Eye Health: For an Elder Parent, a Trip to the Eye Doctor Could Be Crucial to Help Them Continue Seeing Clearly

Eye Health: Seeing clearly is something most of us tend to take for granted.

We don’t think much about our vision, especially in our younger, healthier years, but as we get older there is an increased risk of certain vision-related problems developing. The most common are cataracts. Another serious consideration is glaucoma and macular degeneration. If you are struggling to help an elderly parent take care of themselves better, elder care could be the answer.

How could elder care help where you can’t?


The dynamics of certain relationships can be complicated. You, as the adult child, might not have the same authority or influence over your elderly mother or father as you would like. They just might not listen to you as they would a ‘professional.’


Elder care is a term that covers a wide range of supports, including home care. Imagine a professional, experienced home care aide assisting your elderly mother with regular, routine, daily tasks and having conversations about her health.


The elder care provider might then transition the conversation to talk about doctor visits, including an eye care professional. Even though you have tried to get your mother to visit an eye care professional for some time, she hasn’t done so, basically saying, “I’m fine.”


How frustrating can it be! You know that she seems to be okay, at least for the time, but you also understand that as a person approaches 80, there is an almost certainty they will have developed some type of vision-related problem, most likely cataracts.

What if that aging senior doesn’t want to talk about elder care topics or eye health?


You have been frustrated, without a doubt. Yet, you can’t give up. You have to keep talking about these things, even if it gets tense. Whatever you do, though, always remember to listen to what that aging parent has to say. Listening is one of the most important conversational tools we have that is also one of the most overlooked and neglected.


It’s also a good idea to discuss certain symptoms or signs you have seen that may indicate eye health problems developing. Perhaps your elderly father had been to the doctor recently and he commented on some issue and they advised him to make an appointment with his eye care professional or ophthalmologist.


He needs to take that seriously. If you know these things, bring them up, but gently. An elderly person who is facing increased health issues and other limitations can become defensive because they don’t know what the future holds.


As long as you have these conversations in a calm, rational, and compassionate way, you can make inroads over time.


Finally, remember to be patient. It’s not easy to deal with these things secondhand, which you are, and much tougher firsthand when you are that aging senior. When you discuss, elder care or the senior is depending on these services, it can be a bit easier for them to feel confident enough to make an appointment to visit their eye care professional.

And don’t forget, May is Healthy Vision Month and this is the perfect time to bring these subjects up to talk about eye health.

If you or an aging loved-one is considering hiring Elderly Care in Thornton, CO, please contact the caring staff at Touching Hearts at Home today at 303-255-4071.

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