Caring for Elderly Parents During Floods and Heavy Rain

What matters most: get your parents out early, with at least a week or two of every medicine, a written medicine list, their glasses, hearing aid and walking stick. Then guard against the three things that hurt older people most in floods: falls, dehydration and missed treatment for long-term illness. Any change to their medicines is the doctor’s call.

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Abba won’t leave the house. He’s lived there forty years, the water has never come in before, and his knees make the stairs to the neighbour’s roof a nightmare. Amma is worried about her BP tablets and whether the relief camp will have a proper toilet. Every family facing a flood warning with older parents has some version of this conversation. The answer is a plan made before the rain, not during it.

Why floods hit older people harder

ELI5: an older body has less spare in the tank. It holds less water, feels thirst later, balances less well, recovers more slowly, and often runs on a daily routine of medicines, diet and rest that a flood rips apart overnight. A missed insulin dose, a slip on a muddy floor, or two days of drinking too little can each become an emergency faster than in a younger person.

Many older people also hear or see less well, may have memory problems, and can be reluctant to “trouble” anyone. So the family has to do the noticing.

Before the flood: the medicine plan

1. Write the list: every medicine, its strength and when it’s taken, plus allergies, diagnoses, doctor’s name and number, and blood group. Keep one paper copy in a plastic bag and a photo on two family phones.
2. Build a spare supply: ask the doctor or pharmacist whether you can collect at least one to two weeks extra ahead of the monsoon.
3. Heat-sensitive medicines: insulin and some eye drops need cool storage. Plan a cool box or clay-pot method, and read our guide on storing medicine in heat and load shedding.
4. Treatments that can’t wait: dialysis, oxygen, chemotherapy, wound dressings. Ask the hospital now where to go if roads close, and keep the unit’s number handy.
5. Organise the doses: a weekly pill box makes it easier to keep track in a camp or a relative’s house.

If a dose is missed during evacuation, don’t double the next one on your own. Call the doctor or ask a pharmacist or the camp doctor what to do. Only the doctor decides whether any medicine should change.

The evacuation bag for an older parent

Pack it now and keep it by the door, in a waterproof bag:

• Medicines, the medicine list, prescriptions, recent reports and CNIC or ID copies
• Glasses, a spare pair if possible, hearing aid with spare batteries, dentures and their box
• Walking stick or walker, non-slip slippers, a small torch
• Glucose meter and strips, BP machine if they use one
• Adult diapers or pads, wet wipes, a change of loose cotton clothes, a light shawl
• ORS sachets, a water bottle, a few dry snacks they can chew easily
• Phone numbers written on paper, in case the phone dies

Preventing falls in wet houses and crowded shelters

Falls are one of the most common injuries in older people after floods. Muddy floors, wet bathroom tiles, unfamiliar camp layouts, power cuts and night-time toilet trips all add up.

• Keep a torch or phone light by the bed for night toilet visits.
• Choose a sleeping spot close to the toilet and away from doorways.
• Slippers with a grip, never socks alone on wet floors.
• A stool or chair to sit on while bathing and dressing.
• Stand up slowly, sit for a moment first, especially on BP or water tablets.

After any fall, check for hip or wrist pain, inability to stand, or a head knock, particularly in someone on blood thinners. Those need a doctor the same day.

Dehydration: the quiet danger

Older people often don’t feel thirsty until they’re already dry, and some drink less on purpose to avoid using a dirty or distant toilet. In humid monsoon heat that’s risky.

Offer a cup of safe water, lassi, soup or ORS every hour or so while they’re awake. Watch for dark urine, a dry mouth, dizziness on standing, unusual sleepiness and new confusion. Some people, such as those with heart failure or kidney disease, have a fluid limit set by their doctor; stick to it and ask if you’re unsure.

If they get a fever, our guide to caring for fever at home covers sponging, fluids and the warning signs. In flood season, a fever also means asking the doctor about dengue, typhoid, malaria and leptospirosis.

Long-term illness during floods

Sudden confusion, drowsiness or odd behaviour over hours or a day is often delirium, triggered by infection, dehydration or a medicine problem. Our guide to sudden confusion in elderly parents explains why it’s urgent. More flood and rain-season guides sit in our Barsaat and Flood Season section.

Did you know? Many relief camps have a health desk. Registering an older parent there with their medicine list on the first day makes it far easier to get a refill or a quick check later.

Elderly parents and floods: questions families ask