Falls in older adults are all too common, and may have dire consequences. If you care for an aging adult, taking the time to put preventative measures in place to protect against falls is vitally important, such as reviewing the home environment for any hazards such as throw rugs, poor lighting, a lack of grab bars and railings, etc. But there’s one additional strategy we recommend as well: creating a…
What to Avoid Saying to Someone with a Chronic Health Condition
Has anyone ever said to you, “Wow, you look really tired! Are you having trouble sleeping?” While you may have been feeling pretty lively up until then, suddenly you actually DO feel a bit worn out. What we say when we speak to other people and the way it’s interpreted can be powerful. This is good to keep in mind if you’re caring for a senior loved one, or talking…
Wheelchair-Friendly Home Modifications for Seniors
Home is where we can truly relax and be ourselves, and that’s just part of why so many older individuals make the choice to remain at home throughout aging. But in many cases wheelchairs will become a part of life when seniors or those with certain disabilities experience decreased mobility. This can be especially challenging when it comes to ensuring the home is safe. Thankfully, a few home modifications for…
De-Prescribing Medications: What Seniors Should Know
With over 1/3 of all 60-year-olds taking five or more prescription medications, it’s no wonder that problems are occurring from overmedication. Polypharmacy, defined as “…when an adverse drug effect is misinterpreted as a new medical problem – leading to the prescribing of more medication to treat the initial drug-induced symptom,” can lead to a variety of additional health risks or worsening of existing health conditions. It’s advised that seniors and…
Safely Dispose of Medications with These Five Tips
With many aging parents taking many different prescriptions, and with health care professionals changing and adding dosages and medications to discover just the right solutions, it’s important to know what to do with prescription drugs that are no longer needed or that have expired. There are a number of options to safely dispose of medications:
Making Multiple Sclerosis Patients Comfortable at Home
As Jane Austen once said, “There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” And for someone with a chronic disease, like multiple sclerosis (MS), remaining as comfortable as possible, and, as safe as possible, is essential. Luckily, making multiple sclerosis patients comfortable at home is possible with a few tips and some outside help. If someone you love has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the preliminary step should…
Holiday Safety for Seniors – Avoiding Emergency Room Visits
Although of course we’d love to visualize enjoying a Norman Rockwell-worthy holiday gathering, with all of our family members spending quality time together and Mom’s traditional holiday feast, the reality for numerous family gatherings instead can consist of something unanticipated: an E/R visit. In fact, research shows that E/R visits for seniors rise about 10 – 20% over the holiday season. That’s why it’s so important to take holiday safety…
Early COPD Symptoms: How It’s Often Confused with Asthma
Coughing that won’t seem to go away. Wheezing. Shortness of breath. It’s likely an asthma attack, right? Before you reach for that inhaler or those cough drops, however, please consider if another culprit – COPD – may be a factor. With as many as 12 million people in America currently living with COPD (and as many as 12 million more who likely have the disease but have not yet been…
The Benefits of Senior Activities and How Advanced Home Health Care Can Help!
Is your loved one getting involved in senior activities on a regular basis, or is he/she stuck in a rut that generally features watching TV, eating, and sleeping? Especially during this time of quarantining and isolation, it can be challenging to maintain an active and involved way of living – but it is crucially important for the health and wellness of older adults.
The Sandwich Generation and Making Caregiving Manageable
Are your senior parents in need of care? At the same time are you attempting to meet the needs of children and family at home? If so, you are a member of the sandwich generation – a demographic of men and women, usually in their 30s or 40s, who are now responsible for raising their own children while simultaneously providing care for their senior parents. The to-do lists of this…