Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Starting tomorrow and ending February 19 is a week dedicated to raising awareness about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the most common form of the disease.

Muscular Dystrophy is a group of genetic diseases that cause progressive weakness in your muscles.  The proteins used to promote good muscle health are not working for you. You also lose muscle mass. 

If you are old enough, you may remember the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy telethon that took place Labor Day weekend for 21 years.  

The telethon ran from 1966 to 2010 and raised $2.45 billion dollars for research on this disease.  After 2010 the telethons changed and finally stopped in 2015.

This disease occurs in more boys than girls.  Symptoms can appear as early as age three to six but also in adulthood.

You cannot be cured of this disease but with diagnosis you can get therapy to manage your symptoms.  Additionally, there are medications available to help slow the progression of the disease.

It’s important to be aware of some of the signs and symptoms:

• Frequent falls
• Difficulty rising from a lying or sitting position
• Trouble running and jumping
• Waddling gait
• Walking on the toes
• Large calf muscles
• Muscle pain and stiffness
• Learning disabilities
• Delayed growth

Private Home Health Care thinks it’s important to raise awareness about this difficult disease.

Life After the Super Bowl

Were you one of the millions of people who watched the Super Bowl yesterday?

When you get ready to watch the Super Bowl you think about the game, the TV commercials and the food.  The food can be a big focus.  Was it for you?

Many times when you get together with friends there are many different kinds of food to choose from and all of them might not actually be healthy choices.  

Often there are chips and dip, hot dogs, salty snack foods like doritos or maybe fritos.  Yummy cookies or cupcakes.   Maybe you saw some hummus and veggies on a corner table.

If you live in an assisted living facility how was your food?  Did you have a nice selection and were there any healthy options?

Private Home Health Care usually talks about healthy foods.  We know however that on special occasions and in different situations it’s not always easy to make those choices.

What we want to say today is that don’t beat yourself up if you cheated during the big game.  We can’t always follow the straight and narrow path when it comes to food.  It’s one day or evening.  Don’t worry.

Today is a new day and you can jump right back on the healthy food bandwagon.  Everyone needs to have a day or take time to go off the path once in a while.  Begin again!

#healthyfoods 

National Woman’s Heart Day

Today’s National day focuses on a Woman’s Heart and its health. Red is the color of the day any way you can.  Wear a dress, shoes, pants, top or a hat whatever you have.

The goal is to raise awareness on women’s cardiovascular health and some differences between men and women’s hearts.

As a woman, your heart differs in a few ways.  Your heart’s size is a bit smaller in ratio as well as the density of the walls.  

Your heart also pumps a bit faster and your reaction to stress causes your blood to pump faster.   A man’s reaction causes the blood vessels to constrict and blood pressure to rise.

These differences can cause women to meet less frequently with their doctors about their hearts.  Additionally, you as a woman can experience different symptoms that could indicate a problem.  

After menopause your risk increases for heart disease.  (Men don’t have to deal with that.)

Your heart symptoms could go undetected as they are a bit different.  Your symptoms appear as brief pain in your upper back or abdomen, nausea, shortness of breath and sweating.

Women’s health issues can appear ten years later than men.  Is that because they put off having their heart’s checked out or do they miss signs?

You are likely to experience heart palpitations.  Stay on top of this.

Finally, men are more likely to experience sudden cardiac death but stay vigilant.

What’s key is to understand that it’s important for you as a woman to pay attention to your heart.  Meet with your medical professional and talk about signs of potential heart issues.

Private Home Health Care believes that knowledge is key to taking good care of yourself.  Today the focus is on women and their hearts and awareness.

Reiki

Have you ever heard of Reiki?  Have you experienced a Reiki session?

Reiki is an energy healing process that is offered by Reiki Masters.  A Reiki Master works with healthy energy, also called life force energy to help with aches and pains, physical and or mental.

This form of healing has been around for a long time coming from Japan.  There is not a lot of scientific research that validates this alternative method of healing but some people have found it to be helpful.

Your insurance plan may cover a Reiki session and it may also be covered under some Medicare plans.  An estimated cost for a session is approximately $70.

The setting is at a hospital, medical centers, wellness centers, yoga studios, and even at your home.  There are usually dim lights and soft music.  You stay fully clothed.

You will feel gently touching, no rubbing or kneading.  It is not like a physical therapy session. You can come away feeling very relaxed.  Ailing parts of your body could feel better and your mental health can improve. 

