San Diego Malnutrition Lawyers

Comprehensive Elder Abuse Legal Support in Southern California 

Many residents suffer from ​malnutrition​ and dehydration in California nursing homes. Nursing homes are responsible for providing nutritious meals and liquids to residents. Just as everyone needs a certain amount of food and water, it is even more important to ensure that elderly persons receive proper nutrition and hydration. Lack of basic human necessities can trigger many health problems, including frequent urinary tract infections, kidney failure, and causing an elder to be more vulnerable to bedsores. Elderly persons need an adequate amount of food and liquids, as well as vitamins and minerals to make them healthier and stronger.

When dehydration or malnutrition occurs in a nursing home, it is almost always a sign of neglect. When serious, malnutrition can lead to death due to starvation just as severe dehydration can become fatal.

At Joel R. Bryant, our San Diego malnutrition attorneys put substantial litigation experience and genuine care and compassion on the side of your family member who has suffered malnutrition, dehydration, or other forms of elder abuse. We fight every day to make individuals and institutions accountable for the harm they have caused to the elderly in their charge. Whether in civil or probate court, our elder litigation team is well-versed in the laws pertaining to all forms of abuse and the litigation strategies needed to bring justice to abused and neglected seniors. 

Call Joel R. Bryant today at (619) 597-2577 or contact us online to schedule a meeting with our malnutrition attorney in San Diego!

Signs Indicating Malnutrition and/or Dehydration

Malnutrition among nursing home patients first presents itself with mild symptoms. However, if an elderly individual does not get the issue addressed quickly by the care providers, the lack of nutrients can quickly lead to dangerous and even potentially fatal health effects. 

Early signs to watch out for include but are not limited to the following:

Dehydration among elderly patients also starts out mildly. Nursing home care providers should know and be able to recognize these symptoms to prevent elderly patients from becoming even more dehydrated, avoiding further negative health effects. Common early signs of mild dehydration among elderly patients include:

• Very dry and sticky mouth (cotton mouth-like feeling), making it harder to speak and eat
• Being thirsty/expressing thirst
• Skin becomes dry and papery in some areas that tear upon pressure being applied
• Urine output and frequency decrease
• Headaches and cramping

These symptoms can escalate when dehydration worsens and include:

If a nursing home resident begins to show signs of dehydration or malnutrition, it is important that the staff quickly recognize this and seek professional medical care, as the elder is at a much higher risk of harm.

Understanding the Influence of Socioeconomic Factors

An elderly individual can also be at risk depending on their socioeconomic status. This can affect the nursing home they can afford and the level of care provided there. The food that an elderly patient can afford will also impact their health, as cheaper food is often less nutritious. In many instances, an elder is capable of eating and drinking sufficiently, but the nursing home staff fails to provide adequate nutrition and hydration.

Socioeconomic factors can also affect how isolated the elder is at the nursing home. The more frequently the elder is visited by friends and family who look out for them, the less likely they are to suffer from abuse and neglect. It is also possible that an isolated elderly patient will eat less or simply refrain from eating due to feeling lonely and possibly depressed.

Nursing home patients may also lose interest in cooking or eating as a result of being in a care facility, which can lead to malnutrition. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the management and staff to ensure that all of their residents receive adequate nutrition and hydration. The nursing home staff must monitor and write down not only how much food and water each resident takes in daily, but must also record output as well. A lack of output typically signals dehydration or other health problems such as impacted stool or constipation.

Because of the severe repercussions that malnutrition and dehydration can have for the elderly, it is the responsibility of those in charge of caring for them to develop and implement plans to meet their individual needs. 

The Effects of Dehydration 

The severe health effects of dehydration include but are not limited to the following:

• Seizures: As the severity of dehydration increases, elders are more prone to having seizures, which can be deadly.
• Brain swelling: In severe cases of dehydration, if the elderly individual tries to quench their thirst too rapidly, the brain may try to store the fluid all at once, causing severe brain swelling and ruptured cells that result in irreversible brain damage.
• Urinary tract infections: The body is unable to urinate regularly and, as a result, a urinary tract infection may occur.
• Kidney failure: When an elderly person is dehydrated, their body cannot rid their body of waste in the bloodstream through urination and, as a result, the elderly individual can suffer from kidney failure.
• Coma: In cases of severe dehydration the person may suffer from irreversible health complications leading to unconsciousness and ultimately death.
• Bedsores
• Death

How Does Malnutrition or Dehydration Occur in Nursing Homes?

Malnutrition and dehydration generally occur in four different ways in nursing homes. They consist of physical, mental, socioeconomic, and neglectful malnutrition and/or dehydration. All of these are the responsibility of the nursing home that is caring for your loved one.

Physical malnutrition and dehydration in nursing homes are a result of physical impairment of the elderly individual that makes it difficult to eat and drink the proper amount. Certain medications can also suppress appetite. In such cases, the nursing home staff must make sure that the elder is actually drinking sufficient fluids and consuming adequate amounts of food. The staff within the nursing home needs to be on the lookout for such impairments and medication issues, and ensure that the individual receives the proper hydration and nutrition. Signs of physical impairments include:

• Dental problems
• Dysphagia (swallowing problems)
• Medications that block nutrient absorption or suppress appetite
• Lost sense of taste or smell
• Abdominal complications presented as pain or bloating

Mental health issues can also cause dehydration and malnutrition among nursing home patients. The mental issues are not simply having a diminished mental capacity due to Alzheimer’s or dementia; however, that can certainly be part of it. Those suffering from these mental health diseases or other forms of cognitive impairment are at a higher chance of suffering neglect and abuse in nursing homes as their diseases render them incapable of adequately advocating for themselves and their needs. Mental issues that can also impact nutrition and water intake include depression, which can suppress appetite.

Preventing Malnutrition and Dehydration in Nursing Homes

A healthy diet prevents physical decline and is very important as a person ages. Nutritious meals and snacks are required for nursing home residents and should be assessed regularly by staff. Elderly residents often need nutritional supplements as well. Bringing a tray of food to a resident does not guarantee adequate nutrition. Malnutrition is usually caused by inadequate food intake, poor food choices, medication-caused lack of appetite, or poor nutrient absorption.

In addition to a balanced diet, regular hydration is also essential in keeping elderly patients healthy. Simply bringing water to a patient does not mean that they have ingested it or are no longer at risk of being dehydrated. It is the responsibility of the nursing home to ensure that the residents are actually hydrating.

As the number of nursing home residents increases rapidly due to rising life expectancy across the nation, malnutrition and dehydration among nursing home patients have increased as well.