Happy Veteran’s Day

Tomorrow we celebrate Veteran’s Day.

Private Home Health Care extends our thanks to all of our veterans in these United States for their service.

You and I have been celebrating and honoring our veterans since 1954 when Dwight Eisenhower signed Armistice Day into law.

World War II was a war made up of those called the Greatest Generation.  Amazingly, there are still approximately 66,000 still living from that war.

We honor the sacrifices of all of the service men and women of old and currently serving.

There are a variety of services to show our respect offered on Veteran’s Day so we hope you will have an opportunity to thank and honor a veteran tomorrow.

Photo by Kevin McCartney

NYC Kidney Walk

Kidney disease affects more than 37 million people in the United States or 1 in 7 adults.

Tomorrow in NYC a week of walking begins to raise awareness about kidney disease and to raise funds.

This one in NYC is sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation.  The Foundation uses 80 cents of every dollar raised to help with research, patient treatment and public education.

Your two kidneys play an important role in keeping your body functioning. Kidneys help to balance water and minerals in your blood.  They help to remove waste from your blood and manage your blood pressure.

They make blood cells and vitamin D for your bone health and bodily functions. Your kidneys also filter all of your blood every 30 minutes. 

Acute and chronic kidney disease can be treated if caught early so education is very important.

Your doctor can diagnose kidney disease a few ways:

• Questions about how and changes in urination, followed by a urine check.
• Blood tests
• Ultrasounds and imaging tests to get visuals
• A kidney biopsy to have tissue checked at a lab

You can live without one of your kidneys but it is important to pay attention and notify your medical professional of any issues.

Private Home Health Care is watchful of our patients so that we can address any kidney issues early.  National Kidney Foundations across the country have very good ratings on Charity Navigator.

Daylight Savings Time (DST)

You just had to once again change our clocks back and we are wondering how you feel about that.

The United States started this after World War 1 in an effort to conserve energy to reduce the need for artificial lighting in the evening.

Conserving energy was and continues to be a good cause but does changing the clocks now still help us towards that goal?

Today we have air conditioners, electronics and other things that use energy that were not available in the early 1900’s.

When you change the clocks in the Fall it’s nice to gain an extra hour of sleep.  

If you are like us however you’ve had a few sleepy days and may have gone to bed a bit earlier than usual.

Now, it gets dark earlier so those who drive end up driving in the dark commuting or running errands.  This can be tricky for some.

Arizona and Hawaii are the only two states that do not use daylight savings time.  If we lived in either place would we even notice?

The good news is that you and I are resilient and our bodies adapt to many changes.  

The changing seasons with winter and cold and snow is an adjustment for many.  Daylight Savings Time seems like a smaller change to our bodies than this.

Private Home Health Care hopes that everyone has adapted to our new schedule with more light in the morning and dark earlier in the day. 

National Sandwich Day

Today is National Sandwich Day.  Did you pack a sandwich for lunch?

Sandwiches and lunch just go together.  You may say yes, but there are other things to have for lunch and that would be very true.

It’s just that the sandwich has been around for a long time.  It has many childhood memories so the tradition has continued over the years.

Do you have any ideas about how the sandwich came to be?

Some say it started with the 4th Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu who in 1762 needed something he could eat with one hand so he could keep gambling. 

Gambling and sandwiches don’t seem to go together now but I guess it did for the Earl of Sandwich.  You can find other theories out there as well.

One tried and true sandwich is peanut butter and jelly!  You must have had one or two of those in your life.

Who created that concoction?  White bread, wheat bread, multigrain bread, they all work.  Peanut butter on one side and jelly on the other.  It’s an easy sandwich and delicious too.

Yes, there are some people that don’t like peanut butter and jelly together but we believe more people like it than don’t.

After all, it’s been a lunch staple since pre-sliced bread became available in 1920!  

When peanut butter was created is another story for another day but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches rule.

Whatever your choice of sandwich is, and whatever you add for fixings, we hope you enjoy one today.

Private Home Health Care is having the urge for a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich for some reason.  Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!

Private Home Health Care would like to wish everyone a very happy Halloween!   

Every year the end of October marks this favorite holiday of children and adults alike.

This holiday filled with pagan, Christian and secular traditions is a favorite of children for whatever tradition allows them to collect candy for free.

Grown ups flock to Salem Massachusetts the entire month of October with huge crowds on Halloween day.

Streets are closed and ghosts, goblins, and many more walk around the city and enjoy the spooky atmosphere.  

Witches are everywhere, real and in costume.  Be sure to order up a spell if you run into one!

Additionally, trick or treating can be a learning moment.

You have to sort and count your haul so there’s some math.  Negotiating skills come in as you bargain and trade candy with siblings.

Learning and yummy food!  How can you lose!

Happy Halloween to everyone!  Whether it’s trick or treating or a halloween party be safe and enjoy the night!

Photo by Charles Parker

Oatmeal

Have you had a bowl of oatmeal lately?  Check out how good oatmeal is for you and add it to your grocery list.

Rolled or Steel Cut oats, quick 3-minute versions or a bit longer for regular.  It’s easy to find at the grocery store and they are versatile.  

Oatmeal is great as breakfast.  Add some milk and fruit and you add additional goodness.  Prepare hot in the morning or a day ahead as overnight oats.

You can use them in a protein bar or bake them in muffins.  They are even good in a dessert.

