When caring for people who have the flu: Avoid being face to face with the sick person. If possible, it is best to spend the least amount of time in close contact with a sick person. When holding sick children, place their chin on your shoulder so they will not cough in your face. Wash [...]
Winter is a special time for celebration. It should also be a time for added caution if you or someone in your family is an older adult. It is the season for falls, slips on icy streets and other dangers that can be especially harmful for older adults. "Something as simple as a fall can [...]
Frigid weather can pose special risks to older adults. The National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, has some advice for helping older people avoid hypothermia — when the body gets too cold — during cold weather. Hypothermia is generally defined as having a core body temperature of 95 degrees [...]
Every year, the media bombards us with advertisements showing the “happy family” gathering for the holidays. People from different generations are together, having a wonderful time, sharing traditions of old and creating new ones as well. It is not that way, though, for a great number of individuals. For those who don’t have families of [...]
“Am I 90 Yet? Mom asked. I heard those words many times the last year of mother’s life. My mother’s memory was fading. Nevertheless, she was still sharp in certain areas, for example; remembering her standing Saturday morning hair appointment, biweekly manicure or that I was too slow in picking up her dry cleaning. On [...]
In addition to common, year-round domestic hazards, each season presents its own set of potential issues for the health of seniors. As colder temperatures set in, many new threats to seniors’ health and safety emerge. To help ensure seniors’ safety through the winter, it’s important to consider potential threats both inside and outside the home [...]
In many areas of the country, cold weather is an old-forgotten nemesis that reappears this time of year. When caring for those with disabilities and seniors, caregivers must take some simple precautions to ensure a loved one’s safety this winter season. Temperature control The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 600 Americans [...]
It’s the holidays, “the most wonderful time of the year.” While this season is a time for us to celebrate life and our many blessings, stress can exist. I am a firm believer in living each day to the fullest and making each moment count, but how can we make the most of each day, [...]
That’s my dad with his beautiful snow-white curls framed by the lake. He still knows me, but the last stroke left him in a wheelchair, in an adult family home, and with dementia. His love of 65 years has been gone for almost two years now. Your mother was just here and I wish she [...]
Too often caregivers feel that their loved one’s incontinence is a natural result of aging, dementia, medication or disability. They may not seek help because they assume that nothing can be done. But that might not be entirely true. Let’s learn about this too-little-talked-about condition. First of all, we need a basic anatomy lesson. The [...]
