Gout is a painful condition that can strike at really any time. If your elderly family member is facing a gout flare, you may feel at a loss about how to help her. Definitely talk to her doctor about what health conditions are contributing, and consider some of these ideas, too.

Some Foods Contribute to Gout

While gout very often is a result of health issues, foods that your senior eats can make the situation worse or can contribute to higher uric acid levels. Lowering your senior’s intake of some of those foods can help to reduce the impact of a gout flare. Some of the foods that might present problems could include seafood, red meat, and foods that are high in fructose. Talk with your senior’s doctor about what foods she should slow down on.

Hydration Really Can Help

Water helps with so many health issues, including gout. Higher uric acid levels are a hallmark of gout and drinking plenty of water can help your senior’s body to flush those uric acid levels. This may not reduce the duration of a gout attack but staying hydrated can help with future gout attacks. Talk to your senior’s doctor about how much water she should be drinking. Hitting that amount from day one may not be doable, but you can ramp up her water intake to hit that goal.

Exercise May Be Able to Help

If your elderly family member doesn’t move as much as she maybe should, that can be a factor, too. Exercising even a little bit may help to move uric acid out of her joints and keep it from accumulating. Always clear exercise with your senior’s doctor before she starts a new plan, though. You don’t want to accidentally cause damage to those joints, because that can also trigger an attack of gout.

Encourage Her to Take it Easy During a Gout Flare

When your senior is experiencing a gout flare, it’s important that she is gentle with herself. She’s likely experiencing a great deal of pain, which is bad enough, but there’s also likely swelling, too. Elevating the area can help to encourage fluids to move out of that area and using a combination of ice and rest can help to reduce the duration of the gout flare. Your senior may be frustrated if she’s not able to do as much as she wants to do, so bringing in home care providers can be really helpful.

Managing gout may be easier with medication and the right home remedies.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring  Senior Care in Los Gatos, CA, contact the friendly staff at Home Care Professionals today.
Call (866)-940-4855

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andy@hcprosonline.com

CEO at HomeCare Professionals

Andy Howardis a Bay Area Native who holds a BA in Political Science (University of Colorado at Boulder, ’97). After college Andy worked in the surging tech industry.His Grandmother however, would suffer a significant decline in health and ultimately needed in-home care. The experience of a loved one depending on outside help to age in place proved to be pivotal for Andy as he left the tech industry in 2002 for an opportunity in the home care world with a large provider. After having success in home care, but being frustrated by corporate constraints Andy founded HomeCare Professionals in 2005.He methodically built the company one client at a time by focusing on hiring quality caregivers to ensure positive outcomes. Currently Andy serves as the CEO of HomeCare Professionals and is also highly active in the non-profit organization California Association of Health Services at Home (CAHSAH) which advocates for a higher standard of in-home care for those who wish to remain living at home in California.

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