Talk about versatility.  Tiny grains with so many uses and such goodness.

When you eat oatmeal you get fiber.  Fiber helps your digestion and can make you feel fuller for longer.  Fiber also helps manage your blood sugar levels.

Oatmeal can make your heart happy too.  It can lower your bad cholesterol and lower your blood pressure.

There’s more!  

Because oatmeal is a probiotic it feeds your good bacteria and helps to ward off the bad bacteria in your stomach.

Oatmeal has great fiber but it also has protein, magnesium and potassium in good amounts.  They are great for diabetics because they don’t have any sugar.

Private Home Health Care loves a warm bowl of steel cut oats with strawberries in the morning.  We also don’t mind them in a healthy muffin either.  Enjoy a bowl today!

What Kind of Chocolate Do You Like?

Chocolate is a delicious indulgence that everyone should enjoy from time to time.  When you indulge, which one do you prefer?

To choose, it might be helpful to have some details about the different kinds of chocolate to help you decide.

Dark chocolate

If you like this chocolate you must enjoy a bit of a bitter taste.  Dark chocolate does not have much sugar, a plus for overall health.

Dark chocolate has between 50% and 90% of cocoa solids. It also includes cocoa butter and a sweetener.  

The amount of sweetener determines if it is dark semi-sweet with the sugar at no more than 50%.  For a dark bitter-sweet, the sugar is between 10% and 50%.  This makes it more acidic.

Milk Chocolate

Add less cocoa solid, 50%, more sugar and milk and voila you have milk chocolate.  You most likely love the sweetness and add in creaminess and this is a popular chocolate to use it a lot in cooking.

White Chocolate

To be a white chocolate, it must have 20% cocoa butter, milk and a sweetener.  You may have noticed that it’s missing cocoa solid like the other two chocolates.  Is this really a chocolate then?  It’s very sweet so do you really care??

Private Home Health Care takes time to indulge in chocolate and when we do our mood decides on which one we choose!

Photo by alleksana

National Senior UTI Awareness Day

Many women experience a UTI in their lifetime.  Some men do as well but it’s a larger percentage of women overall.

Once you hit the age of 65% it is reported that 10% of women get a UTI.  After the age of 85 it increases to 30%.

Estrogen found in women is a great fighter of bacteria.  Like other things your estrogen decreases with age allowing more infections to take hold.

Common symptoms are going to the bathroom more frequently, pain when you go, pain or tenderness in your pelvis, lower back or abdomen.  

You might even get a fever, have some nausea and feel super tired.  Some people get confused as well.

When you are older these symptoms don’t always appear clearly.  Cognitively you may have changed so you don’t notice them.  

You may also have incontinence or be confused in many ways normally.  This makes diagnosis tricky.

If you suspect a possible UTI  the next step would be a urinary sample to confirm or rule it out.

The good news is that if you do get a UTI there are good medications that your doctor can prescribe.  

You might also be able to get well from cranberry juice and hydration. 

Private Home Health Care feels that it’s important to raise awareness about UTIs because they are so common.  

If left untreated it can become very serious so it’s important to check with a health care professional with any suspicions.

Children’s Health Month

One of the focuses in the month of October is Children’s Health.  Growing Happy, Growing Healthy is the theme.

Your children face some unique health issues around environmental factors and the goal of this month is to raise awareness to help give children a healthy start in life.

There is a government task force set up to lead the initiative. You can go online and read about the details and get involved if you’d like.

A couple areas of focus that you and I can help with are listed below:

Pesticides

• Children often play on the floor and touch their faces and mouths.
• The use of harsh pesticides at child care centers, schools or at home can affect children whose systems are more vulnerable as they are developing. 
• You have to be careful about what you choose to use and how you store pesticides.
• Have the poison control center hotline available:  1-800-222-1222.

Plastics

• There are some plastics with chemicals that can be unhealthy and even toxic to children.
• The chemical names are phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene.
• Watch for these products in baby bottles, sippy cups, water bottles and toys.

Private Home Health Care believes it’s important for children to get the right start in life.  Check out this website for additional information:  https://www.epa.gov/children/childrens-health-month

Happy wishes for Diwali

Private Home Health Care wishes all of our Hindu, Jain and Sikhs friends a happy and prosperous Diwali filled with love, laughter and light.

Today begins the five days of the festival of lights.  This holiday honors the triumph of good over evil and represents new beginnings and the start of a new year.

You will see celebrations with lights including sparklers and even fireworks.  It is a happy time for families to get together.

To prepare for the holiday there are a few things that you might do to prepare.

Decorate Your Home

• Clean, organize clutter and get your laundry done. It’s a fresh start.
• Place cut out footprints around your house.  This is for Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.
• Shop for some new clothes and household items.  Nothing major but another chance to celebrate the start of a new year.
• Decorate your home and doorways with traditional artwork called Rangoli.
• Light candles and small oil lamps called diyas around your door and in your house.

Prepare Food and Treats

• Prepare snacks and appetizers
• Make traditional Indian dishes to share
• Have bread like Naan available

Celebrate with Family and Friends

• Invite family and friends to your house
• Light sparklers together
• Exchange gifts

We hope that there are many happy celebrations over the next five days.  It’s always interesting to learn about different traditions and discover things we have in common. 

Photo by Yan Krukov