Most of us can’t wait to sit down to enjoy a delicious meal – the comforting smells, the tastes, the satisfying feeling of a full stomach. For many seniors, though, a variety of health issues can prevent their enjoyment of food or even their ability to shop for nutritious foods, often leading to malnutrition. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration offers several solutions to some of the most common senior…
“I do NOT have Alzheimer’s disease! There isn’t anything wrong with me!” If perhaps you’ve heard a family member with dementia frustratingly communicate this or maybe a matching sentiment, you may have believed the person was merely in denial and unwilling to accept a difficult diagnosis. The stark reality is, however, that frequently those with dementia and other conditions are experiencing anosognosia – an unawareness of their impairment. It can…
It’s one of the most complicated decisions we face in later years, and a very delicate issue for adult children to broach with their senior parents: surrendering the car keys. Driving a vehicle, while creating an intrinsic sense of freedom and independence, may become very risky due to a variety of conditions pertaining to growing older. And letting go of that freedom for safety’s sake can feel defeating. Additionally, we…
Medicare coverage of medicines for seniors is often crucial, especially because on average, older adults take a shocking 15-18 prescription medications. And with an average price of over $11,000 yearly for the most common prescription drugs prescribed for the elderly, it usually is debilitating when a Medicare claim is suddenly denied. And yet, that’s happening more and more frequently as Medicare plans are progressively establishing coverage limits on older persons…
Does your loved one need more stability in the bathtub or shower? Does she or he need a walker or rollator to move around? Then it’s likely that you’ll eventually be shopping for home care products. It’s also possible that you’re questioning how to pay for these assistive products, and if any of them are covered under Medicare or insurance. Like in-home care services, there are multiple different options when…
As your loved one grows older, durable medical equipment can aid in making everyday life around the household easier and less dangerous. There are many types of assistive gadgets for in-home care on the market nowadays to choose from. At Advanced Home Health Care, we want to offer some expert recommendations for purchasing and using a few of the most widely used pieces of home care equipment. Commodes A commode…
What if there was a medication that could treat not just one, but multiple devastating diseases: leukemia, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and Parkinson’s? At Georgetown University Medical Center, researchers are hopeful that nilotinib is that medication. Now approved to be used in those with one type of leukemia, a small trial is producing great excitement in its promising results to clear the brain of toxic proteins. Georgetown’s medical director of the…
In a new, ongoing trial, deep-brain stimulation – more commonly used for Parkinson’s patients – is being tested on stroke survivors. Involving the implantation of an electrode that stimulates a particular area of the brain, the anticipated response will be a reversal of the paralysis so often encountered following a stroke, and the restoration of mobility. In order to comprehend how a stroke restricts normal brain function, Laurie Ann Bonkoski,…
In Iowa, most of us have areas of our homes designated as storage areas. But oftentimes those storage areas spill over into other areas of the home as increasingly more memorabilia is saved with the thought of, “I can’t get rid of this. I may want it someday.” Yet, what happens when “someday” never happens, and those piles of things turn out to be more of a burden than a…
From sunup to sundown, a day in the life of someone with diabetes is overloaded with a variety of tasks to manage the disease. Between medications, insulin injections, checking blood sugar levels, exercising, and handling nutritional requirements, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Advanced Home Health Care’s Southeast Iowa in-home senior care professionals realize the challenges and struggles of diabetes care management, and offer the following tips to help lower stress…