For seniors aging in place at their homes, one of the most important tasks is maintaining household cleanliness, which can help protect seniors stay healthy in their homes and prevent them from falling ill. But in most every home, there are a number of objects that can pose an unknown danger and potentially have serious health effects.
Being a caregiver is a delicate balancing act at times, whether you’re caring for an elderly parent, another loved relative, or a spouse. On the one hand, you want the best for them and you want to help them to thrive and overcome challenges in the same way they have all their lives. But on the other hand, your loved one deserves a well-earned, restful twilight years, after a busy, active adult life, and you certainly don’t want to push them beyond their limits and capabilities. And it is just as likely that your loved one has thoughts and opinions about their care as well, and will wish to remain as independent as possible, as well as not wanting to feel like they’re being a burden to you. As a result, they may be hesitant to confront, or sometimes completely avoid, any of the hard stuff, or overextend themselves trying to take it on alone. Change is hard for everyone, especially the changes brought as a result of aging.
For many people, end of life care is only something they think about as it pertains to getting older. But the sad reality is that a medical emergency can happen at any time, leaving you unconscious or unable to make decisions for yourself. When this happens, your family members are left to decide what they think or guess at what you would have wanted. Instead of making them choose in this situation, you can create an advance directive, which will clearly state your wishes and leave very little gray area.
For seniors looking to stay active and reap some of the many health benefits of exercise, swimming can be a great and effective way to stay moving and boost their health and mood. Swimming is not only fun and relaxing, but it also poses less risk of injury than many other activities, and it can be done by people of all ages and many different levels of health or ability. It also does not require any special training or special equipment beyond a volume of water large enough for swimming, and it’s one of the best ways to beat the heat on a hot summer day.
Many of us who have never experienced depression, or have only struggled with it from time to time after a tragic event, assume that it is merely an unshakeable feeling of sadness. While this can be true for some people, the fact is that depression does not necessarily have to include feeling sad. It may manifest in other, unexpected ways, that you or loved ones may not always associate with depression. Many times, for seniors, these uncommon and unexpected signs and symptoms can be normal.
Most Americans have a total sodium intake that is far in excess of what the American Heart Association recommends, which is a maximum of 2300 mg, or 2.3 grams, per day. And avoiding the salt shaker isn’t the fix you might think it is. Many packaged foods, fast food, and even sit-down restaurant foods are heavily salted. In fact, without looking at the nutrition label of everything you eat, you may be surprised to learn the saltiest foods are actually the ones you might least expect.
As the old adage goes, a mind is a terrible thing to waste. As we age, mental acuity and brain structures tend to weaken. The good news is that there are things seniors can do to preserve, or even strengthen cognitive health. By taking steps to ensure healthy cognition, you can preserve a high quality of life and a high level of independence. Taking these measures can also help with maintaining optimal brain function, enhancing several areas of mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
The immune system is an important part of our body. It helps us stay healthy by protecting us from outside invaders that can make us sick. For those of us in our twilight years, a strong immune system is especially important, to fight off bacteria and viruses that can cause a serious infection and result in a hospital trip or worse.
A diagnosis of dementia of any type, including Alzheimer’s, will trigger a cascade of emotions in people. Many with Alzheimer's or dementia, especially when in the early stages while they’re still lucid and in control of themselves, will fear the stigma of the disease and feel confusion and uncertainty over how to maintain their lives.
Older adults who suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease will often feel a compulsion to walk and wander about. Naturally, there is no real place for them to go, and most of the time they are not even aware of what direction they’re heading in. They simply feel the need to move and walk around aimlessly. This behavior is often called “wandering” by medical professionals, researchers, and caregivers.
All people, not just older adults, value their sense of freedom and having the ability to come and go as we please. One of the biggest parts of that freedom, one that older adults are usually resistant to giving up, is driving. But as the body ages, so too do our abilities and senses, and it is important to be mindful of any changes to our driving habits. Older drivers, especially above the age of 70, have a higher per-mile risk of being involved in a car accident.
Earth Day 2022 may have already come and gone, but caring for the environment and being responsible stewards of our planet and resources is a year round job. The first Earth Day was celebrated over 50 years ago, in 1970. The holiday was, at the time, created to bring attention to the dangers of the far too common smog that was choking our major cities at the time. Since then, it has evolved into a much larger movement, one meant to bring forth the most pressing issues facing us and our environment, raising consciousness of them and what can be done.
