Inflammation is a normal, healthy biological response, which helps rid your body of harmful bacterias, toxins, viruses and damaged cells. In the case of acute inflammation, like when you have a cut or you’re dealing with a cold, the process usually only lasts a few hours or a few days. Unfortunately, several factors can interfere with this natural healing system of your body, sending it into overdrive, stimulating it too much and hindering the healing process to cause damage to your body.
With the winter holidays rapidly approaching, stress goes hand in hand with every aspect of them. The anxiety of planning, getting the house and travel arrangements ready, seeing sometimes challenging family members, and the financial pressure of gift shopping can take a lot out of most anyone. But fortunately, it doesn’t have to be.
Throughout the United States, over forty million people suffer from at least one of the over one hundred various types of arthritis. No matter the specific type of arthritis one might be afflicted with, they all share the common symptom of painful joint inflammation and stiffness. And while there is no cure for arthritis in many of its forms, there are always options for treatments and strategies, to lessen the severity of the symptoms, allowing a person suffering from the condition to return to a normal life and routine.
While many people with varicose veins are more concerned with the physical appearance of them on their legs. Because the veins are perceived as unattractive, they may not want to wear clothing that shows their legs. However, varicose veins can be more than an aesthetic issue, and can sometimes be more indicative of a more serious medical problem.
For many caregivers and family members of older adults, one of the most consistent and biggest challenges is keeping their senior loved one maintaining a healthy weight. Among the many changes that aging brings about, our senses of smell and taste weaken, which can cause appetite and food preferences to change. Many seniors aren’t very excited for meal times and struggle to eat enough to satisfy their daily nutritional requirements. Proper nutrition is critical for good health, as our body is composed of the things we feed it. Additionally, meal times provide valuable social engagement for seniors, which is critical for continuing mental health and good mood. Encouraging your elderly loved one to eat at each meal time comes down to a few rules of thumb, and some basic, quality ingredients to help them put and keep weight on.
If you’re working as a caregiver, oftentimes you have access to a senior that their friends, family, and other loved ones do not. Because of this, you may be able to spot things and warning signs that may be hidden or otherwise fly under the radar from them, allowing you to oftentimes be their first line of defense. Especially considering that as a caregiver, you will see them in some of their most vulnerable moments.
Most of us have heard the word obesity before, but may not be familiar with the actual definition, or what it means for us to actually have it applied to us. How does the condition of obesity affect a person’s life, and what can an older adult do about it to manage their weight and promote healthy living?
Hoarding is an issue that has only recently come into public consciousness, mostly due to TV shows sensationalizing the lives and homes of those suffering from it. It is a real, and serious issue, and one that frequently affects aging people, making it a point of concern for those caring for their elderly relatives and loved ones. Not only does hoarding cause significant mental duress related to the possessions in the hoard, it poses a major health and safety risk as well.
Alzheimer’s and other diseases of dementia are, naturally, a great concern for many people as they age. The idea of living on, but being unable to mentally function, or in the most tragic cases, remember who you or your loved ones are or even be able to hold a conversation is an incredibly frightening prospect.
Thanksgiving is one of the cornerstone holidays of America, a feast celebrating family and togetherness, upon which one of the foundational tales of our country rests. While everyone certainly enjoys good food, a cozy atmosphere, and seeing friends, family, and other loved ones, the amount of stress, travel, effort, and planning that goes into the holiday can be a great source of negativity for some, ruining their enjoyment or perhaps making them come out the other end with a bad taste in their mouths, no matter how many helpings of pumpkin pie they have.
While some amount of forgetfulness, memory loss, and trouble thinking is normal with aging, what isn’t normal is suffering from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. Less than 15% of the population aged 71 or older suffers from a degenerative dementia disorder, meaning that it’s certainly not guaranteed that you’ll get it as you get older.
As the fall season progresses along towards winter, one thing everyone surely notices is the sun rising later each day, and going down earlier each evening. Come November, it’s only going to get worse when Daylight Savings ends, making the sun set even earlier each day. For many of us, less light and more cold can have a debilitating effect on our daily lives, and our emotional and mental health. Our internal clocks are calibrated by exposure to sunlight, so for many of us shorter days are a disruption that can be hard to shake ourselves free of.
