I know most people have heard of Hospice Care before but Palliative Care may as well be a foreign word. Palliative Care is care that focuses on making someones life better by treating symptoms of terminal, chronic, or long-lasting disease or illness. Many patients with a terminal or chronic illness have a small arsenal of medications to take. These medications can be helping you live out your hardest days but they can also be tiring or cause depression. You could also be under going procedures, like with cancer, that can be very debilitating. Palliative Care focuses on making the physical, mental, and social parts of your life better. Support is not limited to only the patient, family members can get counseling and or other emotional support through Palliative Care.
Palliative Care’s first main action is usually meant to alleviate pain, but in no way is it limited to pain management. Other symptoms that can be reduced by palliative care are nausea, weakness, loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, shortness of breath, constipation, anxiety, and depression. Many of these symptoms require a team of professionals to respond to all of them. A Palliative Care team can be made up of Physicians, Nurses, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Home Health Aides, and Medical Social Workers. You may even have a spiritual adviser on your team depending on your beliefs.
In essence it is easy to see that Palliative Care can be the most comfortable way to help live the toughest parts of your life. It helps you to live, and by that we mean continue your life as best you can with the problem you are facing. For more information on Palliative Care or to receive Palliative Care services contact Assisted Healthcare at 800-949-6555 or visit www.Assisted1.com