The Benefits Of Baths For Seniors
January is National Bath Safety Month which means it’s the perfect time to safely celebrate the benefits of baths. Families of seniors often focus on showers as the best way for seniors to stay clean but baths have a lot of benefits for seniors beyond just getting clean. Your senior loved one may enjoy a hot bath and baths can be just as safe as showers for seniors. If the bathtub is equipped with grab bars and the tub has a no-slip coating or traction mat it can be very safe. You can also have a home care assistance provider come in to help your senior parent by drawing them a bath and helping them get in and out of the bath. The benefits of baths for seniors include:
Soothing Sore Tired Muscles
Home Care Assistance Darby, PA: Benefits of Baths
Seniors who suffer from chronic inflammation and pain can get some relief from a hot bath. Soaking tired or sore muscles in a hot bath can relax the muscles and soothe inflammation. It just feels good to soak in a hot bath, especially if your senior loved one lives in a cold climate. There’s nothing more comforting than a hot bath on a cold night. Home care assistance providers can help to make sure that your senior loved one is dried off and bundled into warm clothes quickly after getting out of the bath to make sure they don’t get a chill.
Better Circulation
Circulation is something that a lot of seniors struggle with. Circulation deteriorates with age and inactivity and many seniors don’t get enough activity to keep their circulation as good as it should be. Hot baths increase blood flow and help increase circulation. The more blood is flowing through the body the less pain and inflammation your senior loved one will have. A hot bath can be just as stimulating for the circulatory system as some types of activity.
Lower Blood Sugar
There is some research that indicates hot baths can help the body process sugar more efficiently and lower blood sugar when it’s high. For seniors who have diabetes that extra boost of blood sugar management can help them manage their diabetes. Just taking a hot bath can have many positive impacts on a senior’s health. Of course your senior loved one still needs to eat a healthy diet, exercise, and follow a medical regimen. But baths can help keep their blood sugar stable.
Better Skin Health
Skin health is another problem for seniors. Poor circulation, loss of elasticity, poor diet, and many other factors can all cause seniors to suffer from dry and flakey skin as well as other skin problems. A hot bath with soothing elements like natural oatmeal can help lock moisture into the skin and ease the itching and pain of dry skin. A home care assistance provider can help your senior loved one’s skin stay healthy by applying a medicinal lotion to keep the skin soft directly after the bath. That will make your senior loved one much more comfortable between baths and help keep their skin healthy too.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Assistance in Darby, 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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