People who experienced Reiki found it to be helpful in these areas:

• Better sleep.
• Reduced anxiety.
• Boosted mood.
• Reduced pain.
• Increased energy.
• Improved blood circulation.

You may be skeptical and wonder if this is a good type of potential healing for you.  That’s ok of course.  If you do have any chronic pain and your medical professional suggests it you may want to try it.  The cost is not high and it could be beneficial. 

Private Home Health Care works with many different people with a variety of health concerns.   Reiki may not be for everyone but it could be a way to help lessen some things that you’ve been dealing with.

Winter and a Groundhog

Here in the Northeast we are right in the middle of the winter season.  It’s now February and the days are cold and sometimes filled with snow.  

The wind seems to be persistent and the sun wants to shine at times but often there are clouds in the sky. You begin to start to think about warmer days.

Just how much longer will the blustery cold weather last?

Puxatawny Phil of Gobbler’s Knob has come out and made his prediction.  He has seen his shadow so it looks to be six more weeks of winter. 

Skiers may be happy with the news but many of us were hoping for a shortened season. Sigh.

You’ll have to don winter coats, hats, scarves, mittens and boots for a bit longer.  Come later in February all these clothes can feel too unwieldy.  You might long for the ease of short sleeves and lightweight pants.

You need to find ways to pass the time and still keep your sanity.

• Try an outing to a museum, a play or a concert.

• Book reading can be a good pastime, especially if you are homebound.

• You could research some of your genealogy or play some computer games.  

• Get together with other people for games, watching a movie or just chatting with a cup of tea. 

• Exercising, whatever you can do is healthy and helps keep your mind in a good place.  

The winter months can feel long so having some fun and keeping connected with others is important for your mental health.  Try doing whatever works well for you, whatever your situation.

Private Home Health Care looks forward to keeping active these next few months and connecting with friends.  Warmer weather may feel just around the corner.

Scams and How to Avoid Them

Dishonest people have been in the world since the beginning of time.  Today, however, there are many devious scammers who prey on the elderly and some of their schemes can catch you off guard.

Data from 2023 shows that fraud accounted for about $10 billion dollars in losses.  If you are elderly, you account for about $3.4 billion of that with an average of $34,000 for each instance of fraud.

What types of scams are there these days and how can you avoid them in today’s blog.

Imposter Scam

This is when the fraudster poses as a trusted official like a government official, bank representative or a trusted business.  

You might be told that your electricity is behind and will be shut off so you need to send money immediately.  You might also hear from a loved one in your family who is in terrible trouble and needs money wired to an account right away.

Solution:  Never give personal information over the phone and never send money without verifying information.  Hang up and contact the bank or business or your loved one or a family member to follow up.  

Tech Support Scams

You may use a computer and have an email account.

Beware of phony tech support people asking for remote access to your computer or a fix for a problem you might be having.  Remote access lets them get your personal information.  Your issue might not be resolved but you’ll be asked to send money.

Beware also of being told you have overpaid on a tech-subscription and they look for your banking information to pay you back.

Solution:  Never allow remote access to your computer and never send money for any services that you haven’t lined up directly.

Online Shopping Scams

Amazon, eBay and other online shopping sources are subject to scammers.

You may get an offer that is too good to be true and money is needed asap to reserve it.

There could also be a request to send money to a specific app or platform that serves only the scammer.

Solution:  Do not click on links received via email or a text especially when it asks you to update passcode information or it is something that needs immediate attention.  Amazon does not work that way.

Private Home Health Care works with many people and we try to warn them of the tricks of scammers.  They can be very sophisticated.  Bottom line is do not be too trusting and verify, verify, verify before you give you any information or money.

Today is National Carnation Day

Carnations are a popular flower used in many bouquets for many occasions.  You are probably familiar with this flower and you know what it looks like

The question for today is, how much do you know about this flower being celebrated today? 

The carnation has been around for 2,000 years, as far back as Ancient Greece and Rome.

January 29, is the birthday of William McKinley, our 25th President.  He loved the carnations and had them on his lapel every day as well as a bouquet or two at the White House.

You might be interested to learn that carnations are native to the Mediterranean.  If you have ever traveled to that area of the world we wonder if you saw fields of carnations.

When you shop for carnations you can choose from twenty-four different varieties.

Overall the carnation represents love, destruction and admiration.

Additionally, certain colors have specific meanings, in case you wanted to know.

