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What Is Comfort Care at Home?
Date Updated: December 14, 2024
Written by:
Sarah has produced thousands of articles in diverse niches over her decade-long career as a full-time freelance writer. This includes substantial content in the fields of senior care and health care. She has experience writing about wide-ranging topics, such as types of care, care costs, funding options, state Medicaid programs and senior resources.
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Dr. Brindusa Vanta is a health care professional, researcher, and an experienced medical writer (2000+ articles published online and several medical ebooks). She received her MD degree from “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine, Romania, and her HD diploma from OCHM – Toronto, Canada.
Comfort care at home provides pain relief and emotional support for people with severe or life-limiting conditions in their private residences. It enhances their quality of life, dignity and peace of mind. Sometimes known as end-of-life care, comfort care typically features in broader palliative and hospice care plans.
Palliative Versus Hospice Care
Although many people use the terms interchangeably, differences exist between palliative care and hospice care. Both provide professional medical support for those living with serious illnesses. Services address symptoms and offer holistic relief. Individuals receive each type of care at home if their conditions allow; those who need intensive clinical assistance or around-the-clock monitoring may require inpatient care instead. Comfort care is a hallmark of each support type.
Individuals receive palliative care at any stage of a grave sickness, while hospice takes place toward the latter stages of life. Curative or life-prolonging treatments, such as chemotherapy, dietary programs or surgical interventions, often accompany palliative techniques. Conversely, hospice replaces attempts to treat conditions or delay disease progression, focusing instead on reducing discomfort and allowing people to enjoy their remaining days as much as possible. Hospice plans also include bereavement counseling for families.
At-Home Comfort Care Overview
Individuals receive comfort care to help them manage symptoms of serious conditions. Such symptoms include:
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Pain
- Nausea or vomiting
- Constipation
- Incontinence
- Skin irritations
- Breathing difficulties
- Mobility loss
- Reduced sensory abilities
- Depression
- Anxiety
Care teams include nurses, certified aides and therapists who visit people in their homes. These medical professionals deliver personalized services such as medication administration, pain management and therapies geared toward making people more comfortable. Comfort care also includes measures to improve mental, social and spiritual well-being. Such services include counseling, companionship and visits from religious leaders. This type of care enables seriously sick people to remain living at home, maintain a degree of normalcy in their lives and spend quality time with loved ones and pets despite their medical issues.