Seniors, like most people these days, aren’t drinking enough water. But for seniors, dehydration can have some severe health consequences. Dehydrated seniors can suffer from confusion, fatigue, and other health problems. They are also more likely to get dizzy or fall because of the side effects of being dehydrated. If your senior loved one falls home, they could be seriously injured. Seniors must drink plenty of water daily. Too many aren’t doing that. Some things that you can do to encourage your senior parent to drink water throughout the day are:
Get Senior Home Care
One of the many benefits of senior home care is that they have a caregiver that will remind them when it’s time to eat and drink. A senior home care provider can encourage your loved one to have a glass of water on a set schedule to increase their drinking. They can also ensure that your senior loved one has all the help they need to get to the bathroom. Then your senior loved one won’t refuse water because they are worried about going to the bathroom.
Make Mocktails With Meals
Mocktails are just fancy water drinks but a fun way to make meals more festive. They make it more likely that seniors will drink a tall glass of water. Mocktails can be alcohol-free versions of famous cocktails that use artisanal flavored waters instead of liquor to make the drink taste good. Or they can be made with sparkling water, fruit, and fruit-infused waters with fabulous fruit flavors. Mocktails can be made ahead and stored in pitchers. Make them easy to enjoy anytime.
Install A Water Filter
It’s possible that your senior loved one doesn’t want to drink the water at their house because it doesn’t taste good. Even if there’s nothing wrong with tap water, some of the medications your senior loved one takes or health conditions can make water taste different or wrong. Installing a whole-house water filter or even just using a water filtering pitching to purify the tap water and make it taste better can be a great way to get your senior loved one to drink more water.
Track It
It’s been proven that people are more likely to turn a behavior into a habit when tracking it. That’s why when people are trying to make a life change, they are told to write it down on a calendar each day and cross off that day once they have done that thing. Tracking how much water they are drinking and having a set goal of how much water they want daily can make your senior loved one more likely to drink water. Just like tracking, steps make it more likely to take steps to hit their drinking water goal, and tracking encourages people to drink more water.
Providing exceptional Senior Home Care for seniors and families in the Northern Virginia area, including Arlington, Alexandria, McLean, Reston, Burke, Ashburn, Centreville, Springfield, Manassas, and Oakton. Call today to speak with our caring staff: (703) 272-8838.
Source:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dehydration/symptoms-causes/syc-20354086
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