Ohioans are providing an increasing amount of care for family members, assistance with added up to $17.5 billion in 2009 and is expected to grow as medical advances and an aging population cause more to need help with daily activities.

That care comes under stress every holiday season when many people add activities, gatherings and travel into already busy lives. But family counseling experts stress that this time of year is actually an opportunity to assess whether a family member needs extra help.

Nationally, family members provided 40.3 billion hours and $450 billion worth of unpaid care in 2009, according to AARP. In Ohio, there were 2.4 million adults who helped family members with daily activities because of limitations that year, which tied Illinois for No. 6 nationally.

“It’s almost immeasurable,” said Doug McGarry, executive director for the Area Agency on Aging that serves nine counties in southwest Ohio. “This affects so many people, it’s very difficult to quantify.”

Experts said many don’t consider themselves caregivers if they help a neighbor with a trip to the grocery store or aid a parent with scheduling medication. But those tasks are important in curtailing medical and care costs and, depending on the severity of the family member’s illness or ailment, can cause the caregiver to feel significant pressure and isolation.

Area agencies on aging and associations aiding with specific ailments are available to assist those caregivers, officials said. They stress that the issue goes beyond older family members, as conditions including cerebral palsy, stroke-related issues and multiple sclerosis can affect younger family members like children or spouses.

Because medical advances are keeping an aging population alive longer, experts said much of this family caregiving is focused on parents and grandparents, a group that is expected to increase in coming years.

“The number has already risen tremendously in the past 10 years, and it will continue to rise,” said John Schall, CEO of the National Family Caregivers Association. “As the nation wrestles with overall health care costs, this caregiving is often overlooked as a huge component in keeping health care costs down.”

A large part of the needed care involves mobility. When family members with medical conditions want to stay in their own homes, they often require rides. Inside the home, they need help to bathe, use the restroom or move around.

Such help can be the biggest challenge.

“It’s a physical burden, not just an emotional one,” said Kevin Craiglow, public outreach director for AARP Ohio. “Imagine a 6-foot, 185-pound male being assisted by a 5-7, 120-pound wife. That’s what happens.”

The toll looms large, experts said. Often, people caring for a parent or grandparent also have a spouse or children of their own, which stretches them in both directions. Not only will the caregiver need time to travel to and from a family member’s home and provide care, they often face the emotional challenge of deciding what action is best for their loved one.

Officials said caregivers must think of their own needs as well as those of their family members when deciding what actions to take.

“It’s similar to being on an airplane when they give you instructions for a loss of cabin pressure. You have to put your own mask on first to be able to help others,” Craiglow said. “They’re also dealing with the weight of responsibility. It’s a lot easier to give your opinion when you don’t have the burden of consistently making those decisions.”

Family members can use holiday gatherings as times to discuss the care for family members, even though those conversations can be uncomfortable, experts said. Multiple family members are also available to pay attention to the actions and comments from parents or grandparents, who might show signs of needing extra help.

Experts said it’s important to focus attention on what family members can do instead of what they no longer can do when discussing decisions about whether they should drive, live in their own home or otherwise carry out their own daily tasks. Although the issue can be daunting, it can provide positives, they said.

“We certainly know that family caregiving increases good health care outcomes for loved ones,” Schall said. “They just have better health and well-being the more engaged the family caregiver is. There are some great positives in these kinds of situations.”