White – innocence and simplicity

Pink – gratitude

Red – love (no surprise there!)

Yellow – sadness and sympathy (formerly rejection in the time of suitors)

Sadly, President McKinley was assassinated at the age of 58 in 1901.  He was traveling out among a crowd and rumor has it that he gave his carnation to a small child perhaps losing his lucky charm.

Private Home Health Care learned quite a bit writing this blog.  We may buy some pink ones to show our gratitude for all the good things in our lives.

Photo by Kaboompics.com

National Blood Donor Month

January is set aside for donating your blood which is still an important need in the United States.

You are likely aware that the American Red Cross is one place where you can donate your blood.  Their national blood program has been around since 1940.  They are a trusted organization and supply about 40% of blood needed.

There are other places you can turn to as well if you’d like to donate.  There are regional organizations along with national and independent centers where you can go.

Donating your blood is important because there are always needs.  At times it can be more urgent if supplies get low but blood is crucial for many different reasons.

According to the American Red Cross*:

• Every two seconds someone needs blood or platelets
• Approximately 29,000 units of red blood cells
• The average red blood cell transfusion is three approximately units 
• Blood and platelets cannot be manufactured; they can only come from volunteer donors
• The most common blood type requested from hospitals is Type O

If you choose to donate blood you can estimate that it will take approximately one hour and fifteen minutes in total.  

The actual blood drawing is eight to ten minutes but you need time at the beginning and then time at the end to make sure you are ok to leave.

Private Home Health Care understands how important it is to donate blood.  There is always someone in need and it’s an easy and generous thing to do.

*Information taken from the American Red Cross website (https://www.redcrossblood.org/local-homepage/news/article/blood-donation-importance.html).

January is Thyroid Awareness Month

Your thyroid is a very important gland in your body and this month is a time to highlight it to raise awareness.  The gland has a big job so if it goes off track it needs to be treated. 

This mighty butterfly or H-shaped gland in your neck is responsible for regulating your metabolism or how your body uses energy.

The hormones created by your thyroid go directly into your blood system.  They affect almost every organ system in your body:

• Cardiovascular
• Nervous
• Digestive
• Reproductive

The size of your gland is about the size of a walnut so not too big.  You take a simple blood test to check if your thyroid is working well or if something is amiss.  Problems are fairly common but the good news is that they are very treatable.

Some possible problems and number of people here in the United States with thyroid issues are:

• Underactive thyroid – affects about 10 million people 
• Overactive thyroid – about 1 of every 100 people over the age of 12 have this
• Enlarged – includes about 5% of people
• Cancer – about 44,000 people (with a survival rate of 98%)

Treatments vary from medications to surgery to radiation and chemotherapy.  

You can live without your thyroid but you will need to take medication for the rest of your life to keep up with its important bodily functions.

Private Home Health Care knows thyroid health is important.  It’s not difficult these days with all the foods we eat but getting enough iodine in your diet helps support this.  Table salt, fish, seaweed and dairy products all have iodine.

Grandparents

Do you have any grandchildren?  

Being a grandparent can be super rewarding and it can help your health too in addition to being fun.

You raised a child or children and they’ve grown and now have children.  Hopefully you get a chance to visit with your grandchildren whether near or far.

Time spent is so much different than when you were raising a child.  Unless you are a guardian of your grandchild, your time can be spent on fun things without expectations.  Some might say that you can actually spoil your grandchildren.

You can play sports, do puzzles, bake cookies, go bowling or whatever you think your grandchild would enjoy.  Taking in a movie with lunch after can be fun too.

You’ll get in return unconditional love.  That comes with no price tag attached.  Your mental health can be helped and you might find help to fight off any depression.  

Depending on the age of your grandchild you could have interesting conversations.  You never know what kids will say.  An adventure could be in your future.

For your grandchild, you can be that security blanket for them and a grown up who listens to them without any judgement.  Add some kisses and hugs and the warmth will spread over them.

Many grandparents help out with childcare on a regular basis.  Studies have shown that this can help boost your brain function.  You do also have to be careful that you don’t overload yourself.  As we age, watching children can become more difficult.  

If the childcare gets overwhelming at all you may need to reassess.  You want to be sure to take care of yourself in situations.  Pay attention to what you are feeling.

Private Home Health Care loves to see grandparents and grandchildren and the love and joy between them.  It can be very special.  We hope you get a chance to experience it.