Over the past several years, the usage of feeding tubes in dementia patients has declined significantly. In the past, when asked about whether a loved one should have a feeding tube installed, about 33 percent of families that were approached said yes. This number has changed dramatically over the years. In 2000, this number stood at 12 percent. By 2014, the number had dropped by half to 6 percent. The usage of feeding tubes in those with dementia is dropping quickly, and the prevailing trend is to avoid them altogether.
Feeding tubes are often recommended by nursing home doctors when a senior citizens, especially one with dementia and no severe health problems otherwise, begins losing weight at an unusual rate. The feeding tube will help in many cases and prevent unhealthy weight loss, but it also exacerbates many other issues and can often be the beginning of a long decline in physical activity. We know that physical exercise is a key part of maintaining health, and even those with dementia benefit from this. Other studies have indicated that even small amounts of exercise can slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. When a feeding tube is introduced, this cannot be accomplished.
What does this trend indicate about senior care as a whole? For one, it shows that a more personal approach to helping the elderly is gradually becoming more and more widely accepted and implemented on a very real basis. This takes place in a very noticeable manner in some instances, like what we have seen in trends with feeding tubes. It also takes the shape of other, less noticeable trends, such as more and more family caregivers stepping in and helping a loved one, or by hiring a professional in-home care specialist to assist with senior care as much as possible.
Providing loving, compassionate care is an important part of helping your loved one in their senior years. And while a nursing home is often the best choice that you can make for a loved one, it’s not the only thing that should be considered. Furthermore, if a nursing home is decided upon as the best choice, care within the nursing home also needs to be monitored. The use of feeding tubes in elderly individuals with dementia isn’t just a personal decision for you and your family, but one that has widespread implications about senior care in general. The rate of change in medicine in general and senior care in particular is often painfully slow, but it does happen. While organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association and the American Geriatrics Society have only recently updated their stances on the use of feeding tubes, we can see that the need for change was discovered more than ten years ago.
The thing to take away here is that all individuals have their own set of needs. This becomes more and more apparent when helping an older family member get the help they need. For some, the nursing home is the best choice, but others benefit more by staying in-home and receiving more personalized, loving care.
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