There are a number of diseases out there that cause a patient to become completely bedridden. In some cases, it is just a temporary setback, where absolute bed rest can help with faster recovery. However, in other more serious scenarios, a person might lose all their capacity to move on their own. This often happens in the case of a degenerative disease.
Such situations are not only hard for the one who is suffering from the disease, but also for the caregivers. While taking care of every need of the patient becomes hard for you as a caretaker, you need to consider that the patient is under a lot of distress and could be upset and angry with a lot of mood swings. This is why the job requires you to take the responsibility extremely seriously and carefully.
Here are some important factors to consider:
The Bed Sheets
The personal hygiene of the patient is the first thing that gets affected in a scenario where the patients are bedridden. As they do most of their activities on the bed, including eating and passing urine, the chances of catching an infection are greater. They might also end up spilling food and other things on the sheets.
Changing the linen is thus, an extremely important part of taking care of your patient. This not only ensures that the patient’s hygiene is being taken care of, but it will also put a smile on their face, as they will see a change in their surroundings.
As it is extremely hard to move to the patients, every time you need to change the sheets, slide sheets are recommended.
Slide sheets are easy to operate and there is no need for the caretaker to look for extra assistance either. They can do it on their own and the patients do not have to experience discomfort either.
Renting the Bed
Next comes renting a bed for your patient. This should be done with extra caution as well. Make sure that the bed you are renting for your patient is a comfortable one. It must not be too high but the height should be adjustable. Moreover, the bed should be crafted so that the person spending a lot of time on it, will stay comfortable without developing extra aches and pain in the body.
Making the room safe for the Patients
As a caretaker, you should ensure that the patient’s room is completely safe for them to move around. Make sure that the cables are not lying tangled on the floor, to avoid the chances of tripping over and falling.
There are a few companies that also provide useful equipment to take care of such needs. For example, you can find the relevant items at http://tripsafe.com.au/ that will ensure that the cables of all the medical machinery are managed appropriately.
In addition to all this, you need to take care of the emotional needs of your patient as well, because there will be times when they will become emotionally unstable as well as unreasonable. You should be able to support them in their times of need as their caregiver.