While many seniors are planning to spend their twilight years of life living in their own home and maintaining their independence, the unfortunate reality is that the challenges that come from the changes that aging brings to the body can make even the most warm and inviting home into a place fraught with dangers and terrors. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. With a few simple changes to the home, and some new strategies for living inside of it, you can make sure your older adult loved ones are set up for success and can stay living and thriving in their own home well into their advanced years.
Losing bone mass is a natural consequence of aging, especially in women post menopause. While osteoporosis is a concern, and the most commonly diagnosed bone disease, the loss of bone density due to aging can be devastating even without a diagnosis. Low bone density can result in your bones and hips breaking easily, severely limiting your mobility and curtailing your independence. Fortunately, there are a few changes you can make to your lifestyle and habits to keep your bones at the optimal health and strength for years to come.
While experiencing aches and pains here and there is a normal part of aging, and usually resolves quickly, within a day or two, sometimes pain may linger. Pain that occurs regularly for three or more months is known as chronic pain, which can disrupt your life and keep you from the things you enjoy. Knowing different strategies and methods for managing pain can help you reduce discomfort and preserve your independence.
You’ve probably heard the word “cholesterol” a lot when any discussion of heart health comes up. To keep a healthy heart, you must have low cholesterol. But then some cholesterol is apparently good, and it’s good to have a high level of it, so what’s the difference? What even is cholesterol? Where does it come from? It’s important to understand cholesterol and the role it plays in your body’s health, and how you can manage it to maintain your healthiest body.
The new Senior Helpers Center of Excellence in Caregiving has opened in Scottsdale as a comprehensive training facility for certified caregivers and community members who assist the elderly.
Often lost among other causes, kidney diseases like diabetes and others are one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Because initial symptoms can be minor or get confused for other conditions, many kidney diseases go undiagnosed and untreated until kidney function is significantly decreased. This is why it’s important to keep the health of your kidneys in mind when aging, taking steps whenever possible to reduce the risk of kidney disease.
Halloween is traditionally thought of as a children’s holiday, for dressing up in a costume and going door to door trick or treating for candy, but just as many, if not more, adults have a deep appreciation and love for the holiday. For older adults, thinking they can’t participate in Halloween festivities anymore can cause them to miss out on a real opportunity for fun and family bonding.
As featured in McKnight's Senior Living, The Center of Excellence in Caregiving in Mesa, AZ opened to the public on October 1, and serves as a comprehensive training facility where Senior Helpers-certified caregivers, family caregivers, and members of the community who assist the elderly can expand their skills and knowledge of administering specialized care that is designed to meet the needs and requirements of senior citizens at various stages.
Seniors alive today have been witness to one of the most exciting eras of rapid technological advancement and invention in all of human history. And with seniors today living longer than previous generations, along with having far more leisure time to spend with friends, family, on hobbies or traveling to new destinations, it’s a good time to be older. But aging comes with many challenges and difficulties as well. While some amount of physical and mental decline is inevitable, leading to a loss of spring in our step, our twilight years can be just as, if not even more, enjoyable than our younger days.
Many seniors find that as they age, they don’t experience hunger the way they used to, leading to loss of weight and poor nutrition. Since our bodies run on what we feed them, it’s important to ensure we get all of the calories, vitamins, and nutrients we need to stay healthy.
For seniors aging in place, the bathroom can be one of the most dangerous rooms in the house. Wet conditions, slick tile, and a wide assortment of hard surfaces to land on such as the edge of the sink, toilet, or tub, can make the simple act of practicing good hygiene into a frightening and harrowing experience. It’s no wonder that, when presented with this difficult situation, many seniors opt to forgo bathing, neglecting their hygiene. Apart from the obvious issues that can arise from this, improper hygiene can, on its own, cause many different negative health effects.
Among the other effects of aging, the immune system weakens. Since the immune system is responsible for fighting off diseases and infections, it's not difficult to understand why this can be a problem for older adults. In addition to the risks that a sickness or an infection can pose, many seniors have chronic health conditions or are taking medications that can make the outcome of one even worse. Whether a senior is living at home, in a community, or with extended family, there are many steps older adults can take to shield themselves from the effects of an infection or a disease.
Before we can begin to manage stress, we must first understand what stress actually is. Simply defined, stress is the body’s response to a situation that requires action. Put even more simply, stress is how the body reacts to difficult, threatening, or challenging situations.