Winter safety for an aging parent in Cleveland

To keep an aging parent safe through a Cleveland winter, set the heat to at least 68 to 70 degrees, have the furnace serviced, put a working carbon monoxide detector near the bedrooms, arrange for the walk and steps to be cleared and salted before the freeze, swap smooth soles for boots with tread, keep water and warm drinks close, and put an outage box together on a calm afternoon.

Winter in Cleveland does not arrive politely. It comes off the lake in a single gray afternoon, and by the next morning the driveway is glass and the furnace has run all night. For an older parent living alone, the same afternoon asks harder questions. Is the house actually warm enough? Is the walk to the mailbox safe? Is the old furnace still venting the way it should? This guide is about answering those questions early, while it is still easy. Do one thing this week. That is plenty.

A safe indoor temperature for older adults

The thermostat reads sixty-three, and to your mother that feels fine. She has always kept the house cool to save on the bill. Here is the part almost no one knows: a room that feels merely cool to you can quietly pull an older body into real danger, and she may never feel it happening.

It is called hypothermia. An aging body loses heat faster and senses the cold less clearly, so the warning that should say "I am freezing" does not ring as loudly. For an older person, a body temperature of 95 degrees or lower can cause serious harm, and it can begin in a home that only feels a little chilly.

So the single most protective step is also the simplest: set the heat to at least 68 to 70 degrees all winter. A house held at 60 to 65 may not keep an older adult safe, even if it feels comfortable to a visitor in a coat. If the bill is the worry, that deserves a real conversation, not a cold house. There is help for it, below.

Early signs of hypothermia

Cold hands and feet, a puffy or swollen face, pale skin, shivering (or oddly, no shivering at all), slower or slightly slurred speech, sleepiness in the middle of the day, and a flash of confusion or irritation that is not like her.

Later signs: call for help

Moving slowly or trouble walking, stiff jerky movements, a slow heartbeat, slow shallow breathing, and drifting toward sleep and hard to rouse. Call 911 and warm her gently while you wait.

Some everyday medicines make it harder for the body to hold heat, including certain blood pressure medicines, some antidepressants, and sleep aids and sedatives. An underactive thyroid, diabetes and dementia raise the risk too. For many older adults a warm house is not a luxury. It is part of the medicine.

Ice on the walk to the door

The stretch of sidewalk between your father's door and the mailbox can hide a thin skin of ice under an inch of fresh snow. Most winter injuries for older adults happen on the front steps, the driveway and the path to the car. The goal is not to keep your parent inside until spring. It is to make the short trips out as uneventful as they should be.

• The ground: keep the steps, walk and driveway cleared and salted before the freeze, not after the fall. Arrange it ahead of time with a neighbor or a service, so no one is out there with a shovel at eighty. Check that outdoor bulbs work before the early dark arrives. A motion light at the door earns its keep all winter.
• The feet: trade smooth soles and slippers for boots with real tread. Slip-on ice grippers from any hardware store turn a treacherous walk into an ordinary one. A hand on the rail every time, and a phone in the pocket.
• The pace: there is no hurry. A ringing phone can go to voicemail. Nothing outside that door is worth rushing across the ice for.

For more on preventing falls indoors, see our guide to fall-proofing the home.

Carbon monoxide and space heaters

When the furnace kicks on for the first time each winter, it is the moment to remember that the appliances keeping a parent warm can, when something goes wrong, give off a gas no one can see, smell or taste. Carbon monoxide's early symptoms, a headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, foggy confusion, look exactly like the flu or winter tiredness. An older adult may lie down to rest off "a bug" in a house that is slowly filling with it. The CDC counts more than 400 accidental deaths a year in the United States, most of them in the cold months. It is also one of the most preventable dangers in the home.

• The detector: a working carbon monoxide detector near the sleeping areas, so an alarm can wake a person. Test it and change the batteries when the clocks change, and replace the whole unit about every five years, or as the label says.
• The appliances: have the furnace and gas appliances serviced once a year, ideally before the season. Never warm the house with a gas oven or stovetop. Never run a car, generator or grill in an attached garage, even with the door open. A portable generator belongs well outside, far from windows and doors.
• Space heaters: three feet of clear space on every side, away from bedding, curtains and the recliner. Plugged straight into the wall, never into a power strip or extension cord. Off whenever she leaves the room or goes to sleep. A space heater is a fine helper and a poor babysitter.

Staying warm through the long months

A good wool hat may be the most useful thing your parent owns this winter. A great deal of body heat leaves through an uncovered head and neck, and a hat in the recliner is not silly. It is smart.

