What Tips and Tricks Can Get Nutrients into Your Senior if She’s Nauseated?
Nausea can be a really common problem for your aging adult at the end of her life. This could be a result of medications, treatments, or even her existing health issues. Dealing with the nausea can feel complicated, but these tips can help.
Increase Her Fluid Intake a Bit
Sipping cool water can help your senior to stay hydrated and ease her nausea a bit, but it’s not always appealing. Also, if she’s not eating much in general, she may need more than water alone. Other foods, such as broth or soup, can get a little extra water into her body and also give her some nutrients. Smaller servings might be better than others on some days.
Go with What Your Senior Craves
If there’s something that your senior is craving, like tapioca pudding, then it might be a good idea to give in to that request. It’s far more likely that your elderly family member will actually eat something that she has a hankering for and there’s no harm in a serving of something she wants. If you really aren’t sure whether something is okay for her to eat, run it by your elderly family member’s medical team.
Every Day Won’t Be the Same
At the end of your senior’s life, every day won’t necessarily be the same when it comes to nausea. There may be days in which she’s perfectly happy to eat just about anything and there may be other days in which texture, temperature, and other variables make a big difference. Learn to take every day as it comes and try not to worry too much if your elderly family member will only eat one type of food one day.
Avoid Heavily-Sweetened Foods
One type of food that you might want to avoid even if your aging family member is having cravings is anything that is heavily sweetened. These types of foods can give your elderly family member a big sugar boost, but they aren’t likely to be high in nutrients. Also, the sugar can make the nausea even worse, which is not something that you want to contribute to at all. Really small servings or lighter versions of these types of foods might be a better choice.
End-of-life care providers can help you to navigate these tricky waters a little more easily. They can help you to learn to recognize any patterns in your senior’s eating habits and they’ll make meeting her random food needs a little bit easier.
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