I have my vent closed, but still can feel the heat. Her room is the coldest one in the house. I've tried to get her to change with me, but she refuses. In the daytime I spend most of my time in my room where at least I can breathe. She only moves to go to the bathroom. The rest of the day stays in her recliner in the living room with the heat turned up and another space heater right next to her. She dresses in sweats but refuses to use an electric blanket in her chair (she does use one at night). I have been moms only caregiver for 8 years and it gets worse every winter. Anyone have any ideas about how we can continue to live together and keep her warm and prevent me from having a heat stroke?
In order to keep your mom in your house and not suffocate from heat, I would try to make a plan to address it. Hopefully, your mom will get on board with it, but if not, that would signal to me that she isn't able to appreciate the problem. So, if she can't appreciate the problem, then I would take measure to address it. If she stays warm, then she will eventually thank you.
Assuming there is something about her room that makes it colder, then I would switch her room, even if she is not able to understand why. If it's not going to make that much of a difference, then don't bother. I would place digital thermometers in several rooms, monitor them for a few days to make sure there is actually a substantial difference.
Can you set up an area for her to watch tv, read, etc., that has a door? That way you can block the heat vents in the rest of the house. You might have to put a thermostat in her room though or the heat will keep running based on the lower temps near the thermostat.
I would be very careful with electric blankets and throws. They have to be carefully monitored and I would not trust a senior to handle it. It can get very hot.
Insist she wear two layers of clothes to keep her warmer. Thick socks and warm boot type bedroom shoes may help too.
I hate to say this, but even with lots of heat, many seniors never get warm enough and will continue to complain of being cold. Even if it's very warm.
When I finally got my loved one to open the door at her house, she had the heat turned to 87 and it was over 75 degrees outside! She was in bed wrapped up in blankets and didn't think it was hot! She was soon diagnosed with dementia, though not all dementia patients stay cold.
Notwithstanding the tree issue, if that side of the house doesn't get as much sun because of closeness of an adjoining house, direction (i.e., North), those also could be factors.
My furnace is centrally located, but houses are close together and heat doesn't reach the north as easily. That side is always colder, sometimes by as much as 5 degrees.
Insulation could also be a factor.
I had thought that older people became cold more easily because they don't move around as much, but realized that can happen to someone seriously ill as well. My sister and I had always been warm, but she experienced a drastic change to being cold almost constantly during the last months of her battle with cancer.
Moving and being active really does make a difference. Even if you could get your mother to do some gentle arm raises it would help.
You can try to get her to wear 2 sweatshirts, with the one underneath being a newer one as they do tend to lose some insulating value over the years. Fleece and good quality, thick flannel are also comforting and warm. I made a flannel vest to wear underneath sweatshirts.
If you make anything from flannel, make sure it's 100% cotton; some of the synthetics aren't as warm.
Drinking warm fluids might help as well....warm or hot cider, tea.
It's tough even now when I have to do chores in her house, such as changing the bed linens for her. I always work up a sweat. I try to spend as little time in her house as possible.
I found the only way through it is to compromise. We set the thermostat on 78-80 in summer and 72-75 in winter. On mornings my mother needs the house warmer during cold months, I close my vents and open the windows. That keeps the rabbit and me from baking. Poor rabbit! Imagine being in a hot house with a fur coat on.
Somehow we have worked it out, but the elders have had to compromise. I would not have been able to stay if they had not. I guess you can call the compromise a treaty that keeps each person reasonably comfortable, though nobody has their ideal conditions. It can be hard for older and younger to live together, since their needs can be so different. Heat stress can harm us both psychologically and physically, so there has to be compromise.
As GardenArtist had mentioned, there is a temperature difference between north facing bedrooms and south facing bedrooms. My home office is in one of the north facing bedrooms and it is darn cold in here... yet the master bedroom on the south side is comfortably warm. Couple years ago I put in new windows and that didn't make any difference, it's just the nature of the beast on the north side of the house.
One thing that did help my Mom are thermo underwear, such as Cuddl-Dudds which are light weight and easy to place shirts/pants over them. And tuck in that shirt into the pants, that can make a big difference. Sleep with socks on.
Now, medicine can make one feel colder.... my Mom takes thyroid pills and so does my sig other and both feel chilled. Some people with diabetes will feel colder, too.
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