It can be so hard to take care of an elderly person and make sure they’re happy. But on top of that, you have to make sure that their bodies are doing well too. That can be hard if you’re not a professional elder care provider or a doctor. You may have no care plan like elder care providers would, and you may not know the symptoms of an overactive bladder like a doctor would.
Elder Care in Elizabeth NJ: Bladder Care
One of the multiple probable reasons for urine incontinence is an overactive bladder. Overactive bladder muscles contract uncontrollably, generating a desire to pee and perhaps leading a person to empty inadvertently. This can lead to embarrassing moments for your senior and leave you feeling overwhelmed at the moment. There are some things you can do to limit this problem, and it may help your senior feel more comfortable going out.
Parkinson’s illness, Alzheimer’s disease, a urinary tract infection, an enlarged prostate (in males), certain drugs, and constipation, among other things, may cause an overactive bladder. All of these are out of your control and something that your elderly parent can’t help either. This can be even more frustrating when it isn’t connected to something a senior can change or control. However, here are some tips to keep in mind.
It Starts With Diet
Sometimes the underlying reason for an overactive bladder cannot be identified. Making minor changes to a person’s diet may help alleviate some of their symptoms, especially in these cases. There are a few things a senior should absolutely avoid if they suffer from an overactive bladder.
- Caffeine
- Citrus fruits
- Alcohol
- Chocolate
- Artificial sweeteners
- Spicy foods
- Carbonated beverages
These meals and drinks may irritate the bladder and increase the likelihood of involuntary spasms. This may sound limiting, but it will help a senior feel more comfortable with their body if they avoid these foods. Instead of these, seniors should eat bladder-friendly foods approved by their doctors.
Other Tips To Help Control An Overactive Bladder
If you have helped your senior cut back on all of the foods listed above, it can be frustrating, but there are other things to consider too.
Focus On Being a Healthy Weight
Overweight people are more likely to have urine incontinence issues. Exercising and eating a good, balanced diet may assist you and your loved one in maintaining a healthy weight while also lowering your chance of incontinence concerns.
Stick With Water
It may seem illogical to encourage someone suffering from urinary incontinence to drink more, yet dehydration may cause urine to become more concentrated and irritating to the bladder. Inadequate hydration intake also raises the probability of constipation.
Try Going All Natural
This will not only limit the number of toxins that may irritate your loved one’s bladder, but it will also maximize the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals they get from their meals.
Avoid Sauces With a Spicy Tomato Base
These have the potential to irritate the bladder. Instead, choose milder sauces prepared from oils and bladder-friendly herbs.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Elder Care in Elizabeth, NJ, call the caring staff at Helping Hands Home Care today at 908-418-4299.
After graduating from Seton Hall University with a BS in finance Helping Hands Homecare’s Owner / President, Robert D’Arienzo, went to work on Wall St. for six years. However, after Robert’s grandmother became ill with stomach cancer Robert and his family needed to find assistance in the home for her. After many trials and tribulations Robert could see that there was a great need for quality home care services here in NJ and loved the idea of being able to assist other families who were going through what his family went through with his beloved grandmother.
Thus, Robert had found his passion. After almost a year of preparation Robert opened Helping Hands Homecare in 2003. Robert wanted Helping Hands Homecare to focus on providing the highest quality of caregivers, exceptional customer service, and providing a service that familys could depend on in their time of need. Since then Helping Hands has assisted hundreds of individuals with the simplest of needs to more complex cases while preserving those standards set out many years ago.
Robert is a Google Verified Author
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