Caregiver Tips
A collection of post to provide valuable information to caregivers and provide tips that will help in day to day care.
Six Dysphagia Home Care Tips
Midnight Sun Home Care, provider of Palmer home health services and care in nearby areas, provides dysphagia home care tips.
There’s nothing better than a tall, cold drink on a hot summer day, but for a senior with dysphagia, this simple pleasure can be dangerous. Dysphagia – or trouble with swallowing – impacts millions of… Continue reading
Understanding the Stages of Dementia
Midnight Sun Home Care, provider of care services in Anchorage, discusses the stages of dementia.
Among the first questions in most people’s minds when a loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or another dementia is what can be expected in the time to come. We know that the hallmark of dementia is the progressive decline… Continue reading
Startling New Medication-Related Fall Risks for Seniors: Are You at Risk?
Midnight Sun in Anchorage discusses medication-related fall risks for seniors and ways to mitigate them.
We’ve known for a while that there are certain medications that enhance the danger of falls for seniors. Twenty years ago, slightly over 50% of elderly people were impacted by that risk; presently, that number has risen dramatically to a… Continue reading
When Lucidity Returns in the End Stages of Dementia and What It’s Teaching Us
Midnight Sun Home Care, providers of Alaska home health services, discusses the meaning behind lucidity in the end stages of dementia.
Even as memory loss and confusion escalate throughout the progression of dementia, there is an interesting and pleasant reprieve that often occurs. Previously termed “terminal lucidity,” it’s more frequently known as “paradoxical lucidity.” It… Continue reading
Caring for Aging Parents SOS: Family Caregiver Therapy
Family therapy sessions can help adult children work through differences when caring for aging parents.
There are specific milestones we might encounter in our lives that, while not automatically negative, are known stressors. Losing a job. Starting a brand new job. Getting divorced. Getting married. And one that we in the home care industry are… Continue reading
Caring for Elderly Parents: Assessing Mental Health from a Distance
Caring for an aging parent from a distance includes assessing their mental health.
The isolation and fear due to COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the wellbeing of older adults, with nearly half of seniors surveyed in a Kaiser Family Foundation poll stating that their degree of stress and worry was negatively impacting their own health.… Continue reading
Tips for First-Time Caregivers
Check out these tips for first-time caregivers from our Alaska senior care professionals.
It might have come altogether out of nowhere: an unanticipated fall that caused a fractured hip and the need for Mom to have assistance to stay at home. Or, it may have been building up over the years, such as through the… Continue reading
Aging With Dignity: Tips for Caregivers
These tips from our Alaska home health professionals can help with maintaining dignity while aging.
It’s easy to get swept up in the day-to-day tasks of caregiving for an older adult you love. There is so much to be done, and often it’s just much easier and a lot more efficient to do it all… Continue reading
Shadowing and Dementia: How to Help Overcome the Fear of Being Alone
Better manage shadowing in dementia patients with the help of our expert care services in Anchorage.
Primary caregivers for those with Alzheimer’s disease in many cases are all too acquainted with the difficulty experienced in trying to take a quiet moment or two alone – to use the restroom, get a brief shower, and even… Continue reading
Creating a Memory Book for Alzheimer’s Patients
Memory books are a great way to help those with dementia store and share memories.
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” – Dr. Seuss
Memories are what bind together our past experiences with who we are today; and for an individual with dementia, confusion around these… Continue reading
Battling Holiday Depression in Seniors
Holiday depression affects many seniors this time of year.
Although this season is typically viewed as the season of joy, for many older adults, holiday depression is an all too real experience, making the holidays a time of deep despair. Yearning for holidays past, grief over the loss of family and friends, and difficult changes… Continue reading
Can Humidifiers Help with COPD Symptoms in Seniors?
Dry air can contribute to poor health in those suffering with COPD.
If you or a loved one are considering using a humidifier to treat COPD symptoms in seniors, it is important to learn about the risks and common safety precautions of using a humidifier. Air that is too dry, for example, may cause or… Continue reading
Learn to Let Go of Family Caregiver Guilt
Family caretaker guilt can be alleviated with these tips.
Family care providers give so much of themselves to attend to their loved ones, often surrendering their own desires and needs in the process. It seems normal to assume then that caretakers would feel good about themselves, rich in self-esteem and sense of purpose. However, the… Continue reading
Expired Prescriptions? Here’s How Properly Dispose of Medication
Proper and safe medication disposal is important.
With many aging parents taking multiple prescriptions, and with physicians adding and changing medications and dosages to discover ideal solutions, it is crucial to know how to properly dispose of medication safely once it is expired or no longer needed. There are several medication disposal options:
Check labels.… Continue reading
Overcoming Challenging Behaviors: Refusal to Change Clothes and Dementia
Learn tips to help manage challenging dementia behaviors.
Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia requires empathy, creativity, and patience, being able to step away from your own reasoning and logic and understand why a certain behavior is happening, and then to understand exactly how to successfully manage it. Refusal to… Continue reading