Seniors’ 5 Most Concerning Topics

Senior’s 5 Most Concerning Issues

 1.    Seniors are not getting the proper nutrition or hydration.

These are necessities for any person but, for seniors it is extra important.  Some seniors even forget to eat! If no one is around to cook for them or if there is nothing there to quickly eat, they will neglect to eat. Some of the foods that are easy for seniors to prepare do not have much to offer for nutritional value.  Everyone including seniors, should strive to get more fruits and vegetables in their systems; our bodies need them to keep us healthy!

Seniors also tend to have problems with dehydration. We should all attempt to drink enough fluids, especially water.   Adequate liquid amounts can help prevent dizziness and fatigue.  Malnutrition and dehydration can be prevented with the right information and care.

2.    They are at risk of falling.

Seniors with serious balance problems or those who have had a stroke or event where their balance is off could have a hard time moving smoothly through their homes.  Falling is very scary and may happen frequently and unexpectedly.  Even dizziness can cause someone to fall.   Falling prevention involves, using a cane, a walker and making sure walking paths are clear. Keep these tips in mind, because spending time in the hospital to recover from a fall wouldn’t be much fun!

3.    Taking Medication on Time with the Right Dose

Most seniors better manage and recall their medications when following a schedule. Remembering to take this pill at breakfast or this pill at 2:30 can be difficult for many seniors. Not taking the right dosage can cause problems like dizziness, heart palpitations, sleeplessness or worse.  Medication management is very scary and dangerous for those with memory issues.  Some individuals might forget what pills to take, how many, or even where they put their pills.  It’s good practice to utilize pill boxes and reminders from family members, or by writing notes, to make certain all medications taken correctly

4.  Once Friends pass away Seniors may feel Depression

It is sad for seniors when their friends or relatives pass away. Even though some of them may have the company of their children, it is still sad to be the only one left and these feelings may lead to depression.  Studies have shown that people with friends at an old age do much better than those who have lost many of their friends. Human interaction will always be better than the sounds for a TV or radio.  Human interaction keeps individuals actively engaged, verses passively listening.  Depression should be monitored in seniors.  To ward off depression try to keep seniors engaged in interesting activities and engaged in conversations with families and friends.

5.  They Stop Wanting to Exercise

Many seniors stop exercising because they feel like they cannot make any positive changes for their well-being. This is unfortunate because exercise helps seniors increase circulation, obtain restful sleep and a better appetite.  Exercise becomes a lower priority because doing it is more challenging as we age, and maintaining an active life style becomes more difficult with muscle aches and stiffness. Help seniors become more active and incorporate an exercise program by getting an aide to support and encourage them.

Daily Foods That Store Fat

When you eat high carb meals with no balance to low carbs, you end up with increased blood sugar. That puts your body into fat storing mode. The more fat that is stored in your body, the less your body can burn of that fat. With a balance of high carbs, low carbs and protein;  your body is able to burn fat easier using a fat burning hormone naturally produced. With an imbalance of foods sources, this hormone is made less of. Drinking any concentrated fruit juice results in a spike of blood sugar, putting your body in fat storing mode. When the fruit is concentrated, all the fibers are drawn out of it; leaving you with basically sugar water. Margarine has many health risks along with being loaded with trans fats. It is bad for your heart because it adds bad cholesterol and strains the good cholesterol from your body. Shockingly enough, wheat bread is up there with fat storing foods too. Along with any genetically motified foods. In most countries, genetically motified foods are band. Soy is a fat storing food too. 91% of soy made in the US is genetically motified.When you eat these kinds of foods that store fat, exercise will not help. Along with the foods mentioned, it is in the body’s best interest to avoid sugar aspartame, canola and dairy. Foods such as snap peas and green beans decrease grehlin, which is the hormone that makes you hungry even when you’re not. Adjusting your diet to these regulations allows your body to take the shape it’s intended to.

Lunch & Learn: Wiser Health Care Decisions and Choices

Learn how to make Wiser Health Care Decisions and Choices while having a healthy lunch as Mary Demakes, RN, presents choices for your health care.

Download (PPTX, 467KB)

Event Campanion – Grandma and Grandpa Can Attend that Imporant Event!

