Staying properly hydrated can be one of the biggest keys to staying as healthy as possible for seniors. Hydration is an area of senior nutrition that sometimes gets overlooked until seniors run into bigger health issues. Spending time at an adult day health care center offers seniors all sorts of benefits, especially when it comes to eating healthfully, getting additional care that they need, and staying properly hydrated.
Why Is Proper Hydration So Important?
Dehydration complicates existing health issues and senior nutrition and leads to other problems, including fatigue, urinary tract infections, and confusion. If seniors become too dehydrated, they might even end up in the hospital. As seniors age, their bodies have more trouble regulating fluid balance, making seniors more susceptible to dehydration. They can also experience reduced thirst sensation, meaning they don’t recognize when they need more water.
Personalized Hydration Plans
Every senior has different needs and that’s true about hydration, too. Some seniors take medications that dehydrate them more quickly, for instance. A big part of having a solid senior nutrition plan for each participant involves making personalized plans for keeping aging adults hydrated. As needs change, those hydration plans can change as well.
Scheduled Hydration Breaks
Reminders are always helpful for seniors with all sorts of things. Medications, meals, and even hydration are all easier when seniors have reminders. Scheduled hydration breaks ensure that everyone at the adult day center remembers to take a few minutes to sip some hydrating beverages. This activity can also promote companionship and bonding because everyone is doing it together.
Offering a Variety of Beverages
Adult day centers know that the seniors who spend time there all have different preferences and needs. As a result, they offer a variety of different types of hydrating beverages. Some of the choices might be plain water, sparkling water, herbal teas, or diluted fruit juices. When seniors have a range of choices, they’re more likely to make healthier decisions around hydration.
Offering Hydrating Foods
It’s not just beverages that are hydrating, though. One of the best ways to ensure that senior nutrition is as healthy as possible involves offering hydrating beverages and foods. Foods like fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, and smoothies offer nutrients and hydration all at once.
Tracking Hydration and Watching for Dehydration
Adult day health care centers take senior nutrition very seriously. The nurses and other caregivers at the daycare center want to take the best possible care of the seniors who visit there. Caregivers know the signs of dehydration and they also know what to do to address dehydration if it happens. Nurses can also help seniors stay on target with their hydration goals, ensuring that they’re balancing water intake with other needs, like taking medications properly.
Senior nutrition is much easier to manage when aging adults need extra help. Adult day health care centers are uniquely positioned to help seniors pay attention to their hydration needs and get the nutrition assistance they need to stay as healthy as possible.
If you or an aging loved one are considering the assistance of Senior Nutrition Services in Baltimore, MD, please contact the caring staff at Renaissance Adult Medical Center. Call (443) 501-9500
Renaissance Adult Medical Center Provides Senior Socialization in a Medical Adult Day Care Center in Baltimore City, Baltimore County (Pikesville, Towson, Owings Mills, Catonsville, Reisterstown, Dundalk, Essex), Howard County (Columbia, Ellicott City, Elkridge, Laurel), and in many other counties and cities of Maryland.
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