Caring is the perfect job for people who are very patient and love working with older people.
Personal care needs are the daily physical needs of an individual. They include cleaning and hygiene, as well as waste disposal and handling of specialized matters. Mobility, or moving from one place to another, is also part of personal care needs. For people with medical conditions, your care may also include taking medications, keeping contact lenses or dentures, and wound care.
Trimming your nails and keeping them short is an important part of grooming at any age.
Most people can meet their own personal care needs without help. They get up every morning, complete their routine, and get through the day. For others, such as young children, the elderly, and the sick, injured, or mentally disabled, performing these daily tasks is a challenge that requires assistance.
Parents or caregivers meet the basic needs of young children and infants. They require cleaning, feeding and warmth. Cleaning includes changing diapers, bathing, and trimming nails. Food can be breast milk or bottled formula. The heat, of course, requires suitable clothing and shelter.
A legally blind person can be taught to use a guide dog to get around.
In the case of the disabled or mentally ill, the individual is often simply unable to carry out all of their daily personal care needs. Some educational institutions or home helpers specialize in training and rehabilitating people so that they can meet their own needs as much as possible.
The mentally handicapped can often be taught to bathe and feed themselves and even to perform simple household tasks such as laundry or basic cleaning. If someone is sick or physically disabled, you can also learn about self-care. For example, visually impaired people can be trained to use a cane or guide dog to travel and rely on other senses. In some cases, the physically disabled can also learn to be fully self-sufficient.
Cleaning dentures can be a self-care necessity for anyone with dental problems.
It is not uncommon for an adult child or grandchild to find themselves in the position of caretaker for an elderly relative. Home care provided by a professional is expensive, and seniors often do not want to live in a retirement community or nursing home. Caring for an elderly person is time-consuming and exhausting, and unskilled people are often distressed by the responsibility. Since personal care needs occur every day and sometimes at night, the caregiver can feel overwhelmed and tired. There are also emotional consequences to watching a loved one age and become more helpless, and performing personal tasks for that person can be embarrassing for both parties.
Older people who cannot take care of their personal needs often become depressed.
The individual, most of the time, is already aware, or is becoming aware, that these are tasks that must be carried out autonomously. For those who cannot change their helplessness, such as the sick, the injured, and the elderly, this can cause feelings of shame and depression. Mental health is just as important as physical health, and it is the caregiver’s duty to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to restore emotional well-being.