She is bed & wheelchair bound, she does sit in a recliner during the day to change position, but no productive movement. It seemed to be stable and not progressing, but they did have her on antibiotics for a week.
The hospice MD ordered a wound care team 3x a week, I am awaiting a written report from them.
Has anyone helped an elderly person with a temperature regulation problem? H lives with his 89-year-old parents. His dad (FIL) is obese and has heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease (from the first two), and arthritis and spends most of his time in a wheelchair because of leg pains and weakness. FIL keeps the temperature at 80 degrees in the living room and bedroom. He uses a space heater in addition to cranking up the furnace. He refuses to go to the doctor except when he has to (as in, to get prescription refills). Any tips?
Longjohns? 
People that old don’t have good temperature regulation. Rosered, FIL has poor circulation because of his age, his diabetes and his heart disease, and that’s going to mean he has trouble staying warm. I’m pretty sure the answer for him is to keep the temperature at 80 degrees.
It seems, though, that even with the temperature at 80 degrees, he’s not warm enough. He recently insisted on calling a neighbor to come over and see if the furnace and thermostat were functioning. They were.
I understand that he has poor circulation. My question is whether there’s anything that can be done other than continually raising the thermostat.
Lots of hot soup? Drinking hot water? Exercise? Those are the things that most readily come to mind. One of my board members is in his 70s or 80s and wears long-sleeved shirts, sometimes with a long sleeved undershirt even though in HI, we’re always in the 70s, 80s and above. He is like this year round.
I’ll ask my husband about the hot food and beverage possibility. Exercise is probably a no-go, because even when FIL wasn’t using the wheelchair, he was highly resistant to doing any type of exercise, including prescribed PT. A possible barrier to the hot beverage suggestion is that in addition to all his other health problems, FIL no longer has a bladder and so he has to watch his fluid consumption, both quantity and timing, to avoid bag leaks and spills.
Old age. Yuck.
My mother in law also needed the thermostat at at least 80. Soups with their sodium were a no no. Warm clothes, extra blankets, and a hot water bottle might help.
Great tip on warm beverages. FIL used to watch the thermostat like a hawk, but in the last year started keeping the house at greenhouse temperatures, and his room at the SNF is like that as well, we have to remember to wear layers.
My internal thermostat is screwy since my heart attack. I need the heat turned up (mid 70s), wear sox all the time, gloves in the winter (sometimes in the house) and LLBean sheared lamb slippers. A friend who had a stroke has similar temp regulation issues.
I am 55 and always cold. I shudder to think what I’ll be like when I am elderly. I drink hot beverages at work, especially when the air conditioning is on. This is mostly for my hands that stay cold. The warm beverages help. The problem is that the elderly shouldn’t have hot beverages they might spill on themselves. But, I would consider an electric blanket or shawl on a setting that he can’t raise due to the risk of burning. Be wary of heating pads as well.
Definitely electric blanket. And how about heated socks:
http://www.hammacher.com/publish/71850.asp
We call it old people’s temperature. My FIL and MIL had the thermostat in their old condo modified to up the temp into the 80s. We wear layers.
Sunbeam makes a wonderful heated throw. Unfortunately, my mom has diabetes and it’s not recommended. She makes do with a selection of throw blankets.
Do you think the heated socks would also be contraindicated, because of diabetes?
Part of the difficulty with diabetes and especially the extremities is that they could suffer injury, (burns with electric blankets) and not be aware of it due to neuropathy.
In the hospital, don’t they microwave throws? It’s not going to hold heat for hours, but can get the edge off and is safer than electric.
How about omnitech reflective clothing, that reflect the heat back to you? It provides warmth with less bulk and weight. Columbia makes them and I have both a jacket and vest that are toasty and light!
Hospitals have blanket warmers. Please don’t microwave a blanket., it could cause a fire you won’t be aware of until the person starts smoking.
Hospital blanket warmers look like microwaves but they aren’t. Maybe a tumble in the dryer instead?
Good point and thanks, because I hadn’t thought about that. But there are microwavable throws.