Q and A: Factors That Make Living Alone Risky

Q and A: Factors That Make Living Alone Risky

Question: My mother is 76 and my Dad is 79. They live in the Bay Area and I live here in Sacramento. I visit them every monthand they seem in pretty good health but I notice little things that are different about them. Dad is losing his hearing and Mom complains about not being able to see well. I don’t think they should be living alone, but my husband says I’m over-reacting. Am I?

Answer: It’s natural to be concerned about people we love and with whom we have strong familial ties. Your being concerned about your parents now–before there is a health crisis –is a good thing. It gives you time to begin talking with them and sorting through your concerns and theirs.

And, while nobody knows what the future holds for any one of us, there are certain factors that increase seniors’ risks for medical and other emergencies and makes it difficult for them to handle these situations.  Take the following risk factors into consideration when evaluating your own parents’ situation.

- Advanced age: the older a person is the more likely she or he is to have serious, debilitating illnesses or medical emergencies.

- No or few supports close at hand: many senior couples have a way of compensating for each other’s weaknesses. But without a spouse’s support, the surviving senior may not be able to continue living independently. The more “eyes on” a senior the better. Those seniors who do not have family and close friends in touch with them daily could be hurt or seriously ill for days or weeks before anyone noticed.

- History of illness: a senior who has had emphysema for six years, for example, or diabetes or another illness just faces greater risks of being ill.

- Recent fall: It is very common for a senior who has had a fall to fall again.

- Recent hospitalization: an illness, medical event or accident that is serious enough to land someone in the hospital will “take it out of them,” lowering their immune system and making them less able to meet their own day-to-day needs.

- Unstable mental health: seniors with mental health issues may not be to identify and handle their own care needs.

- Change or lessening of cognitive abilities: 35 to 50 percent of people over age 84 will have memory loss and other cognitive problems which lessen their ability to use good judgment.

- Decline in a senior’s ability to handle Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) such as doing light housework, shopping for and preparing meals, using the telephone and managing money.

- Decline in their ability to handle Activities of Daily Living: ADLs include bathing, dressing, grooming, managing medications correctly, using the restroom, transferring from a chair or bed, moving around one’s home, or feeding one’s self.

- Multiple medication or a complicated medication regime: This increases the chances for adverse drug reactions and errors with medications.

- Losing formal (paid) or informal (friend of family) caregivers: With no help available, the senior’s health could quickly decline.