It’s hard to think about your loved ones being abused and neglected towards their later years, but it happens every day. Many people do not even realize that they are committing forms of abuse. They don’t realize how much patience they must have to take on such a life-changing task such as elder care. This takes a lot of time and energy and it’s hard to juggle a family and the full-time job that is caring for an elderly loved one. Many times you must hire a special assistant to care for your loved ones, but do you really know this person? You must be ready to identify different forms of elder abuse and notice the ambiguous signs.
Elderly individuals tend to bruise very easily and there skin may tear much easier than younger individuals. You must be very gentle when manipulating their skin. If you notice large bruising in different areas of the body, you must ask questions. Also, neglect is a form of elder abuse. If a person has bedsores on their body from a lack of movement, this is a definite sign that abuse may be occurring. If a loved one presents with fecal matter that has not been cleaned for hours or days, this is also a strong sign of neglect. Neglect is a very common form of elder abuse that many individuals are guilty of, but do not realize it.
There are many unspoken signs that a loved one is being abused. Our job to research these signs and pick up on them when they’re presented to us.
