What Can Your Senior Do to Support Her Kidney Health?
Every March is National Kidney Month, so it’s an important time to talk about kidney health overall and what your senior might want to consider doing in order to make sure her kidneys are as healthy as possible. Even if your elderly family member hasn’t prioritized kidney health to this point, it may not be too late for her to reconsider some of her habits and choices.
Improve Hydration
In-Home Care Reston, VA: Kidney Health
Drinking plenty of water can help your senior to keep her kidneys functioning well. Water helps to flush waste out of the entire body, and it also helps to keep those wastes filtered through the kidneys. If your senior is consistently dehydrated, it’s a lot more difficult for her kidneys to keep filtering waste and they work harder than they should have to work. Eventually the kidneys sustain damage that can’t be repaired.
Reconsider Some Dietary Choices
Dietary choices also have an impact on how well your senior’s kidneys can work. If she’s eating a lot of salt or sugar, or even trans fats, these can all cause problems in the kidneys eventually. Eating a diet higher in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and antioxidant-rich foods really helps. Healthy fats and lean proteins also support a healthy body overall.
Get Health Issues Under Better Control
If your elderly family member has other health issues already, including diabetes or high blood pressure, it’s vital that she gets a handle on those as much as possible. Anything that strains the rest of your elderly family member’s body is also going to affect kidney function. Keeping tabs on home monitoring whenever possible is a great way for your senior to see how well the changes she’s making are impacting her health conditions. It’s important to work with your senior’s doctor to determine what else might help her to be as healthy as possible overall.
Consider Exercising More
One of the tools your elderly family member might need to add to her repertoire could include exercise, especially if she’s become sedentary over time. Her doctor should clear her for exercise and it might be helpful for her to have assistance from in-home care providers in order to stay safe while exercising. Over time, your elderly family member will grow stronger and better able to keep moving as much as she wants to move.
Limiting Some Harmful Vices
Some of the habits your elderly family member may have had for years, like smoking or drinking alcohol, might be doing her kidneys more harm than good. Talk with her doctor about what your elderly family member can do to put those habits behind her. She may find that her overall health improves more quickly than she expects.
In-home care providers can help your elderly family member to have the help she needs to manage her diet and her health in a way that supports her kidney health. Caregivers are there to offer gentle reminders and to ensure that your senior can rest as much as she needs to in order to be healthier.