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Are you worried about your parent’s chronic health problem? Our parents’ immune systems decline as they age, thereby increasing their chances of developing a chronic disease. Managing a parent’s chronic sickness can be draining, both physically and emotionally. With the correct care management techniques and monitoring methods, you can provide a healthy, supportive atmosphere for your loved ones, improving their quality of life.

In this article, we’ll go over several simple but effective chronic care management practices that will help you manage your parents’ chronic diseases efficiently.

Why Chronic Conditions Needs To Be Monitored Regularly?

Any health condition expected to last at least a year or until the patient’s death is classified as a chronic disease. Although chronic diseases can affect anyone at any age, the most common ones in older patients include diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These long-term health conditions require ongoing management and the right care to ensure a good quality of life.

If you want to provide your patients with the right care and support they need to manage their chronic conditions from home, you need to stay informed about the symptoms, treatment options, and the potential complications these diseases may cause.

Staying informed about the latest treatments and discussing them with a qualified healthcare provider can give you a better understanding of your parents’ conditions.

Steps To Manage An Existing Chronic Condition

1. Develop a Care Plan

To start with, craft a structured care plan or ask your parent’s healthcare provider to help you with this. An effective care plan is essential for managing chronic diseases and alleviating your parents’ symptoms and involves:

•  Scheduling regular appointments with the healthcare providers and all others involved in the treatment plan, right from the primary care physicians, specialists, and nutritionists.
• Active participation of your parents, healthcare providers, and other family members.
• Setting realistic health goals that ensure weight management, medication adherence, or physical activity.
• Creating a medication schedule and understanding the purpose of each medicine along with noting down how to take them.
• Establishing a routine for monitoring health vitals via wearable or remote monitoring devices.
• Developing an emergency plan, in case something bad happens or a sudden health crisis comes up.

2. Encourage Healthy Habits

Lifestyle changes can significantly impact the outcomes of chronic diseases. By adopting a healthy and active lifestyle and sticking to a routine can greatly improve the management of chronic diseases. To do so:

• Ask a nutritionist or the concerned healthcare provider to formulate a meal plan based on your patient’s nutrition and diet needs.
• Take your parents out for a morning walk to encourage regular physical activity and motivate them to do yoga, swimming, or other low intensity activities.
• Set and achieve healthy weight goals by only consuming home-cooked fresh and nutritious meals and keeping junk food away.
• Make sure your parents aren’t consuming any alcoholic drinks or smoke as they can worsen the existing chronic condition.
• Schedule appointments with a counselor or ask your parents to practice stress-reducing techniques, such as mindfulness, meditation, or deep-breathing exercises to relax both body and mind.

3. Get Community Support When Needed

Though your parent may be your responsibility, you should never hesitate to ask your family and friends to visit you on weekends or whenever possible. This will make sure your parents won’t feel alone or low and encourage social support in managing chronic diseases. To do so

• Keep your family involved.
• Connect with local support groups or community centers.
• Utilize technology to stay connected with family and friends.
• Keep the feelings of isolation away.

4. Take Charge Of Their Health

Since your old-aged parents may be dealing with problems like Alzheimer’s or Arthritis, it is important for you to take charge and track their health. This will not only make them feel relaxed, but they’ll also feel happy and motivated that their child is there to support them, no matter what the circumstances are. To do so:

• Take them to their doctor’s appointments
• Ask questions and take note of their health condition
• Maintain an organized file of their medical history
• Stay aware of any allergies they may be having
• Check their health insurance coverage plan
• Take second opinions, whenever necessary

5. Manage Their Emotional Well-Being

Believe it not, you are the biggest asset your parents have. As progressing old age and chronic disease may be taking a toll on their emotional well-being, having you by their side will eliminate all the stress they are having. Taking care of their mental health is just as important as their physical health. To provide the much-needed emotional support:

• Encourage your parents to express their feelings
• Listen to them actively and validate their emotions
• Take them to a mental health counselor, if needed
• Seek therapy for depression or anxiety they are facing
• Talk to them for hours to boost their mood

6. Monitor & Adjust the Care Plan

Chronic diseases may progress over time, especially if not treated in the right way. It is advised to never stick to a specific treatment plan, instead get it re-evaluated and altered by a healthcare provider based on the ongoing evaluation results. To make sure, your parents are receiving the right care:

• Regularly review the care plan
• Schedule periodic appointments to discuss progress
• Take regular feedback from healthcare providers
• Get updates on your parents’ health status
• Ask for diet and care recommendations
• Monitor and record their health metrics to track changes
• Maintain a positive outlook

Conclusion

Seeing your parents dealing with a chronic health condition may be devastating, but following a proactive approach to managing their health outcomes can really help. Adopting a healthy lifestyle and providing emotional support can significantly improve your parents’ quality of life and strengthen your relationship with them.

MD Chronic is an online physician platform that allows patients to communicate with a qualified healthcare provider who can guide them on how to manage their parent’s chronic condition and take the right care of them from home. Rely on our physicians to receive personalized care and treatment plans.

Take the first step today and create a proactive management plan that leads to a healthier and happier life with us.