If your loved one has recently been diagnosed with kidney disease, it is time to put in place personal care at home. This can be scary for you to deal with on your own, and that is why caregivers are such a huge help. They will help ensure the senior is living as healthy as possible while taking some of the stress off of you. For a kidney disease diagnosis, your loved one will go through many tests to determine if all of the symptoms match and develop a treatment plan with the doctor.
Here Are the Tests Used to Diagnose Kidney Disease in a Senior.
Blood Tests
These tests will determine if the toxins are remaining in the blood. It will look at the current level of waste in your blood, which will be a huge indication of kidney disease.
Urine Tests
Urine can help a doctor pinpoint any abnormalities. It can also help identify a root cause of kidney failure. It may not be kidney disease, so it is imperative to learn everything about a person first.
Imaging May Need to Happen
Some doctors will request a senior to have some form of imaging done to investigate how the kidneys look. The doctors may want to evaluate the structure and size of the kidney.
Removing Pieces of the Kidney
A doctor may not remove the whole kidney, but they may take a sample to further diagnose. Once the sample is taken, the kidney is sent to a lab where it can be tested. This allows them to understand what exactly could be causing the kidney to act up.
If everything comes back positive, the senior doctor will start treatment. The most important thing for you to do is keep calm and trust the personal care at home to help the senior during this process. Many people with chronic kidney disease can live long lives with the help of dialysis. It truly depends on the stage of the disease.
How to Help a Senior on Dialysis
Keep in mind not all seniors may choose to pursue living on dialysis. It depends on the stage of the disease. Some may feel burdened by dialysis and wish to spend the rest of their days with personal care at home and family. However, if they choose to do dialysis, you can help them live healthily in small ways.
- Take them to treatment
- Become a donor
- Attend support groups together
- Ensure companion care at home preps healthy meals
- Pick up some of the household chores
You don’t have to go over the top when helping your loved ones, but simply driving them places or ensuring they have transportation to dialysis treatments is often enough. You can show your support and help them live better without being overbearing. Personal care at home can teach you to cook healthy meals that will help the body function better. You can also help with some of the household chores that may be too hard for the senior. Make the senior comfortable and happy.
Sources: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-kidney-disease/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354527
If you or an aging loved-one is considering Personal Care at Home Services in Alexandria VA please contact the caring staff at Apex Classic Home Health Care today. (571) 275-9547
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