Help an Older Loved One Breathe Easier With COPD

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American In-Home Care - Florida

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Sep 03, 2024

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Florida - Orlando , Florida - Sarasota, Bradenton & Charlotte Counties , Florida - Southwest

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Help an Older Loved One Breathe Easier With COPD See our latest Blog post: https://www.americaninhomecare.com/blog/2024/09/03/help-an-older-loved-one-breathe-easier-with-copd/ When a loved one receives a COPD diagnosis, it's not just their life that changes—it’s a shift for the whole family. COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a progressive lung disease that makes breathing increasingly complex over time. Understanding how to support your loved one can make this journey smoother for both of you. (See post for more) If you, a family member or friend need a little extra care, and still want to live at home -- We can help with Home Health Care Services -- We refer qualified and compassionate home health care providers that have been thoroughly screened to support our goal of making living and aging at home safe, comfortable and affordable. Referred Care Providers are available on an hourly, daily, weekly, or live-in basis. Care Providers: Register and take an important step towards taking control of your career! Case opportunities include days, evenings, nights and extended care shifts. We register companions, Home Health Aides, Certified Nursing Assistants, Nurses and LPN's. https://www.americaninhomecare.com

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Oral Care, Monitored Meals, and Aspiration Pneumonia: What We Dont Know We Dont Know in Health Care:

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One study shows that 1 in 10 deaths from pneumonia in elderly nursing home residents may be prevented by improving oral hygiene (Sjogren et al., 2008). Unfortunately, proper oral care and monitoring of meals is often overlooked in the health care setting.  Perhaps the greatest reason for this is the challenge that almost every health facility faces today: adequate staffing. When I started working in acute care as an RN over 20 years ago, nursing assistants (these are the staff generally responsible for proving oral care in an acute care setting) were typically responsible for 5-7 patients. Nurses had 3-5 patients (this was on a step down cardiac unit). Between the nurse and the assistant, we were able to provide oral care at every meal and offer one-on-one assistance to any patient that was at risk for aspiration. This is no longer the case.  RNs oftentimes look after upwards of 8 patients, and there is generally either no nursing assistant on the floor or only 1 for a patient load that can exceed 20.  Consequently, proper oral care is neglected.  I have often seen patients that are aspirating during meals, but do not have adequate staffing on hand to provide them with the supervision and monitoring that they need. This presents a hazardous catch-22: the aging individual needs to eat to maintain nutritional needs yet he/she needs assistance with eating to prevent aspirating pneumonia.   How can this be remedied? If the family is present, they can provide oral care and meal monitoring. If meal monitoring is required for an at-risk individual, its recommended to touch base with the health care team to inquire as to what the specific aspiration precautions are (every individual may have a different need and/or recommendation). A care companion can also be hired to provide the needed care. I hired a companion for my father when he was in a skilled nursing facility. He was not getting his teeth brushed or flossed regularly, and I was seeing a decline in his dentition. Having this extra support provided him with much needed assistance and the care companion had the added benefit of encouraging him to eat more at every meal, something that was a bonus as he was not meeting his nutrient needs. Touching base with staff to request that oral care and meal monitoring be done can also be helpful. Having an advocate to ensure necessary care is getting done can also be very effective in the health care setting.  What is proper oral care and effective meal monitoring?  Proper oral care includes brushing the teeth for at least 1 minute after every meal. It also includes using a soft bristle brush, fluoride toothpaste, flossing daily. A final component of oral care that is often not discussed is denture care. Dentures should be cleaned at least once per day and removed at bedtime. 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Both measures can play a significant role in reducing aspiration pneumonia.  If you would like more information on understanding proper oral care or any other questions that you may have regarding aging life care, please feel free to reach out to me.    Sources:1.      Sjogren P, Nilsson E, Forsell M, Johansson O, Hoogstraate J. 2008. A systematic review of the preventive effect of oral hygiene on pneumonia and respiratory tract infection in elderly people in hospitals and nursing homes: effect estimates and methodological quality of randomized controlled trials. J Am Geriatr Soc. 56:21242130. 2.      Iinuma T, Arai Y, Abe Y, Takayama M, Fukumoto M, Fukui Y, et al. 2014. Denture wearing during sleep doubles the risk of pneumonia in the very elderly. J Dent Res. doi: 10.1177/0022034514552493 3.      F Muller, 2015. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4541086/#   

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