Houston Home Care Tips
One of the most common behaviors our case managers see among the elderly is that they do not drink enough fluids, especially water. When a case manager at CareWorks, a private duty home care agency in Houston, Texas, performs an assessment, one of the questions they ask the family is how much water does your parent drink? Most of the time the answer to the question is I don’t know or not enough. Did you know that approximately 75% of the human body is made up of water? Water is important for your body and your brain to function properly. Being only 2% dehydrated can seriously affect your physical and mental functions.
When I was performing an assessment with an elderly lady, I asked her “How much water do you drink per day?” She replied, “I drink two large glasses of water each day.” I asked her if I could see the glass. She said, “No problem.” When she brought the glass to me it was a small juice glass. We had a conversation about how important water is for a healthy life and she agreed to have our caregiver remind her to drink more water.
How much water should you drink?
There is no simple answer, although most of us should drink more water. We’ve all heard that we should drink 8 glasses of water per day. Well, that depends on your health, activity level and other factors. The best thing to do is ask your doctor what is right for you.
Benefits of drinking water include:
- Assists in removing toxins from the body
- Assists in nutrient absorption and is very important for digestion
- Aids in circulation
- May prevent urinary tract infections and kidney stones
- Lack of water can lead to short-term memory loss and confusion
To learn more about the health and well-being of the elderly visit www.careworks.biz.
