Health & Fitness-Travel with an Elderly

Going on vacations with all members of the family can be so much fun and a great opportunity to enjoy more quality time together with your loved ones.

However, travelling with family members requires a whole lot of preparation, especially if an elderly family member is involved. One thing you should always think about before travelling with an elderly family member is how to have a successful vacation experience with the older family member.

When travelling with an elderly family member, full preparation from mental preparation to the packing of necessary medication is very crucial for a pleasant and smooth journey with your elderly family member.

Here are a few tips to consider when travelling with an elderly family member on your long-awaited trip.

Check with the doctor

You need to be fully assured that your elderly family member is healthily fit for the journey. Though your elderly family member may assure you with all confidence that he/she is fit for the journey, this is not enough to rely on. It is critical that you check with the doctor for a better assurance, especially if the elderly family member has just recovered from a recent injury or illness. Make sure that the health status of the elderly family member is checked in all ramifications, e.g. eyesight and hearing.

Once the medical check-up has been done, get all necessary medications for your elderly family member before the trip and don’t forget to take these medications along for the trip to ensure that he/she has access to the medications at all times.

Avoid getting late to the airport

When travelling with an elderly family member, another thing to consider is the stress factor, and the best way of avoiding stress is to set out early. Setting out early can make your trip a successful one.

Though you or any other younger family member may be able to handle stress easily, your elderly family members may not be able to handle intense stress and anxiety, which may subsequently lead to severe health issues like heart attack or stroke.

Remember, in rush hours; it’s not ideal to rush up your elderly family member through a busy airport. But if you set out to the airport as early as possible, you wouldn’t need to scramble things up.

Encourage frequent hydration

Right from the time that you set out from your house to the airport for the journey, encourage your elderly family member to drink a lot of water, especially during hot conditions. Frequent hydration is good for the body of older citizens. According to The New York Times, the lack of water may lead to extreme fatigue for elderly family members. Travelling to destinations with the whole family can be made an even more exciting experience provided you have accounted for it from before. For example, Hobart, even though known for their extravagant tourist attractions, are also very well established in the Hospital and Healthcare industry. Diet specific options catering to health and medical needs are available all throughout Hobart during breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

More so, try as much as possible to limit alcohol and caffeine consumption for your elderly family member throughout the vacation as such drinks can cause quick dehydration.

Remember that patience is crucial

Though there are lots of pleasant and memorable moments that would make your vacation with your family members a remarkable one, some other unpleasant experiences may crop up to test your patience. Ensure that wherever you’re moving towards or whichever accommodation you choose to stay in, has the necessary medical requirements in case of emergencies.

Travelling around with a large family, especially with elderly members require you to be very patient. This is because elderly family members tend to be slower and may need to stop frequently. This can pose a disturbance and a level of difficulties for you, especially when the trip is getting exciting and you are anxious to explore.

Finally, effective planning of your trip with an elderly family member ahead of the trip can help to free you from many unnecessary worries and stress as well as help you and your family members to have a fun-filled journey.

When you adopt our tips above to take care of your elderly family member when travelling, every member of the family would enjoy himself/herself and would give pleasant memories rather than leaving you with stress and worry about what could go wrong.