As well-known speakers on the issue of eldercare, my partner and I are involved in many vital and meaningful discussions around aging population. What we’ve discovered is that sometimes the issues around our elderly are vast and complicated (like Medicare and the Healthcare Reform Act) – and sometimes the issues that touch the aging most intimately are the simplest things. One of those simple issues is TOUCH. We hear about touch as a medium for healing in so many arenas of life – in premature infants, seriously ill and even terminally ill patients.

As advocates of for healthy, wonderful resources in eldercare, eCareDiary hopes to move this conversation to the top of the list for the aging population. As a society, we may be powerless over many issues facing our aging parents and grandparents, but this is ONE thing that we can simply and easily bring back into their lives.  It is only a question of awareness.

Why? The reasons our aging population grow physically more and more isolated are vast. To begin with, it’s common that they will have lost those who were closest to them – their spouses, best friends, siblings – in some cases, even their children. It’s also possible that we, as care providers, are so conscious of being aware of their frailty, that we go too far – hardly touching them at all. Even hugging them from an invisible half-inch boundary becomes our norm.

What to do. There are so many simple ways to reengage ourselves with the elderly population. For daughters, granddaughters and female care providers, sometimes the simple act of providing a manicure or pedicure is a restorative physical connection. For myself, the opportunity to shave my dad was always a fond intimacy between us – and a way for him to feel good about himself.

What are the benefits. According to the Touch Research Institute, elderly massage is one of the most useful treatments for all levels of Alzheimer's patients. It’s been shown to facilitate relaxation and even communication. Touch can also greatly assist in pain management and can also create an increase in strength and muscle awareness. (And all things being connected, this can help the elderly population to avoid falls and other injuries, simply because their bodies grow weaker or less self-aware over time.)

Finally, touch can also have a profoundly calming effect – which can help the patient to deal with medical and lifestyle interventions much more easily and in a way that is more deeply connected to their loved ones and care providers. In short, touch can be a bridge that breaks their isolation. This is even more true when the patient may have lost their verbal abilities for one or more reasons.

As our patients and loved ones move into their golden – and even their platinum years, bringing the intimacy and caring of touch back into their lives – and even into OUR lives – is a strong and powerful connection that we should definitely not overlook. After all, even the powerful healing of a simple hug can make all the difference in a person’s day.

John Mills, Co-Founder of eCareDiary
http://www.eCareDiary.com

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