The heat of the summer is here and it is important to remember some vital safety tips for senior loved ones. Our elderly loved ones are more prone to heat related illnesses and are more susceptible to dehydration risks.
It comes as no surprise that the summer season brings hot temperatures. The mercury is rising more and more as each summer day passes. The heat index can be even higher and be dangerous with extended periods of time spent outdoors.
Multi-generational vacations seem to be a recurring theme and growing trend among the newest generation of seniors. More and more families are planning their trips with their aging loved ones.
If you have a loved one if your life who is coping with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or other dementia related disease, you may worry that a major move to a nursing home or hospital is your only option. It is important to realize that your loved one can remain active in their community and stay in their own home to receive the type of care they need to perform daily activities.
As we age, it is highly desired to live comfortably in a familiar home environment for as long as possible. Staying in the community and remaining active are essential for a positive outlook on life and a better overall sense of wellbeing. As our senior loved ones get older, it is can be more complicated to remain at home, but it doesn’t have to be impossible.
The heat is officially on; even before the actual official start of summer! Many elderly loved ones have some trouble with regulating their core body temperature, usually due to medication, and overheating could become an issue on the especially hot summer days.
Memorial Day originated after World War I and became an official holiday in 1971. Congress expanded this holiday to honor all Americans who have died while fighting for our country. This holiday is usually celebrated with rallies, parades, and memorial services.
Many seniors in the newest generation lead relatively active lives. They attend social functions and events in their community and would prefer to remain as involved in their activities as long as possible. Seniors do best with care provided in their homes.
In today’s society, it is common for extended families to be separated from loved ones by long distances. At some point in your loved one’s life they will become unable to properly care for themselves. In that instance, you are faced with the challenge of long-distance caregiving.
If you are involved in the care of a loved one coping with Alzheimer’s or dementia, you may wonder how you can help them to remember their past. Caring for a loved one coping with Alzheimer’s disease can get complicated at times.
“You don’t stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.” –Michael Pritchard. It has been shown that it is possible to help your senior loved one stay young at heart with daily laughter. Laughing goes a long way in making a senior loved one feel vibrant and connected to life. Laughter helps them to feel better about themselves, those around them, and to share their blessings with others.
Some elderly begin to see their health and physical abilities fade with age. With a decrease inability to accomplish activities of daily living may affect your loved one’s confidence. They may feel their next step will be a dramatic move to a nursing home or assisted living facility. With personal care services your loved one need not worry about such a huge transition.
A healthy meal is a great way to jump start or round off the day. Fueling our bodies with nutrients and hydrating often is the key to healthy living. Add a delicious meal to a table surrounded by friends and family and it’s a social event. If we make time to spend with those we love the most, we are bound to feel it in our hearts and the mood-boost will last throughout the week.
When a loved one is diagnosed with dementia or other related disease, you may feel helpless as to how to help. Most seniors would choose to live out the reminder of their years independently in the comforts of their own home for as long as physically and financially possible. If you are chosen as the person your loved one counts on to make their senior care decisions, it is important to weigh the fact they would want to stay in their familiar environment.
As we age, it becomes more important to watch what we eat. Empty calories become more useless and cleaner eating is so much better for us. We all have fond memories of home-cooked meals that our grandparents and parents made for us while we were growing up. The meals were usually comfort foods like buttery mashed potatoes with gravy, meatloaf, and macaroni loaded with cheese. While these foods are okay to have every once in a while, they aren’t best for maintaining a healthy lifestyle if eaten on a regular basis.
Many families struggle with a decision to move their elderly loved one to a nursing home or assisted living facility. In home assisted living means that your loved one will not have to leave everything they cherish and love behind. There is no need for a life altering move to an assisted living home to receive the same high quality level of care. In home assisted living care is a positive option for those who wish to remain as active as they can in their community.
Chances are you received some sweets from a sweetheart or another loved one for Valentine’s Day. While savoring a sugary treat from time to time isn’t terrible, it’s important to keep your heart’s health in mind while snacking. Certain foods such as walnuts, chickpeas, and fruits have been medically proven to decrease your chance of heart disease. But don’t worry! Your taste buds can still enjoy a delicious and nutritious snack! There are plenty of ways to incorporate healthy foods into your favorite treats.
Valentine’s Day is coming up and is the perfect time to express your love for someone you cherish; the entire month is ideal for focusing on the physical health of our hearts. February is known as American Heart Month and is a great time to take note of healthy and not-so-healthy habits that we may need to change to reduce the risk of heart disease. Heart disease is the main cause of death for men and women in the United States. A common sign of heart failure includes chest pain with tightening which can feel very intense. Adults over the age of 65 should be made aware of other signs of heart failure as well.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s are serious illnesses that require a lot of help from a person’s friends and family to manage. The baby boomer generation of our population is now the fastest growing group in the United States. As people live longer, dementia is increasingly likely to affect us directly or indirectly at some point in our lives. It is important to not only respect our loved one’s wishes to remain independent in their homes for as long as possible, but to also provide the type of care they need to live successfully.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s are serious illnesses that require much help from a person’s friends and family to manage. The baby boomer generation of our population is now the fastest growing group in the United States. As people live longer, dementia is increasingly likely to affect us directly or indirectly at some point in our lives. It is important to not only respect our loved one’s wishes to remain independent in their homes for as long as possible, but to also provide the type of care they need to successfully thrive.
The cold winds are blowing; snow is likely falling where you are. Temperatures are dipping below records in some places and the furnace is constantly running to heat our homes. There’s no turning back; it’s definitely the middle of an ice-cold winter! Senior slips in the snow can be particularly dangerous this time of year. Your elderly loved one may not realize just how slick the sidewalks may be and a fall could cause a lot of damage to their body. Many elders will suffer a bone fracture of some kind or another, especially in their hips, ankles, shoulders and wrist. Unfortunately, a fracture like this can be critically life changing.
The winter is in full swing now, with some of the United States being hammered with snow already, and more still on the way. Snow can be a fun and exciting thing, especially for our younger family members. The chance to ride a sled down a huge mountain or create a snowman is an exciting event that can only be done when snow is on the ground. However, as we grow older we see the darker side of winter; shorter days, having to shovel snow, scraping ice off our windshields and dangerous driving are all things that we can all agree aren’t as fun as making snow angels.
The beginning of a New Year is a chance to start many things fresh for ourselves. New Year’s Resolutions allow us to enact some new goals with a fresh start. These resolutions can range from wanting to change our body, to wanting to get a big promotion, to something like wanting to live a happier life. These resolutions are important to allow us constantly growing and evolving. This is especially true as we begin a new decade and we can begin fresh on many new things, like major life goals. There’s never been a better time for getting on track to achieving some major career progress or beginning your steps towards landing a nice new home for you and your family. However all of this requires us to reflect on what we achieved not only in the last year, but also the last decade and the challenges we faced as we achieved those, or perhaps even the resolutions we were not as successful.
The winter holidays are all about creating wonderful memories together with your family. Due to busy work schedules and distance it is the only time of the year where entire families are together and create happy memories together. It is especially important to create happy memories with the eldest members of our family. Unfortunately, if a loved one has been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s you may be struggling to cope with how to care for them. Alzheimer’s is a very scary disease for many to confront as the person you loved appears to forget who you even are. It is an extremely stressful situation for family of Alzheimer’s patients to handle.