Monday 9 April 2018

What To Do When Your Loved One Faces Difficulty In Chewing/Swallowing?

The appetite of the seriously ill patients lowers when they are near the end of life. Their body requirements and end-of-life nutrition also change. It might be due to the metabolic changes or decreased activity. Your loved one may also show symptoms such as pain, diarrhea, and nausea. Such type of situations become quite challenging for the family to cope up well.

Tips:

Serve the soft and easy consumable foods for the snacks and meals.

-Soak foods in the gravy, milk or broth
-Avoid dry, hard, and crips foods
-Puree family meals in a mixer or blender
-Serve baby food and also try to make them more tempting with seasonings and spices
-Avoid temperature extremes in the foods. Make sure that you not to serve very cold or hot food.
-Avoid serving acidic or spicy foods. Acidic ones include tomato sauces, citrus fruits, tomatoes and food made with vinegar.

How to manage nausea?

-Invite your loved one to consume more while feeling good
-Serve saltier foods
-Make sure that the terminally ill patients don't lie flat in stomach immediately after eating
-Reschedule meals if nausea happens continuously at the same time of the day
-Avoid offering sweet and greasy foods
-Provide fluids in between rather than with meals
-Motivate the patient to chew slowly and thoroughly
-Try to give them the sporty drinks, cola syrups, popsicles, and peppermints. Also, freeze the juices in the ice cube trays.
-Liquid meals are the best when the individual is feeling the pain of facing nausea. For example, give smoothies, ice cream, shakes, yogurt, soups, and cool drinks.
-Offer the anti-nausea medicines to the patients as advised by the doctor.

How To Manage Diarrhea?

Image result for Hospice in Orange County

-Avoid drinks and foods containing caffeine in it
-Offer medication as needed
-Serve tiny and frequent amounts of milk, rice, banana, rice cereal, and applesauce. You can also add toast to the diet.
-Use petroleum jelly to the sore regions in the bottom of your loved one as advised
-Restrict the use of fried, greasy, or fatty foods
-Call the nurse if diarrhea is frequent for more than six to eight hours
-Boost the fluid intake but avoid offering milk or fruit juice. Instead, give them sports drinks.
-If cramping exists, avoid providing gas-producing foods like as beans, cabbage, carbonated beverages, cauliflower, and broccoli.
-Avoid significant amounts of sorbitol-sweetened items and sweets.

Salute Hospice is the best hospice in Orange County that offers comfort care provided in the home of terminally-ill patients. Our comprehensive care includes visits from the expert professionals (nurses, social workers, physicians, certified home health aides, etc.), equipment and medications related to the hospice diagnosis. These fast services are offered 24*7 under strict supervision to help the family cope with intense situations at hand. If you loved one is feeling severe pain or other symptoms due to the illness, call our skilled hospice Orange County team today for quick relief!!

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