As your loved one ages, they may be unable to take care of themselves. When this happens you may need to employ someone to look after them if you don’t have the time to do it yourself.
Unfortunately, sometimes a bad decision is made about who should take care of an elderly loved one. Elderly abuse is very real and you need to know if it is happening to your loved one. Here are some signs that indicate elderly abuse, and some tips on why taking care of them yourself might be more affordable.
Physical Abuse
There are several common signs of abuse. Broken bones can often indicate that someone is being hit. If the elderly person has burns, bruises, or welts on their skin they may also be a victim of physical abuse.
When an elderly person is being physically abused they may make up strange stories about how they became injured. This is usually a red flag that indicates that something is not right.
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse can take many different forms. However, some common forms of emotional abuse are yelling and screaming at someone. Threatening the elderly and trying to make them fearful is also another form of emotional abuse.
There are several signs that an elderly person is being abused emotionally. They may begin to isolate and withdraw from you.
Often they may be afraid to speak up and you may notice hesitancy whenever they try to talk. If you notice your elderly loved one seems more anxious than usual, depressed, or even fearful then there may be emotional abuse taking place.
Financial Abuse
Abuse may also be financial. Elderly people are vulnerable and can easily be robbed by scammers. If you notice that there are missing sums from a loved one's bank account and there is no plausible explanation that they can give you, it may be that there is a problem.
Financial abuse is one of the most dangerous forms of elderly abuse. This type of abuse can leave elderly people unable to buy food, or pay for their medical needs.
What You Can Do
As you can see there are three main types of abuse that you should be on the lookout for when you place an elderly loved one in the care of others.
You should always bear these things in mind and make sure that you are very observant, especially if your loved one has memory loss or dementia. This can make it easy for them to be a victim, so stay alert.
If you find out this is happening you should press charges against the offender. If you have to hire someone else, create a checklist of what you are looking for in a caregiver and get lots of references.
Another thing you may want to consider is looking after your elderly loved one yourself. This can be time-consuming and difficult for some people especially if they have a job and responsibilities.
However, the good news is that there is a program available that will pay you to take care of your relatives. This program is called, CDPAP.
The programs give you a salary so that you can meet your own financial needs while taking care of your elderly loved one.
Ensuring that your loved one gets the best care means that you have to be alert and observant. You also have to ensure that you are always choosing the best option for their care.
