Senior Safety
Senior safety is very important, whether it’s in the home or out in the world. Get some helpful tips on how to keep seniors safe and find out how we provide the dedicated homecare Matanuska-Ausitna AK seniors need to stay safe and healthy at home.
There are resources to help seniors who are experiencing a decline in thinking, reasoning, and independent function.
“I am telling you, there is a dog inside my closet! I hear it growling all night long. We’ve got to track down its owner!”
Hearing an older loved one voice concerns such as this that you are aware to be false is unsettling – yet not abnormal. Your first reaction can be to try and rationalize with the individual with a response such as, “Nonsense! There’s no way a dog might have gotten into your closet!” Yet for a variety of reasons, this is often the least successful way to handle unreasonable ideas and conduct within the elderly. Continue reading →
Senior safety is crucial when creating an aging care plan.
The first signs might be so subtle that many people wouldn’t even notice that anything is amiss. Mom is extroverted, friendly, and conversational while visiting relatives and friends and while running errands. But those closest to her are beginning to detect concerns: being forgetful about the soup cooking on the stove, resulting in a scorched pan. Placing her keys in the cookie jar. Neglecting to pay bills. Continue reading →
Discover the top treatment options currently available for Alzheimer’s and how they work.
The latest Alzheimer’s data is sobering. The disease has become the 6th leading cause of death, rising above both breast cancer and prostate cancer together. And though deaths from many other chronic health conditions, including cardiovascular illnesses, are decreasing, those from Alzheimer’s have jumped in excess of 100%. The toll the condition takes on family caregivers is likewise astonishing, with more than 16 million Americans delivering over 18 billion hours of caregiving for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. Continue reading →
Providing senior care can be stressful on a marriage; learn tips to help here.
In marriage we agree to stick with each other for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health – but what doesn’t come up during our vows to one another is how to deal with the increasing needs of senior care as our parents age. Continue reading →
Learn how planning for a fall can actually help prevent one.
Falls involving the elderly are all too frequent and may have serious consequences. Taking precautionary measures is crucial, such as assessing the home for fall dangers like throw rugs along with other trip and fall hazards, insufficient lighting, and an absence of appropriate grab…
Continue reading →Learn why ER visits for older adults increase up to 20% over the holidays.
While we may envision a Norman Rockwell-worthy Thanksgiving celebration, with the whole family relishing high quality time with each other and Grandma’s classic feast, the reality for some families also includes something unforeseen: a hospital emergency room visit. Believe it or…
Continue reading →Learn how to strike a balance between safety and independence for seniors
It’s a struggle that arises for a lot of families: aging parents adamantly would like to age in place at home, while their loved ones worry about their health and safety. The struggle between senior safety vs. independence is real, and there’s an…
Continue reading →How do you overcome childhood hurt when caring for a senior parent? Learn tips in this article.
When caregiving for a family member, it can be challenging not to let difficult family dynamics get in the way. For people who have been brought up by caring parents who took care of all their needs, providing…
Continue reading →Learn what commonly used sentiments are better left unsaid when a loved one is facing a health crisis.
Have you ever walked in to the office or a get-together with friends or family and had a person say to you with great concern, “You really look tired today!” Even though you may have been feeling…
Continue reading →Dementia and guns: Learn more about this important issue in this article.
With an impassioned level of debate rivaling the Hatfields and McCoys, it appears insurmountable to arrive at a resolution on the issue of gun control. Yet in spite of which side of the issue you are on, there’s one little-discussed situation that should cause us all to take pause: the alarming combination of dementia and firearms.
Continue reading →
Sleeping drugs double the risk of falls and fractures in seniors, due to the increased dizziness and disorientation they could cause.
Is there anything better than getting up well rested after a great night’s sleep, completely energized and ready to face your day? For most older adults – as much as a third of them – getting enough sleep only occurs inside their dreams. And sadly, it is a common assumption that inadequate sleep is just something to be accepted within our later years – a misconception that Preeti Malani, M.D., chief health officer and professor of medicine at the University of Michigan really wants to dispel. Continue reading →
For many, there’s a stigma linked with admitting to and pursuing help for mental and emotional concerns.
They’re common concerns in older years: fatigue, sleeping problems, lack of appetite. And often, they’re written off as just that. Yet for nearly 8 million elders over age 65, these signs and symptoms are indicative of something significantly more than normal aging – they’re signs and symptoms of elderly mental health problems. And only a small number are obtaining the available treatment that could substantially boost their overall quality of life. Continue reading →
Baby boomers without children, or solo agers, have to consider different options for their later years than those with children.
If you are a baby boomer without children, the new term “solo ager” applies to you. This strong and self-reliant group faces some distinct concerns in aging, chiefly who to designate as guardian and decision-maker in the event that they become unable to do so themselves. Inside her book, Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers, author Sara Zeff Geber, Ph.D. defines several senior planner options to consider: Continue reading →
Always get the doctor’s approval before trying anything new.
As the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That could very well pertain to the recent influx of corporations touting alternative supplements, dietary programs, and herbal concoctions in order to cure, or at the very least minimize, the ramifications of Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Association would like to advise us, however, to go forward with caution when looking into treatment ideas for a loved one with dementia – and always get the doctor’s approval before trying anything new. Continue reading →
POCD takes place in more than 25% of seniors in the days and even weeks just after non-cardiac surgery.
Undergoing surgery for seniors always involves some inherent risks, but there is a little-known effect impacting a significant number of seniors following surgery that we all must be aware of: POCD (postoperative cognitive dysfunction). POCD takes place in more than 25% of seniors in the days and even weeks just after non-cardiac surgery, and may present with a variety of symptoms, several of which can be almost indiscernible: forgetfulness, loss in concentration and focus, along with other kinds of cognitive impairment that affect quality of life. Continue reading →
