Long Term Care
Caregivers are often overworked and filled with stress. Here are some helpful tips to try so you can relax.
Caregiving
A guide to general caregiving information including medication guidelines, bowel and bladder, nutrition, skin and mouth care, fever, environmental concerns and infection control as well as finding/hiring help.
Featured Posts
Should People With Alzheimer's Disease Be Driving?
This guest post was written by HealthSearchOnline.com - Your mom has mild Alzheimer's disease, but she still wants to drive to the grocery store. Should you let her? According to one group of researchers, you may as well, because statistically, she’s no more likely [...]Recent Updates
When To Buy Long-Term Care Insurance
My 60-year-old mother is thinking about purchasing long-term care insurance. But I think she’s too young to worry about this. Am I right? Not necessarily. Age isn’t the only factor to consider when you’re thinking about buying a long-term care (LTC) policy: Though they do cover the kind of care you get in a nursing [...]
Facts About Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia (loss of intellectual and social abilities severe enough to interfere with daily functioning). A person with AD experiences progressively increasing impairment of memory, thinking, reasoning, and language. Personality changes can also occur. AD can be inherited, but most cases are not related to inheritance. What [...]
Reducing The Risk Of Falls In The Elderly
Older people fall more often than people in younger age groups: About 40% of people over age 65 fall each year. Why do older people seem to fall more? The main reason is simply declining health that leads to such fall-related conditions as poor vision, gait and balance disorders, heart and/or lung disease, depression and/or [...]
What Is The Difference Between Dementia And Alzheimer’s Disease?
You can’t really contrast the two in that way. Alzheimer’s obviously is a disease, whereas dementia is more a collection of symptoms. The conditions we call dementias are those in which the patient has problems with memory, as well as impaired thinking, comprehension, reasoning, speech and behavior. This decline in mental function can make aspects [...]
What Are The Symptoms Of Alzheimer’s Disease?
At what age do the symptoms (of Alzheimer’s disease) start? Is there some type of test a doctor can do to see if a person has this disease? I have a family history of Alzheimer’s (1 aunt, 1 uncle, 2 great-aunts). I am almost 49 years old and find myself getting very confused at times, [...]
Can You Tell Me Anything About Pneumonia?
My granddaughter, age 5, has it. Her parents were told it will last at least two weeks, and they should just let her rest. She is also taking medication but I do not know what it is. Can you tell me anything about pneumonia and is it contagious? Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs [...]
How To Help Alzheimer’s Patients Sleep
My 91-year-old invalid mother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. I care for her at home. Her physician is unresponsive, and I am desperate for some answers. Her dementia has increased, and her cycle times of rest between episodes has decreased. She will babble incoherently for 12 to 24 hours and suffers from sleep deprivation. Is there [...]
Treatment For Heel Pain In Elderly
My heels ache when I wake up in the morning. They usually start feeling better during the day, but then get worse again at night. I’m 71 years old. What’s wrong with my feet? Walking, running, shuffling, marching or trampling — the typical American does a lot of it. By age 50, most people will [...]
What Is Long Term Health Care?
The purpose of long term care is to assist persons with chronic conditions or limitations that restrict them from living independently. Long term care differs from traditional medical care in that it frequently is provided for the purpose of maintaining a standard of independent living, not improving or correcting a medical condition. Long term care [...]
Caring For Someone With Alzheimer’s Disease
Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease is challenging, just as is caring for any ill person, because the disease not only affects the person physically, but mentally. Often, in the early stages of the disease, a spouse or other family member will provide the daily care for a person with Alzheimer’s. However, as the disease [...]
Muscle Loss – Getting Weaker With Age
My 70-year-old father seems to be getting weaker, and I’m concerned about his independence. Things that used to be easy for him, such as bathing and preparing meals, now seem much harder. He appears to be eating enough, and he isn’t losing any weight. But what can I do to help him? It sounds as [...]
How To Hire In-Home Help For Your Elderly Parent
The Sandwich Generation dilemma–kids, spouses, bosses, elderly parents constantly tugging at your sleeves. It’s easy to spread yourself too thin and wear yourself out. Cooking, driving, managing medications, running errands, housekeeping-there is simply not enough time in the day for eldercare responsibilities, and giving others, including yourself, extra attention. If you are at that point [...]
Senior Citizens And Medication Use Guidelines
More drugs are prescribed to people over age 65 than to any other group in America. Older adults consume one quarter of all drugs prescribed in the United States. The average senior citizen receives 13 prescriptions per year, and nearly one half of all over-the-counter drugs. Because the elderly are the largest single group of [...]
Elderly Nutrition Tips And Guidelines
It is said that "we are what we eat," and science is beginning to back this statement with hard facts. The better we understand the effect excess fat and cholesterol have on such conditions as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, the more we realize that nutrition is one of the most important building blocks [...]
Senior Skin Care Tips – Preventing Sun Damage
Although the effects of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation are cumulative, it’s never too late to stop the damage. And, because most older adults and senior citizens take several prescription medications, chances are you’ll need extra protection to prevent photosensitive (or heightened) reactions of your skin to sunlight. Ideas that Work: Take cover. Wear a hat [...]