Many of the senior citizens in our society have had to live through wars, famines, floods and so many other adversities, yet our elderly have triumphed the test of time. But they now face their greatest challenge - the slow advancement of technology into every area of our daily lives and our elderly are adjusting and training themselves to welcome the digital mindset. Technology has been shown to help people as they age and home health care devices have seen their way into daily living thus making it easy for older people to monitor specific health conditions.
One of the major challenges of senior health care is that the elderly often times experience the “empty nest syndrome “. Because they do not have their children living with them, it is advisable that our elderly have these essential home health care monitors/devices to help them manoeuvre through eventualities or even monitor certain health complications at the very onset. Listed below are five home health care devices that will help
Personal GPS Tracker - A GPS tracker is a navigation device which is affixed on to a moving vehicle or person and uses the satellite-based global positioning system to determine the person’s exact location and track movement. This system allows you to keep an eye on your aging parents. It can help you locate them in the case of an emergency or if they are lost. This is a boon for caregivers as they will not be able to keep a close watch over the elderly 24/7 who are in their care.
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) devices - Many of these technologies have been successfully tested and implemented in developed nations and are now making their foray into India. They span wearable health monitors (that may be BlueTooth enabled) to smartwatches and fitness trackers. RPM devices that are connected to healthcare provider infrastructure offer the added benefit of contactless medical diagnosis and treatment which is of critical importance in the current Covid19 pandemic situation.
Pulse Oximeter - Pulse Oximeters are instruments which help in monitoring the saturation of haemoglobin in arterial blood. They are non-invasive and hence easy to use by the elderly. Reference levels of oxygen saturation (SpO2) for a normal adult having a normal respiration rate varies between 95 and 100 per cent and a pulse rate between 60 and 100. However, your doctor can give you a better understanding of your normal range depending on your unique physiological traits and presence of pre-existing conditions such as asthma, pneumonia etc. Once the elderly know this, they can then routinely measure their SpO2 using a pulse oximeter and variations in the levels can be communicated to the caregivers/physicians who can then provide pre-emptive medical care.
IR Thermometer - Infrared thermometers are a new breed of thermometers. These are non-contact thermometers. How do they work? All the patient has to do is to point it around 3-5 cms away from one’s forehead before pressing a button on the device and it instantaneously records the temperature. This is a fuss-free home health care medical monitor that will record the temperature of the body and is really important for a senior citizen family to own particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic/flu seasons.
Blood Glucose Monitor - A blood glucose monitor is used to check blood sugar levels. It is common knowledge that blood sugar testing is an integral part of diabetes care. Results from a BGM indicate the concentration of glucose in the blood. Senior citizens will not have to wait for their monthly health check-ups to get their blood sugar tested if they have one of these at their home.
Fitness Trackers/Smartwatches - A fitness tracker or a smartwatch is a wearable device that is worn around the wrist. What this watch essentially does is to measure the distance one walks, cycles swims or runs. It also records the calories you burn. It is easy to wear and alerts the wearer how long one has been inactive and signals the need for walking and being mobile. More expensive devices also have fall protection built into them and have proven to be helpful in informing medical professionals when the wearer has met with an accident or has an anomaly in his vitals.
If you have a parent in India and are worried about them during this COVID 19 season, it will do them good if these health care devices are made available to them.
Author: Team 60plus India
Keywords: home health care devices, health care devices, health care medical monitor, wearable health monitors