• Loose layers rather than one heavy sweater
• A hat and even a light scarf indoors on the coldest days
• Warm socks and slippers with grip
• Extra blankets within reach of the chair and the bed

If keeping the house at 68 strains the budget, Ohio's Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) and its Winter Crisis Program help income-eligible households with heating costs. Our guide to free help for older adults in Greater Cleveland lists where to call.

Water in the cold

In winter the body feels less thirst, the heated air is dry, and older adults slip into dehydration in January as easily as in July. It shows up as fatigue, dizziness and confusion that are easy to blame on the season. Keep water, warm tea and broth within reach, and offer a warm drink often.

When the power goes out

A lake-effect storm rolls through overnight, a limb comes down on a line, and at four in the morning the furnace goes silent. For a parent who depends on the heat, a plugged-in medical device or refrigerated medicine, a long outage is worth getting ready for now, on a calm afternoon.

The ready box

• Flashlights and spare batteries where she can find them in the dark (flashlights, not candles)
• A charged phone and a backup battery
• Warm blankets and a hat kept together
• A written list of her medicines and doses
• A plan, worked out with the pharmacy or doctor, for anything that needs refrigeration or electricity
• Bottled water and a few foods that need no cooking

If it happens

Close off one room and keep everyone in it, doors shut, blankets on. Dress in layers and add the hat. Never heat the room with a gas oven or a grill. Keep the refrigerator and freezer closed. And call early, a neighbor, a family member or us. It is far better to reach out an hour too soon than to wait it out alone in a cooling house.

The short, dark days

By four in the afternoon the light is leaving. Winter is darker and quieter, and for a parent who lives alone the days can fold inward until one gray morning is hard to tell from the next. Watch for the slow fade: the phone that goes unanswered, the meals skipped, the days spent in the same chair.

Open the curtains in the morning, because light lifts the spirit as surely as heat warms the body. Keep one steady thing on the calendar each week, a call, a visit, a ride to the library or the senior center on a clear day. A warm house is good. A warm house with someone in it is better. See companionship at home and rides to appointments.

A few minutes a day

1. Morning: open the curtains, check the thermostat reads 68 or better, and pour the first warm drink.
2. Midday: a slow lap of the warm rooms, a glass of water, and a look at the walk before anyone heads out.
3. Evening: space heater off, a warm layer on, blankets by the chair, and a quick call to say goodnight.

For the refrigerator door: the winter-ready home

• Thermostat at 68 degrees or more for the season
• Furnace and gas appliances serviced this year
• Working carbon monoxide detector near the bedrooms, batteries fresh
• Walkway, steps and drive arranged to be cleared and salted
• Boots with tread, plus slip-on ice grippers by the door
• Warm layers, a hat and extra blankets within reach
• Water and warm drinks close all day
• Flashlights, spare batteries and a medicine list ready for an outage

When to call the doctor, or 911

Call the doctor if:

• your parent seems unusually cold, sleepy or confused indoors, with cold hands, pale or puffy skin, or slower speech
• headaches, dizziness, nausea or foggy tiredness keep coming back and ease when she leaves the house (this can be carbon monoxide, not the flu)
• a minor slip on the ice left new pain, a limp, or a bruise that is worse than it looks

Call 911 and wait if:

• she is very hard to wake, deeply confused, or has slow shallow breathing or a slow heartbeat in the cold; warm her gently and stay with her
• a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, or several people in the home feel sick at once; get everyone outside first, then call
• a fall caused severe pain or a head injury, or she cannot get up or bear weight

Questions families ask

What temperature should an older adult keep the house in winter?

At least 68 to 70 degrees. Older adults lose heat faster and sense cold less, so a house that feels fine to a visitor can be too cold for them.

Is help available with heating bills in Ohio?

Yes. Ohio's Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) and the Winter Crisis Program help income-eligible households with heating costs. Call your county's community action agency to apply.

Can a caregiver help with winter safety?

A caregiver can check the thermostat, keep paths clear inside, make sure meals and warm drinks happen, drive to appointments in bad weather and notice early signs that something is off. See how care at home works.

A note from Solura

None of this is about fear. It is about getting a few small things settled early, so the whole winter feels lighter: a warm house, a clear walk, a detector that works, a box on the shelf for a bad night. Do one this week and the rest will follow.

And if it starts to feel like more than one family can carry, the checking, the driving, the long dark evenings, that is what we are here for. We would be glad to be the warm face in the house on the cold days. You can start a care plan or talk with us.

If you ever have a question, just reply to the email this came with or call (216) 770-4886. No rush at all.

The Solura Home Care Team