Senior Care in Raleigh NC
Your elderly loved one may not feel as though much has changed for her over the years and she could be right, to a certain extent. The truth is, however, that aging can affect your loved one’s ability to drive safely in a variety of ways.
Changes to Eyesight and Hearing
Your loved one uses all of her senses, but most particularly sight and hearing, to drive safely. If either of these senses aren’t working up to their full potential, your loved one doesn’t have a full picture as to what is going on outside of her car. This can be disastrous.
Changes to Reflexes and Other Motor Skills
Your elderly loved one’s reflexes may also no longer be as cat-like as they once were. This can cause a tremendous problem when she needs to react swiftly to changing conditions on the road in front of her. Also, if her range of motion has suffered, she may not be as able to do simple things, such as turn to look in her blind spot.
Changes to Cognitive Abilities
Memory loss and other changes to how your elderly loved one’s brain works affects how her brain makes decisions. This can lead to accidents or to way too many close calls. Your loved one might also start to find it difficult to navigate to her chosen destinations, arriving in different locations.
Side Effects from Medications
If your elderly loved one takes quite a few different medications, or even just one that has some unpleasant side effects, she could find that they make a difference in her driving abilities. Some medications may simply need to be adjusted by her doctor, but that may not resolve all of the potential issues that they cause.
Difficulties Due to Chronic Illnesses
Your elderly loved one may also have chronic illnesses, such as arthritis, that make driving downright painful or difficult to manage on her own. Other health conditions, such as diabetes and resulting low or high blood sugar levels, can create situations in which your loved one’s safety is hampered.
Try having your elderly loved one work out details for car trips with her senior care providers for a time. She may be surprised at how much safer she feels in a car.
