My mother (87) lives with me. Now that winter has arrived, we are having thermostat wars. I want her to be comfortable and not suffer hypothermia. I prefer to keep the heat around 65- 68, but now that she is here have been boosting it to 70-72 and she still complains of being cold. I am too hot! I have her do layers (Cuddle Duds included) for her top half and have warm sweat pants and warm socks for the bottom half. She is concerned about cuddle dud bottoms as she has incontinence and doesn't want to add layers there. She sits ubnder a blanket when watching tv. I guess I could boost the heat even higher & wear summer clothes as long as I am going to stay inside, but then I'd have to change every time I went out. And I can't imagine too high a heat can be healthy, either. Thinking about one of the portable room space heaters, but so many warnings about safety. Anyone have experience with those? Any other ideas? Thanks.
I have to laugh, when the new twist light bulbs came out, Dad had rushed out and bought new ones for all the lights in the house... he thought he would save a bundle on electric bills.... guess what?.... since those new light bulbs don't put out any heat, Mom felt colder so Dad had to turn up thermostat :P
Bedtime is not a problem as she has an electric mattress pad which she turns on before heading to bed, then usually turns off when she turns in. So I can turn the heat down for comfortable sleeping. It is morning through evening, and bath time (too cold to bathe, among other excuses, aughh!) I boost the temp to get the bathroom comfy & then strip down to assist her. I guess that is my sauna time Lol. I will look into the space heaters more as that seems to be the more equitable and moveable solution. Love hearing others' stories. Have a friend whose 90 yr old mom who still lives on her own & keeps the temp @84°. I could have it worse!
My mother now is starting to get bad. A bad thing for me and her is that when I get too warm, I get grouchy and miserable. A good thing is that I have two separate rooms. In winter I can close off the vents and open windows if needed. Summer I insist on compromise and it is a battle I am winning so far. I would not be able to stay with her if it was too warm. I could get a separate air conditioner if the windows and outlets were different. The way it is now we would have to do construction work before I could add a unit (portable or window mounted).
She has a doctor appt. soon. I will bring up Renauds syndrome, although poor peripheral circulation is probably the culprit.
How a little internal humor to diffuse.... like remembering as a child being being dressed for school like the Michelin man and gloves anchored to winter coats? My Mom still insists on wearing a THICK down parka with 2 layers of sweaters when the temps are in the 50s and I'm wearing just a tee and polar fleece going from heated car to heated buildings.
Ironically, as I'm typing this, the window in the room where I am is cracked open and it's in the 40s outside.
Well here are some of the items we have addressed:
1. Hot air vents have magnetic shields (plastic and less than $10 at hardware store) that direct hot air toward mom in winter and cold AC away from her in summer.
2. Got one of those electric fireplace/heaters that is also a TV stand. It does directional heat and since TV is pointed at mom's comfy chair - so is TV stand/fireplace. It has a timed heat element that is set at 72 degrees (wont go higher) and can be set for various intervals...easy for quick warm up. Also looks like it is heating when it is only being nice fireplace without heat.
3. Beanbag/microwave heat packs that can be heated and strategically placed (hip, stomach, back, feet) They also make a slipper version that has helped the "Renaud's" in her feet.
4. small polar fleece lap blankets (less than $4 at Walmart) are beside chairs and placed over mom.
5. radiant heater panel for bathroom. During fall and winter, it is plugged in to a motion sensor timer that you set for when it will turn off. We have it set to go on when motion starts and it goes off when no motion is detected for 5 minutes. Makes bathroom warm (I go and trigger it before mom goes in to bathroom for shower) and not a risk of tipping since anchored to wall.
6. Thin "cuddle dud" insulated underwear extra layer...and polar fleece PJ pants for everyday wear.
7. I have found "sleep quiet" tower fan with remote that I keep next to my bed for reducing heat problems in my room. And I close off the hot air vent in my room and close door to change heat difference.
8. Planning to install small flat panel fireplace/heater on wall across from mom's bed. Since it will be anchored and has timer no risk of injury and feels warmer.
Hope any of these can help.
I'm one of those who actually feels ill, nauseous, when overheated, so "sucking it up" and living with the hothouse effect isn't an option. When I'm with my mom I have to sleep with the heating vent and door closed (open just a crack so I can hear her if she needs me). During the day I do a lot of yard work, LOL.
I guess my point is we can never please everyone in our situations....I like your suggestions for the chilly folks... better hydration, get up and stroll, an old fashioned red rubber hot water bag, more cups of hot tea, fuzzy slipper sox, fleece and flannel clothes....and talking about how to compromise with Mom/Dad....
I couldn't ask my parents to drop the heat by 8 degrees to be in the middle of the thermostat, she would sit there and shiver, I couldn't do that to her. It's not her fault that she is so cold... her hands are like ice. We just don't visit for more than 15 minutes :( And when my parents come to visit me, I do push the heat up to 72 so that Mom would be more comfortable, but as soon as my parents leave, it's back down to 68.
My house is quite sunny so I do get a lot of solar heat and all the drapes are opened..... my parents house get very little sun inside which I think makes a big difference.... if they would only open up the shades/blinds but Mom doesn't want to fade the furniture.... [sigh].
I use a sunbeam heated pad on the back of his chair, or you could get a heated chair. I just saw that sunbeam or sure fit has a heated slip cover.
For me: I have been spared by a tall Dyson fan. Very little noise, feels like the air is cooled even though it isn't. I set it up pointed at my chair. It can also oscillate, but the stationary position is perfect, Dad does not feel it and I do.
Not asked but also useful. Dad is quiet deaf. I almost went nuts with the volume all the way up. We got Sony wireless headphones for him. It was a saving grace.
However the heat issue, as several others have pointed out, is not simply a matter of inconvenience or being "somewhat uncomfortable." It makes us physically ill. Not much help to Mom if I feel like I'm going to faint or throw up. What if I did pass out while trying to assist her? Not likely, but at 70 years of age I have to be realistic about that possibility. I don't have to be cool and comfortable, just not so overheated that I am sick from it.
Silk underwear is a great addition to her wardrobe. Silk is very insulating so it's quite warm and light weight at the same time.
I also wrapped her in warm shawls and bed jackets. You can google to find some really pretty ones so she won't feel institutionalized in these duds.
Finally, I used an electric 12V lap blanket when I took her to dr appts. I plugged it right into the cigarette lighter for 10 minutes prior to loading Mom in and off we went. She was toasty warm and I still had my window cracked.