If your loved ones—especially elderly loved ones—are experiencing a serious and terminal illness, you have probably been hearing a lot about pain relief plans at home, and “palliative care”, and “hospice care”. While both are intended to bring comfort and relief to a patient, they differ in some important ways. In order to get the right kind of care for the situation, and to know which service of home health care in San Antonio, Texas you should have for your loved one, it is important to have a good grasp of what each service offers.
- What Is Palliative Care?
The purpose of palliative care is to ease pain and help relieve symptoms and other problems if the illness is serious but is not yet considered by the family to be life-threatening as of the moment. Palliative care helps patients live with the symptoms of long-running diseases such as cancer, kidney disease, or HIV/AIDS, as well as help these patients in handling the side effects of the treatments.
Technically speaking, palliative means something that deals with the symptoms and effects of a certain disease without tackling the cause of the condition. Palliative medicines, then, does not replace other treatments needed for the disease—it is simply an addition that helps your loved ones to deal with discomforting symptoms such as nausea, nerve pain, body pains, and shortness of breath.
- What Is Hospice Care?
Compared to palliative care, hospice care is intended for patients who have already been given the final verdict from physicians and specialists that they can no longer expect to recover from their condition. Hospice care, then, works to ease the pain, relieve the symptoms, and help you and other members of the family deal with the nearing passing of your loved one. Palliative care is actually a part of hospice care.
Patients who are given hospice care are generally expected to have less than 6 months to live. You can choose hospice care to be given to your loved one at home—where other members of the family and professional caregivers can look after them—or opt for a specialized center for hospice care. Most individuals—especially seniors—prefer to spend their remaining days in their own homes, however, where they can enjoy the comfort and joy it brings. Hospice care does not only involve doctors and skilled nurses, but family members, clergy, counselors, and social workers who can help address the grief and other emotions that accompany the sense of loss.
Four Seasons Healthcare of Texas offers quality and reliable palliative and hospice care in San Antonio, Texas, by providing physical, emotional, social, and even spiritual support to our patients. We see to it that your loved one receives the best care, and a high-quality of life during the final days of their life’s journey. Our palliative, hospice, and senior care in San Antonio, Texas will help your loved one and their families make every season count.
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