Coping with Recovery from Hip Replacement Surgery during the Summer Months

By Marlene Diaz | June 21, 2016 |

Homecare Issaquah WA

Hip replacement surgery is one of the most common surgeries performed on elderly adults throughout the United States each year. This surgery can make a tremendous difference in your parent’s health, wellbeing, and quality of life by easing pain, stiffness, and other issues that make mobility and activity difficult. While the benefits of the surgery are truly life-changing, this procedure does come with an extended homecare recovery period. Most people will leave the hospital within 5 days, but will need another 6 months to fully recover. During this time they will need special homecare and support to help them get their body healthy and strong again.

Recovering from hip replacement surgery during the summer months can bring with it extra challenges. Use these tips to help you encourage your parent to get through their recovery:

Stay cool. Heat-related illnesses are a major risk for seniors due to their increased vulnerability to temperature changes and reduced ability to detect thirst signals. Heat can be particularly stressful on a senior who is recovering from surgery. Ensure that your parent stays cool by making sure that their climate control system is working well. If their system is not sufficient, consider transitioning them into your home for their recovery so that they can stay more cooler and more comfortable.
Do not overdo it. The summer is a time when most people want to be active. Trying to be too active too soon, however, can make your parent vulnerable to issues such as infection, damage to the area, and further injury that may require additional surgery. Talk to their doctor about how much activity is right for them and how to determine if they have done too much.
Stay safely active. Activity is an important element of recovering from hip replacement surgery. Once your parent’s doctor says that they are ready, consider adding swimming to your parent’s schedule. Getting in the pool is not only cooling and refreshing in the hot temperatures of summer, but it also provides support, easing pain and promoting greater range of motion.

Elderly homecare can be extremely valuable throughout the recovery period after your parent undergoes hip replacement surgery. An elderly homecare services provider can be with your parent to help them keep up with their personal care tasks and encourage healthy, beneficial activity and independence that will get them back to their normal life as quickly as possible.

Some of the ways that an elderly homecare provider can help your parent through their summer recovery from hip replacement surgery include:

Managing household tasks such as light cleaning, simple laundry, meal preparation, and basic errands so that your parent does not overdo it and put themselves at risk,
Monitoring your parent’s health and condition so that they can potentially detect infections and other complications before they become severe so that you can make decisions regarding their continued care,
Providing physical assistance while your parent deals with the early stages of recovery when tasks such as bathing, dressing, and toileting will be more difficult,
Encouraging your parent to stay active in beneficial ways while also monitoring your parent to ensure they do not develop heat-related illnesses.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Homecare Services in Issaquah WA, contact the caring staff at Hospitality Home Care today. Call us at (206) 966-6552.

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Marlene Diaz

Care Supervisor at Hospitality Home Care

Marlene brings to Hospitality Home Care's Care Supervisor Team an unprecedented level of passion for caring for others and a wealth of knowledge and understanding in the care services field. Marlene has worked in the healthcare field for more than 15 years in a variety of settings including, adult family home administration, home care HR supervising and working with specialty populations including dementia, mental health and developmental disabilities. Throughout this time Marlene has also maintained her caregiver credentials that she obtained as a teenager because, while her knowledge is best served helping to train caregivers and assist families to get the care they need, her heart is most fulfilled when she is providing care to others. When she is not in the office, you will most likely find Marlene caring for her family, or spending time with her friends.