Planning for the next family trip? This time, include your grandparents in the travel group too. Relax. They will remain safe. And you will have an all-new holiday experience with all your close family members by your side. Travelling is not bound by age. You need to take some safety measures for the elder members.
Proper planning will minimize the risk associated with them. In this post, find out how senior people can enjoy travelling and remain completely safe. Follow these safety tips to make the older adults safe while they are on a tour. Besides, these will give them immense joy, and they will realize how much you care for them.
1. Non-stop flights are the best
While booking a trip, prioritize the non-stop flights that reach your destination without any halt in between. The travel time will be reduced remarkably. Also, staying almost in the same position for long hours might be painful for senior citizens. If they reach earlier, they will get enough time to rest. Thus, even if you have to pay a higher fare, it is worth it for the sake of older people.
Avoid the local jets as they often don’t have enough space to sit comfortably. They usually don’t have jet bridges, and the passengers have to climb only through stairs. But the seniors may not be able to avail of the staircase. Do not opt for late-night and too early in the morning flights as getting ready at the wee hours is a bit of trouble for the older people.
2. Select right outdoor mobility equipment
Choose wheelchair lift for the older people if they have problems on their back, waists, limbs or joints and they are used to wheelchairs. They are generally manufactured with certain specifications from the base level to the plane entrance to the side a gate opens. They come with many safety features like:
- The senior citizens can operate them by themselves. These lifts have pressure controlling buttons for stopping it when needed by releasing the pressure on the buttons.
- There are emergency stop buttons to stop the lift if there is any urgency. As soon the button is pressed, you can hear an alarm.
- Over speeding governors are there on the lifts, pressing which the senior citizens can reduce the speed of the lift if needed.
- Non-skid platform of the lift makes sure that the wheelchair does not skid.
- It also has an electro-mechanical interlock to prevent the opening of its gate all of a sudden.
Do not forget to book the lift at the time of booking the tickets because requesting for them after arriving at the airport might take a long time.
3. Keep a watch on their food habits
With age, your rate of metabolism decreases, and your diet becomes restricted. So, it is normal that the older adults will want to ditch their diet and crave some spicy foods or extra desserts on their tour. But you should not allow them to go overboard. Obviously, you don’t want them to fall sick or have an upset stomach. Besides, certain foods might not suit their medications. So, it is better to consult with your physician before traveling and make a list of foods that they can eat.
4. Carry medicines and keep them accessible always
Miss anything but not the medications of the old members of your family! For any chronic disease, if they need to take regular medicines, carry those. Also, keep additional medicines for some common ailments such as headache, fever, cough and cold, body ache, stomach disorder and indigestion. Buy them in a proper dose so that they would be readily available, and you don’t have to worry.
The most crucial point, keep all the medicines in the handbag so that you can access them whenever and wherever you need them. Sometimes, people put the medicine box inside the trolley bag, which is always kept at the luggage counter in the aircraft. Do not make this mistake when you are going out with the older adults.
5. Make the itinerary focusing on their comfort level
While planning the itinerary, keep it slow. Avoid the whole day tour. Instead, go out in the morning and come back to the resort by the sunset or before. This way, your parents or grandparents will get some more time to relax. You might not be able to cover all the spots but prioritize their comfort at any cost.
Alternatively, if there is more than one senior in your travel team, you can go out for a few hours, leaving them in the resort – this time, you choose a difficult location that you can’t cover with them. Still, you may miss some attractive spots, but the valuable time you will be spending with all will be treasured for a lifetime.
6. Travel insurance is must for them
Older people are more vulnerable and prone to injuries and sickness while traveling. Thus, travel insurance is a must for them. Are you going to travel in the country? Then ensure that you have an active health plan. If you are taking them abroad, then the insurance must cover it. You need to pay about $100 – $200 extra for the insurance, which will cover everything related to the senior citizen, even the extra medications if they need it.
7. Give them minimal blings
This is very imperative. The older adults seem to be oblivious of their surroundings. They trust people easily without knowing much about them. Thus, they easily fall prey to the burglars. So, don’t let them carry an expensive camera, or an iPhone or jewelry on their bodies. A simple camera and a basic smartphone are their best accessories.
Final thoughts
You did not travel with your parents or grandparents for many years, did you? So, you may think it would be difficult. But not anymore if you follow all of the tips mentioned above. Once you complete a single tour, you will find it quite interesting. Spending quality time with the near and dear ones is always precious, right?