As humans, we are social creatures, and one of the most important parts of our lives is the connections and bonds we share with others. Difficulty in communicating can be frustrating, and leave people feeling isolated and angry. For the more than two million Americans living with aphasia, a communication disorder caused by brain injury, infection, or neurological disorder, difficult communication is sadly the norm. Seniors who suffer from dementia, Parkinson’s, or other diseases, or who have experienced a stroke or a traumatic brain injury may develop aphasia. Aphasia does not affect intelligence or understanding, but rather the ability to produce and process language, both written and spoken.
Life is a rich journey, full of a variety of experiences, highs, lows, accomplishments, setbacks, gains and losses. One constant in life is that change is inevitable, and no stage of life is more marked by change than the time we begin aging into our twilight years.
Parkinson’s is a disease that affects nearly one million Americans today. The more you know about the disease, the more you can be on the lookout for early warning signs, as well as provide better care and understanding for any loved ones who may be afflicted with it.
Urinary tract infections, commonly shortened to UTIs, are the most common form of infection experienced by the elderly population. It is, as the name suggests, an infection of the urinary tract, most commonly the bladder.
Asthma is usually thought of as a childhood disease, because that’s when many of those who suffer from it begin to develop symptoms. While most of us may know it as the condition that excused kids from running the mile in gym class, it is in fact not uncommon to acquire it later in life. According to the CDC, nearly 7% of adults aged 65 or older have asthma.
It doesn’t take an advanced degree to realize and understand that not getting enough food can lead to many different health issues. Everything our bodies do and make and provide comes more or less directly from the food we eat. Living without taking in the proper nutrition is like trying to run a car empty of oil or gasoline. Eventually you’ll be headed for a breakdown.
The human brain is an incredibly complex organ, so much so that every year researchers and doctors learn more and more about it. How we process information, making sense of dreams, associating experiences to memories, brains are an endless source of mystery and possibility.
You may have heard the word probiotics before, and something about their role in promoting health. Many people around the world are turning to probiotics to prevent or treat a variety of digestive maladies. Many products on grocery shelves are now loudly advertising the presence of probiotics in their formula, and in the pharmacy there’s all sorts of pills and supplements touting their probiotics and benefits. It is estimated that product development and sales will reach $50 billion within the next five years.
One of the most common concerns over growing older cited when aging people are surveyed is loss of independence. Three out of four adults 50 years of age or older want to stay in their own homes and communities as they live through their twilight years. But with this, many older people worry about not being able to move around as well when they get older, meaning they’ll be unable to continue with their favorite activities, visit their favorite places, or even keep up with the necessary daily tasks of living.
Almost half of all people in the United States have some form of cardiovascular disease. And furthermore, every 40 seconds, someone suffers a heart attack or a stroke, and it is for that reason that heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in America.
While many of us probably already have a primary care physician, particularly as we age into our twilight years and it seems there’s no end to prescriptions and appointments. But there may come a time when you need to branch out, and see a doctor who specializes specifically in the care of older adults. Consider that when you were small, or when your children were, you took them to a pediatrician. Just as children need specialized care specific to the concerns of their bodies that differs from adults, at the other end of the spectrum, older adults are different from the younger cohort in physical, emotional, and social needs. A geriatrician can, in many cases, be the best choice for aging adults, as their health status changes and they may find their goals for care becoming more complex.
As the Winter months give way to Spring, a time of new growth and celebration, one way seniors can ring in the coming season’s warmth and bountiful plentitude is by taking up a new hobby, particularly gardening. The warmer temperatures and increased sunlight are perfect conditions for getting outside, getting in the dirt, and planting your favorite flowers or vegetables. Seeing a garden grow from seed to a panoply of brightly colored flowers, lush greens, and nutritious vegetables is one of the most satisfying projects one can undertake, and more than that, it has many benefits that are of particular interest to senior citizens. Read on to find out more about how this hobby can help you to live your best life as you enter your twilight years.
Experiencing highs and lows is a natural part of life. As we look back on our life, the highs will typically be some of our best memories, and the lows might be things we still struggle with to this day. It is always important to remember that the lows are not forever, and with some simple strategies, you can help yourself to bust out of any ruts you may be feeling stuck in due to whatever has got you feeling down.