Pain at the end of your senior’s life is difficult to watch. There might be more that you can do to help her than you might think, however.

Try to Assess How Much Pain She’s In

Your elderly family member’s doctor might use a pain scale with her in which he asks her to rate her pain from one to ten, with ten being the most severe pain she’s ever experienced. Using a pain scale is not perfect, but it can give you and her doctor an idea what level of pain your senior is dealing with so that you can help her to manage it more effectively.

Become Familiar with the Locations of Her Pain

Depending on what ailments your elderly family member is suffering from, the locations of her pain are something that you need to become familiar with over time. Multiple ailments or injuries are of course going to mean that your senior can experience pain in multiple locations. The more that you understand about where she hurts, the more you can do for her.

Look for Non-verbal Signs of Pain

If your aging family member isn’t able to tell you where she’s hurting or how much she’s hurting, you’re going to need to pay close attention. Non-verbal signs of pain such as restlessness, moaning, or facial grimaces are important clues. Try asking your elderly family member if she’s in pain when she exhibits those signals and determine as much as you can about what’s going on.

Track Her Pain Regularly

Keeping a record of your senior’s pain levels, location, and what helped can be incredibly beneficial for you and for elder care providers who also help her. This is also great information to take with you to doctor’s appointments as it can help her doctor to spot patterns and issues. Something as simple as a spiral notebook can get the job done.

Talk with Her Care Team

If other people help your elderly family member, such as family members and elder care providers, make sure that they know how to recognize when your senior is in pain. They can help you to spot other potential triggers and issues that you need to be aware of as well. All of this is information that you can take to her doctor, too.

There’s no one answer to dealing with pain for your elderly family member. But the more that you learn and understand about the pain that your aging adult is experiencing the better you can help her to try to manage it.

If you or an aging parent are considering hospice elder care in Allentown, PA, please contact the caring staff at Serenity Hospice today. Call (215) 867-5405.