California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog
As of late, our nation has concerned itself with the widespread nature of obesity; however, this has resulted in inadequate attention to the problem of malnutrition or under-nutrition. Unfortunately, protein under-nutrition and malnutrition is regularly plaguing elderly residents of nursing facilities in California. A recent article by John E. Morley MB, BCh’s entitled “Undernutrition: A Major Problem in Nursing Homes,” in the May 2011 issue of Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, addresses this often neglected issue, describing in detail the various causes of and solutions to under-nutrition.
According to Morley, for every form of malnutrition, there are proven steps that nursing homes can take toward countering such grave and life threatening injuries. For example, Anorexia, as a form of under-nutrition, causes elderly individuals to be more susceptible to losing weight when illness strikes. Morley found that by improving food quality and environments, nursing homes can help prevent depression, which is a major cause of this form of weight loss. Cachexia can also result from anorexia, but exercise, creatine, and vitamin D can aid in the fight against this form of malnutrition. Additionally, poor cognition can arise from under-nutrition, but a well balanced diet can easily combat this tendency.
Morley’s research indicates that nursing homes have the solutions for further under- nutrition deficiencies, including low Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, and zinc levels, as well as dehydration. To increase Vitamin D levels, nursing homes simply need to ensure that their residents are exposed to more sunlight. For those with Vitamin B12 deficiencies, basic injections or inhalations of Vitamin B12 can bring their levels to a healthy state. Zinc replacement is the proven method for treating patients with low zinc levels. Finally, dehydration is common for elderly people because they do not know when they are thirsty, but nurses making “fluid rounds” consistently can make sure that patients are staying hydrated.
