Noticing Nursing Home Abuse and Avoiding It

There are many forms of nursing home abuse that go on in the nursing homes around the world. If you have a loved one in a nursing home, then you will want to know what to look out for in order to catch abuse before it gets to be a bigger problem, and then you will want to know how to avoid it altogether. The first thing that you need to understand is that abuse in a nursing home is more than just physical. There is also emotional abuse that goes on in the nursing homes. This is often the type of abuse that you never see, because it goes on behind closed doors. Talk to your loved one often about how they are treated in the nursing home by the caretakers and make sure that they are happy where they are. Here are some other things to look out for.

Bed Sores

You will want to make sure that your loved one is being moved as much as possible. If they lay in one spot for a long period of time, they will start to get bed sores. If they get bed sores, they can in turn get infections on their skin. This can become a really big issue and can cause them a lot of pain and suffering. You need to make sure that you watch out for bed sores and ensure that your loved one is being moved often as to avoid this problem.

Dehydration

Another thing to watch out for is that your loved one is getting enough liquids throughout the day. Dehydration is common among the elderly, and you want to make sure that they get enough to drink. You should avoid any issues with this by talking to the nursing home caretakers about always providing cold water and ice to your loved one. Make sure that they have something at all times in case they want it. You also need to make sure that they are drinking it. Sometimes the elderly will forget that they are thirsty, and just need a reminder from time to time.

Physical Abuse

While you do not like to even consider this, physical abuse can happen in a nursing home setting. This involves any sort of physical harm to the patient. It may mean hitting, pinching, pushing, kicking, and shaking. If your loved one tells you that there is any sort of physical abuse going on, you will want to address this immediately. The best thing to do in this type of situation is get them out of that nursing home and consult an attorney.

If you think that your loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse- no matter what kind- you will want to make sure that you talk to them first hand. Get their take on it, and make sure that they are happy where they are. If they are unhappy, it may be a sign that you need to look for somewhere else for them to live.

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