November is National Healthy Skin Month, and it is just in time, as winter is right around the corner. Winter is one of the harshest seasons on the skin and can be especially hard on your elderly loved one’s skin. Personal care at home providers can help aging seniors protect their skin in cold weather, keeping it healthier.
How Elderly Skin Changes
Like all parts of the body, the skin changes as a person ages. You can notice it simply by looking at it. It’s looser, and you’ll probably be able to see veins coming through it more easily (especially if you look at your hands). That’s because older skin is often thinner and loses its fat, making it hang loosely on the body.
Because of countless years spent in the sun or even in heated environments, the skin becomes more dry and may feel rough or scaly. Using overly scented applications like soaps and lotions may have also stripped the skin of its ability to naturally keep itself moisturized and supple.
Why Healthy Skin is Important
During Healthy Skin Month, it’s important to remember that healthy skin is essential. One of the main functions of the skin is to protect your body from outside irritants and bacteria entering the body, which can harm your loved one’s health. Keeping skin free from cuts, scrapes, and scratches is one way to do that.
Dry skin is more likely to crack open or bleed, opening up your loved one’s risk of developing other health issues, which is why the following tips and assistance from personal care at home and family caregivers are so important.
Five Steps for Healthier Skin for Your Elderly Loved One
- Keep the home air hydrated. As colder air sets in outside, we need to heat our homes to stay warm. But that forced air is often dry and can wreak havoc on skin that’s already dry or scaly. Installing humidifiers around the home will help keep the moisture levels up and protect your loved one’s skin.
- Avoid too many hot showers or baths. It may feel great gingerly stepping into a steaming bath, but that hot water is hard on the skin, and it dries it out. Warm is better.
- Protect the skin when going out. Icy wind blowing directly on the skin can damage it. Encourage your loved one to keep as covered as possible when heading out on blustery days.
- Stay hydrated. Moisturized skin starts from the inside. A well-hydrated body ensures that the skin stays hydrated and nourished.
- Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. Applying lotions and creams throughout the day will help lock in moisture and protect the skin from outside elements like heat and dry air.
Personal Care at Home Providers Can Help With Skin Care
If your loved one is unable to take care of her skin on her own, you might consider having a provider who will visit and help with personal care at home services. A personal care at home provider can assist your loved one with applying lotion and creams in areas she can’t reach (like her feet or her back), as well as help manage the humidifiers, assuring that they are being used safely.
A personal care at home provider can also help with food and beverage choices, making sure your loved one consumes items that will help her skin to stay healthy during the long winter months.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Personal Care at Home in Arlington, VA, please contact the caring staff at Cardinal Home Care today! (703) 934-4610
Cardinal Home Care provides exceptional home care services in Arlington, Alexandria, Leesburg, Reston, Herndon, Manassas, Ashburn, Falls Church, McLean, Fairfax, Virginia, and the surrounding communities.
Cardinal Home Care launched in 2019, with the purpose of providing quality non-medical home care to seniors wishing to remain in the comfort of their homes.
Cardinal Home Care provides exceptional home care services in Arlington, Alexandria, Leesburg, Reston, Herndon, Manassas, Ashburn, Falls Church, McLean, Fairfax Virginia and the surrounding communities.
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