Basics of Maintaining Health Standards
Every patient is different, and our job as Care Providers is to help them maintain their health. Individuals with developmental disabilities and elders, most of the time have complex health requirements throughout their lives.
Health is the mind, body, and spirit are working in harmony. this is the principle Direct Support Professionals follow. By assisting Elders in maintaining their health and supporting them to induce good health habits we can give them the life they deserve.
Healthy Habits
Some of these habits are as basic and important as:
Good nutrition
Brushing teeth
Daily exercise
Hand washing
Drinking at least 8-12 water glasses a day
Bathing
Regular medical/ dental care and treatment
Avoiding smoking
Practicing relaxation and accident prevention
Regular recreation
Freedom from abuse
Health Information
Maintaining the best possible health is a continuous process. The conditions of health and its requirements change over time. Due to many factors like the onset of chronic diseases, aging, and many others. Care Providers should always remain up to date regarding the health conditions of the elderly. Their records include the current physician's report, health history, and individual program plan (IPP). They use this information when:
Providing personal care.
Checking for allergies.
Looking for signs and symptoms of a new illness.
Preparing for dental or medical appointments.
Reacting to emergencies.
Infection Control
A DSP prevents the risks of infections that individuals may be prone to get to maintain health. They do so by preventing the spread of disease and infection-causing germs. They prevent the spread of germs by understanding germs and their way of spreading.
Germs are spread in three ways in the environment, including direct contact, indirect contact, and droplet spread. Direct contact means spreading germs from one infected person to another through contact with body fluids, like saliva, blood, feces, and urine.
Indirect contact with germs includes the spread of germs through the infected person to an object and then to the second person, i.e., the spread occurs through contaminated objects, like food, contaminated equipment, tissues, or utensils. Droplet contact includes the spread of germs in the form of droplets in the air like the germs of common cold, flu, and even tuberculosis.
The precautions that both DSP and patient have to take to control germ spread are: knowing and implementing standard precautions (especially gloving and handwashing), keeping clean and disinfectant the environment, the individual and ownself of DSP, remaining aware of signs and symptoms of illness or infection and recording, reporting them properly.
Another main responsibility of a DSP is to provide personal care to the patient being dealt with (like bathing, shaving, dressing, oral hygiene, toileting, and menstrual care). While doing personal care of the individual, the DSP must follow a set of professional ethics.
Oral Health
To maintain oral health, the DSP assists individuals in maintaining oral hygiene (mouth care). As in other fields of work, the prevention of oral diseases is the number one priority of DSP. It helps avoid gum infections and cavities or tooth loss, makes individuals feel good and confident, and enjoys chewing a wide variety of food. The obstacles to oral health may include behavioral, informational, or physical hindrances, but DSPs are trained to overcome these.
The objectives of oral hygiene include prevention of disease of teeth and gums, removal of plaque and bacteria, and increasing the individual's freedom in oral health care.
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