It’s frustrating when your elderly family member seems to have no appetite at all. Not getting the nutrients that she needs has a direct impact on your elderly family member’s overall health, so it’s a situation that needs to be resolved.
Get to the Root Cause of Her Appetite Changes
There are tons of different reasons that can cause loss of appetite for aging adults. You might need to dig into everything from medication side effects to mental health concerns. Starting with your senior’s doctor can help you to eliminate medical causes for appetite loss. Once you understand the cause, it’s a lot easier to put a solution in place.
Plan for Healthy Eating
Whatever the cause, your elderly family member needs to be eating a healthy diet as often as possible. That might mean that you and your senior need to talk about what she’s already eating and find out ways to add nutrients. Home care assistance can help your elderly family member to stick to the plan a little more easily, as well.
Schedule Meals and Snacks
Your senior might have gone many years without worrying about scheduling mealtimes, but as her appetite wanes, she may need to give her body a schedule. Planning out meal and snack times helps her body to adjust to a new expectation. This also lets her know that if it’s a certain time, she’s going to need to eat something, even if she isn’t fully excited about it just yet.
Try to Avoid Foods She Doesn’t Want to Eat
Are there foods that your senior absolutely hates eating? Your elderly family member may have sensory issues with certain foods, like the food texture just doesn’t feel good for her. Or she may dislike foods for other reasons. The good thing about eating a healthier diet is that there are lots of ways for your senior to get nutrition. So if spinach is definitely out for her, something else might be more acceptable.
Include Socializing as Part of Meals
So many seniors have a difficult time eating alone. And if that’s a big contributing factor for your elderly family member, then having home care assistance with her around meals can make a tremendous difference in her appetite. Having a bit of companionship allows her to focus on the social aspects of meals rather than worrying about how much she’s eating.
Work with Her Doctor for Other Solutions
Sometimes you try everything that you can think of and yet your senior still has trouble with a diminished appetite. Your senior’s doctor can help you to come up with other solutions and home care assistance can make implementing those plans easier. Preparing things like high-calorie shakes can be easier for your senior with help.
It’s never a good solution to simply let your senior skip meals when she isn’t hungry, especially if that means that she’s only eating once a day. Finding a solution might mean trying a variety of strategies, but it’s worth the time.
If you are considering home care assistance in Spring Valley, TX, for an aging loved one, please call the caring staff at At Your Side Home Care. We will answer all of your senior care questions. Call today: (832)271-1600.
Our Certified Nurse Aides, 24-Hour Live-in Assistants and Home Health Aides are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We also provide the security and confidence of 24-hour Telephone Assistance, so fast, reliable help is always available when it's needed. To learn more about our homecare services see our homecare services page.
Different people need different levels of homecare. To meet the requirements of our clients, At Your Side Homecare maintains consistent staffing levels of caring professionals. Homecare service is available for as little as a few hours a week, or as many as 24 hours a day, seven days a week
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