family members. It will be crucial to stay as informed as possible during any crisis so make sure to have a working emergency radio in your bug in location.

 

Prepping for Critical Needs of an Elderly Person

When thinking of what may be critical prepping materials for the elderly, they will require slightly different things than the rest of the population. For instance, you will want to make sure to stockpile at least thirty days worth of any prescription medications your loved one needs. You or your loved one can speak with their doctor about getting help to stockpile their medicines in case of emergency, most physicians will help to make this process as easy and uncomplicated as possible. Elderly family members with incontinence will also require adult diapers (briefs) so be sure to stockpile some of these as well. Make sure to get more than you think you will need because these can be used for other things such as bandages as well.

Depending on the needs of your elderly family member it may be helpful to have multiple walking aids, such as walkers or canes. Collapsible walking aids will be easier to store and carry with you. Also, senior citizens are affected more severely by temperature so it will be crucial to have emergency heaters on hand as well as heating blankets. One alternative way to keep your loved one warm is to have some charcoal activated heating packets. These can easily be put inside shoes, socks, and gloves in cases of extremely low temperatures or loss of power.

As with all prepping, water is an essential especially for the elderly. When it comes to water you will always want to make sure that you store at least two to three times more than you expect to need for a thirty day time period. You will also want to make sure that you are near a water source or can easily reach one, and be sure that you have water purification devices ready in case you run out of your stored supply. Senior citizens cannot go as long without water as a healthy adult, so having an abundant supply or access to one and the ability to purify it will be essential.

 

Simplifying Pain Relief

One thing most senior citizens and regular healthy adults deal with on a regular basis is everyday aches and pains such as headaches or joint pain. Back pain is also common between both age groups. You will want to make sure to have over the counter pain relievers stocked and in good supply. For those common joint and back pains people deal with on a day to day basis, you may want to use natural remedies like ice and heat therapy, massage, or topical aids instead of over the counter pain pills during a crisis situation.

Using alternative pain relievers will allow you to keep the other medications in the event someone comes down with a fever or an infection, where they would be much more useful and effective. The best over the counter pain reliever for back pain will be easy to store and travel with, simple to apply, and quickly effective at relieving temporary muscle aches and soreness. This is just as important to stock up on and keep in good supply when prepping for a disaster situation.

 

Final Thoughts

When it comes to prepping for a disaster or crisis with an elderly loved one, it is a little different than prepping for just yourself. Your priorities should differ between the way that you prepare for yourself versus the elderly. Having said that, you can prep for your older family members with a little work and lots of love. Just make sure to remember that their needs are different and that they will require additional aid with certain things. Also while you are prepping for them, don’t forget to prep for yourself as well.

 

 

About the Author

Joe Fleming is the President at ViveHealth.com. Interested in all things related to living a healthy lifestyle, he enjoys sharing and expressing his passion through writing. Working to motivate others and defeat aging stereotypes, Joe uses his writing to help all people overcome the obstacles of life. Covering topics that range from physical health, wellness, and aging all the way to social, news, and inspirational pieces…the goal is to help others “rebel against age”.

Images courtesy of Pixabay.