Correct temperature for an elderly person.

Hi Everyone

Thanks for your answers.
I did phone Age UK and they said the general guide temperature is 21.
They did say that there is no health risk at 18 degrees centigrade but she may feel a little cold.
She has spent most of her life around Aberdeen and worked outdoors a lot and she seems perfectly ok at 18.
Her house has double glazing which was installed in 2008, it also has loft and wall insulation and she had most of the central heating replaced in 2010 and she has her gas fire and boiler serviced every year.
Age UK had said they will send a thermometer through but they have said do not press the issue as people are not all the same.
Oddly enough I phoned her this morning and she did not answer but she called back about 2 minutes later.
This has happened before and she said she was cleaning the shower and did not want to jump up at the time which is good and it shows she is active and not just sitting around.
I think it is good she has an answerphone and she pays for unlimited phone calls so she does not have to worry about her phone bill and she is not jumping up to save money.
She has also said when the snow is gone she would like to join my dog and myself on some walks.

Frank

My 79 yr old FIL plays us a bit if you call on the weekend the house is warm and toastie but when I call mid week (he is never sure when I am calling) the house feels chilly and he is walking around in a T shirt, he argues he was a plumber all his working life and is used to working outside and does not feel the cold.
I generally turn the stat up a few degrees when I pass, not sure when he finds I have been fiddling but it gives the house chance to warm up.

Spoke to my aunt today, she is 88, to check she was OK re snow..not sure what I could do if she was not, except to phone her neighbour, as I am not that local to her! I did check she was feeling warm and drinking hot drinks regularly. She assured me she was and had her fleece over her knees. She had been out on the bus on Thursday to do some shopping and had good food reserves in her store cupboard/fridge. Hope she stays warm.

Good heavens, gracesmum, I thought those things had been consigned to the dustbin of the 20th Century! My parents had them in the early 60s but saw sense when they retired.

So many old people still have those wretched storage heaters - I know my parents did and their energy bills were astronomical, but they had had them installed as a "cheaper" alternative to central heating as Dad couldn't face the upheaval (he said) of floorboards coming up etc

Age UK reckons 21deg C in the living room. I suppose if you are not very mobile it is particularly important to keepa warm room.

My aunt's house was the same. It was very old and very draughty with inefficient storage heaters. She survived well into her 80s - in a care home.

My elderly aunt's house was always freezing. She bustleded about, in the depths of winter, in a cotton frock, pouring sweat, while her visitors teeth were chattering. Strange metbolism? High BP? I don't know.

Hi gracemum

You said ''PS To say at 63 you are no spring chicken HunterF - well to some old boilers you are !''.

My father tried to keep lively as long as possible and I intend to follow him in that respct.

Oddly enough he had some trouble convincing hospital staff they had the right records when he was 88.
They thought he looked about 75.
Another lady was embarassed as she had asked him for help with putting her disabled mother in her car about a week later.
She said she would have not asked him had she realised his age but I don't think age comes into this, It is how fit you are etc.
Oddly my father was 4 years older than the mother.
The only thing I am not now not confident in doing now is climbing ladders above the second floor window.

Frank

itsnevertoolate Your post was hugely sensible and, as anno says, she won't mind or even notice shaking hands which could well provide a useful guide to how she is keeping. I just thought the idea of HUNTERF dutifully touching heads and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes… was quite funny. I think a lady of her age is probably too modest to want a younger man feeling other bits of her body, unless he's a doctor.

And no – you can't have absent as your name. I started out as absentgrana because my grandchildren are all in New Zealand and grana is the name they chose for me. 'Smine.

Hum.....maybe my user name should be "absent" as I failed to spot the name Frank at the bottom of his message!....
Still,if they are quite friendly,perhaps he could explain what he wanted,and why? or?

Might be the highlight of her day - "such a nice young man"
PS To say at 63 you are no spring chicken HunterF - well to some old boilers you are !

anno But she might be a bit bewildered pt to say worried if he starts feeling her legs and nose.

absent, I doubt if she could object to his shaking her hand!

(about Frank feeling bits of his neighbour)

absent lol!!!

lol. I've just taken a chicken out of oven if that help's absent

Every time I scroll down the active list and see the title to this thread, something inside my head clicks to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

itsnevertoolate I don't think Frank can start feeling bits of his elderly neighbour to find out if she is warm enough.

Seveal things to consider:

1) Most importantly,can she actually tell,if she is cold?
For example,when she thinks she is warm enough "I feel warm enough" What does she feel like to you?
Are her hands,ears,face,nose warm? for instance...
If she is warm to the touch,even though you feel chilly,(Perhaps being used to a hotter house?) then she is probably ok,and knows what she is doing.
In the "olden days,we wore more clothes,and were more physically active, and so did not need the heating as high as modern day "wussies"
It may be,that ordinarilly during the day,when she is not sitting still for very long periods,she may actually be warm enough,especially if she makes a habit of using a rug,putting on an extra layer,when she sits down "for a bit"

2)If,on the other hand,those parts are cold (and probably cold lower legs too)
Then its likely that her internal thermastat is not as good as it used to be-ie,it is not telling her,that her body is too cool-and of course,that is dangerous.
so then her heating does need t be a bit higher-and suggest a rug etc too.

Hunt/Frank

So pleased .

When the weather is really cold, I leave the boiler on and the thermostat at about 15 overnight and turn it up when I get up in the morning. Mostly it doesn't have to come on during the night, but occasionally if it gets very cold it just maintains the temperature. By day, it's usually 18 but in the evening I bump it up to 20.

And thermostats might not be totally accurate. Mine is on 20 but my age concern thermometer says my house is only 18%. [By the way it's nice that you're such a good neighbour, Frank ].

Hi Pogs

I did get my cup of tea,
She said that the 3 pints of milk which she had would have been just about ok till Saturday but she said that she would have to be careful where as now she can have all the drinks she wants.
She had got plenty of bread in the freezer and things like wallnut cake, cheese oven chips, fish and tins of stew so she will not starve.
She did say a visit was always welcome but she did not want me to put myself at risk.
I supose I am no longer a spring chicken at 63.
I will phone her during the week even if I can not visit her.
I must admit I tend to set my thermastat at about 19 degrees centigrade but I think there is a lot of difference between me and somebody who is 86.

Frank