Join us for a beautiful Bridal Show on Sunday, March 2, at the Renaissance Golf Club, Haverhill from 12 to 3 pm. We are promoting our event companion services. These services allow grandma and grandpa an opportunity to make it to your special event. The event draws wedding dress designers, wedding event planners, and other wonderful service providers. We’ll be raffling a beautiful give basket and will provide information on getting your wedding photos into a bridal magazine. See you there!

Event Companion

Send a message from the heart, with a gift certificate for our Event Companion services!  This special service allows family’s members and friends to get their elderly family member or friend out for special events that they would otherwise not be able to attend.  It’s a service that takes the struggle and worry out of a senior attending a special event.

We, at Private Home Health Care, want you and your loved one to enjoy important moments in life.  Our service insures that that special senior never misses an important event.  Aging shouldn’t mean seniors can’t take part in life, and our service insures that they won’t miss another special time.  Please contact us when your next event comes around. We would love for your loved one to be a part of it, with no worry at all.

Wiser Healthcare Decisions and Choices through Knowledge

Join us this Monday, February 24th 12-1 pm for an interesting webinar that will change the way you plan healthcare choices and decisions.

The webinar will address the following:
1) Preparing a Written Agenda
• Knowing what to include and how to present it will save time, avoid confusion, and ensure all your concerns are addressed with the doctor.
2) Preparing a Medical History
• Knowing what to include and how to present it will create less stress and confusion at the appointment. It will also ensure the best decisions are made around personal care options.
3) Preparing Medication List
• Knowing what to include will encourage a mutual exchange of information with your physician. It will also uncover any conflicts or concerns with medications.
4) Preparing a Health Care Proxy
• Understanding the HCP will avoid later stress and /or confusion when making life-death decisions for incapacitated individuals.
5) Life-Sustaining Treatment MOLST guidelines recently passed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
• Gain insight on the required documents that define the levels and types of treatment for patients entering nursing homes. This will ensure everyone is in agreement when difficult decisions are made.
6) Planning for Long-term Care
• Gain insight on the immense value of planning for long-term care.
7) Private care verses Nursing Home care which is better and why?
• Learn the pros and cons of each type of care and why preplanning is vital.

Please read more about the webinar by viewing and sharing the links below.

Twitter: http://web.hr.com/3ct9o
Facebook: http://web.hr.com/m80u
LinkedIn: http://web.hr.com/8teh
Email: http://web.hr.com/5i8go

Heart Month

It’s heart month! Time to looks at the facts to help you improve the quality of your heart. Exercise is essential to a healthy heart. Regular exercise improves your circulation and helps your body use oxygen better. It also improves muscle tone, strength, balance and flexability. Exercise can be as simple as walking for 30 minutes every day. Save your heart, stay active.

Go Red! Heart Healthy Month to Quit Smoking

Go red!  February is red heart month.   Not only is it Valentine’s Day, but it’s a day to begin a healthy lifestyle.  One way to do this is to play close attention to things that impact your heart and your health.  Having healthy habits, like regular exercise will go a long way, verses taking part in unhealthy habits like smoking.   Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and it causes many diseases and reduces one’s health overall.   Cigarettes causes more than 480,000 deaths each year, which is more than deaths caused by alcohol use and motor vehicle injuries, among others.   Smoking is estimated to increase the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke by 2 to 4 times.  Smoking also can cause cancer nearly any place in the body from your bladder to your stomach to your larynx and nearly in every other organ.   Smoking also ages every organ including your skin.  This is the month to focus on a healthy heart by adding healthy habits and stopping bad ones. Here’s to heart healthy focused month and year!

Save Your Life, Don’t Smoke

It is a known fact that smoking is not good for you. It will reduce the proper function of a person’s stamina, endurance, and overall lung function. Most people would say the most common disease by smoking is lung cancer. This is false, it’s heart disease. Which is worse than all forms of cancer combined. In 1965, a federal law was passed that cigarette packs must warn the people “Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health”. This being said, understand that smoking is the number one preventable caused death. The longer a person smokes, the greater the chance that person loses their life. The risk of heart attack drops 50% after 5 years of a smoker refraining from smoking. Within 15 years of not smoking, the person has nearly the same risk of heart disease as a non-smoker. The sooner you quit, the sooner you save your life.