Preventative Care: A Five-Step Guide for Seniors and Family Caregivers

As people age, you can help them create a preventative care routine to keep them happy and comfortable for years to come. While factors such as age, gender, and family history are beyond the control of older adults, preventative care can reduce the frequency and severity of conditions that develop. Here are some tips by Comfort Keepers Halton Hills, Guelph and Milton ®

General recommendations for preventive care for older adults

• Get regularly scheduled vaccines
• Schedule screenings for common diseases, conditions, and cancer
• Create a healthier and more joyful lifestyle 

These are all habits that can ensure better wellbeing.

It’s a good idea to join your family member for their appointments with healthcare providers to determine what the necessary steps are to help improve their health and protect them against sickness or injury. 

As always, positivity and connection can be strong influencers of overall health.

Here are some ways to practice good preventative care: 

1. Schedule Regular Screenings for Common Diseases and Conditions: 
According to the National Institute of Aging, the most beneficial thing you and your loved one can do in a doctor’s appointment is to be their notetaker. Make a list of all the questions you might have with regards to medical testing and a list of conditions that run in your family. Help make sure these questions are answered, and take notes.

As a starting point, people 65 and older can ask their primary care physicians about the following tests:

1. High Blood Pressure 
   Make sure your loved one’s healthcare provider checks their blood pressure once a year. This can help reduce chances of a heart attack and stroke.
2. Weight 
   Your loved one can work with their doctor to maintain a healthy weight, which will help prevent risks for heart disease and diabetes.
3. Vision 
   See the eye doctor for an examination once a year to keep vision strong and detect early signs of conditions like cataracts, presbyopia, temporal arteritis, dry eyes, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma. 
4. Hearing 
   Hearing loss can happen with age, but like glasses for vision, modern hearing aids can provide tailor-made correction for your specific hearing deficits. That makes a world of a difference and helps your loved one feel more connected with the world around them.
5. Diabetes 
   If high blood pressure, obesity, or cholesterol are concerns, then blood tests should be scheduled once every 1-3 years to ensure minimize the risk for diabetes. Exercising and eating healthy can also help decrease the risk.
6. Depression 
   It’s important for doctors to ask questions about general mood and emotional being at least once a year. Depression can be common in older adults.
7. Dementia and Cognitive Impairment
   Make sure your loved one’s provider is periodically doing memory tests to see if any other testing should be done for cognitive impairment.

Call your loved one’s healthcare provider to learn what diseases and/or conditions they might need to be tested for.

2. Schedule and Receive Screenings and Tests for Cancer:
It’s recommended that your loved one receive screenings for common cancers for doctors to detect it early.

1. Breast Cancer 
2. Colon Cancer 
3. Cervical Cancer 
4. Prostate Cancer 
5. Lung Cancer

3. Schedule and Receive Vaccinations for the following: