Tips for Caring for a Senior Suffering From a Migraine

Millions of people throughout the United States suffer from migraines. In fact, approximately 12 percent of the total population of the nation suffers from this often debilitating condition, including 10 percent of the child population. As a family caregiver, it is very important that you know as much as you can about this condition and the type of care that your senior needs to handle it so that you can support them in coping with their migraines and continuing to maintain the best quality of life possible.

Use these tips to help you care for a senior suffering from a migraine:

• A migraine is not just a headache. One of the most important things that you should remember when caring for a senior with a migraine is that this condition is not just about bad headaches. While your parent will experience throbbing, often severe pain, migraine is much more. This condition involves a set of neurological impacts that create a wide range of symptoms.
• Identify their triggers. Most migraine sufferers have specific triggers that cause their headaches. If you and your elderly parent are able to identify those triggers you can better help them to make the choices that will allow them to avoid these triggers and prevent headaches. Keep in mind that some common triggers are unavoidable, such as environmental pressure, while others are preventable, such as eating chocolate.
• Knowing the warning signs. Many people have the perception that migraines happen extremely quickly and that they just hit with the pain in the head. While this can happen, it is much more likely that the condition will develop over the course of a few hours. The warning signs of this event can be subtle, such as frequent yawning, fatigue, or wanting to eat more. Knowing these warning signs, however, can help you to prepare your parent for the headache and tailor your care to getting through this situation.
• Prepare for depression. A large percentage of those who suffer from migraine also suffer from depression. Understand this and prepare yourself and your parent to seek out the care and support that they need to manage their depression and continue to find meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in this new part of their lives.

Starting senior care for your elderly loved one can be one of the best decisions that you can make for them throughout the course of your caregiver journey with them. Having a senior home care services provider in the home with your parent is a fantastic way to help ensure that they are able to achieve and maintain the highest quality of life possible as they age in place. This means not only addressing their individual needs, challenges, and limitations, but also encouraging them to pursue a lifestyle that is as active, engaged, independent, and fulfilling as possible throughout their later years. A senior care provider can accomplish this by designing a highly personalized set of services tailored to your parent’s needs, personality, preferences, and goals so that they are able to stay safe, healthy, comfortable, and happy in this new chapter in their lives.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring in-home senior care in Fresno CA, please contact the caring staff at Valley Home Care.

Sources:

https://migraineresearchfoundation.org/about-migraine/migraine-facts/

https://migraine.com/blog/national-awareness-month/

http://www.headaches.org/june-is-national-migraine-headache-awareness-month/