How Do You Help Your Mom Stop Smoking?
The World Health Organization holds the annual World Tobacco Day to raise awareness and keep today’s youth from smoking. If your mom still smokes, it’s important that she stops. By stopping, she improves her health. She also sets a better example for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
It’s not easy for a smoker to kick the habit. She’ll need support from her family and friends. You also have to be patient. She may struggle and slip up from time to time. All that matters is that she’s trying. She may find these tips helpful.
Quit With the Right Motivation
Home Care Springfield, PA: Seniors and Smoking
Your mom is more likely to be successful if she has a reason to quit. She may want to lower her risk of cardiovascular disease or stroke. If she has grandchildren, she may want to be a role model that shows them you don’t need to smoke and take steps to keep them from breathing secondhand smoke.
Talk to Her Doctor
Your mom should schedule an appointment with her doctor. She wants to discuss the best way to quit. A prescription product or over-the-counter nicotine replacement products may help her ease the cravings.
By seeing her doctor, your mom will also have a basis for comparison. With each follow-up visit, she can see how much her blood pressure decreases, how much better her lungs are doing, and the improvement in her blood’s CO2 levels.
Rally the Family
Your mom should tell everyone she’s quitting. She’ll want the support. Cheer her on and keep her from feeling down if she cannot ignore a craving. Having others stopping by to join her for walks and keep her mind off smoking will make a difference.
Thoroughly Clean the House
Do a full cleaning of the house. The goal is to clean or remove all items that smell like a cigarette. Shampoo carpeting, dry clean or wash curtains, and use an upholstery cleaner to clean fabric chairs and sofas. A fresh coat of paint may if the smell of smoke has permeated the walls.
Adjust Her Schedule
Many smokers fall into patterns that dictate when a cigarette is most desirable. It may be with her morning coffee or after lunch when the dishes are done. If she changes her routine, it can help with cravings.
After a meal, she could go for a walk and leave the cigarettes and lighter at home. While she’s taking her walk, she could have a caregiver join her and keep her mind off any cravings by engaging her in conversation.
Talk to a home care agency about caregivers and the services they offer. With the right home care plan, your mom has a full support team to help her stop smoking.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care in Springfield,PA please contact the caring staff at True Direct Home Health Care today.
Doc, as he is called by everyone - staff, patients and clients - first experienced home health care and hospice care while as a colleg student at King's College as he cared for his mother every day while she first battled COPD and then lung cancer. It was during this time that he came to understand that caring for a patient was more than just clinical expertise.
"Admittedly, my strongest attribute is my communication skills and the simple fact that I love to help people. Even the smallest thing you can do for someone really can mean so much to them long term. In fact, it could change them forever. That's what providing quality personal home health care should be all about."
In his spare time, he cooks for homeless shelters and children's music and arts events. He also is highly involved in his local youth sports soccer academy as a coach and Board member.
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