Free and Unbiased Information Blog Focused on Helping The Aging

Posts

Mental Health 101 for Primary Caregivers

At some point in time, we find ourselves taking care of our loved ones, whether that be a child, elderly parent, or an individual with an illness. Whether it happens suddenly and unexpectedly or gradually, we become primary caregivers. What is meant by primary caregivers? A primary caregiver is an individual responsible for providing financial and logistic care to their loved ones on a day-to-day basis most of the time. The primary caregiver could be a spouse, children, or any other family member. In India, we the family members provide care to our loved ones and it can be rewarding while caring for them but at the same time it also involves many stressors. And since caregiving is often a long-term challenge, the emotional impact can snowball over time and it impacts the caregiver’s wellbeing. Wondering how to know, if you have been impacted by caregiving? You would find it helpful if you can recognize the symptoms of distress in yourself, you can take immediate action to improve yo

A Senior’s Guide to Bladder Infections

The importance of bladder health cannot be underestimated in older adults, as many struggle with bladder conditions and diseases. Urinary tract infections can greatly impact a senior’s health. Here’s what to know about maintaining bladder health and signs of symptoms of a problem. What is a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)? As a healthy, newly retired math teacher, Jean Connolly, 78, began exhibiting signs of confusion that intensified almost by the hour. A battery of emergency room tests revealed nothing out of the ordinary but a urinary tract infection. Within 48 hours of receiving her first doses of narrow-spectrum antibiotic , Connolly was back to her old self—any signs of confusion gone completely. Symptoms of confusion or those of outright dementia that come on suddenly are not uncommon in seniors experiencing a UTI. In seniors already experiencing Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, behavior may become more erratic. Fortunately, with medication, as the UTI clears up

Assistive Devices Help Seniors Maintain Functional Health

Bette Davis famously said, “Getting old ain’t for sissies.” Surely, she had something there. With age comes the inconvenient decline of body and mind: things just don’t work the way they used to. The challenge of maintaining a healthy, happy quality of life intensifies with each passing year. In Davis’ lifetime, however, there was nowhere near the wide range of assistive devices and adaptive clothing available today, many with a nod to technology, to make growing older a little more graceful. Hearing Loss Later in Life a Common Occurrence Whether or not you got to Woodstock, and followed up with every Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Ozzy Osbourne concert for the next decade, it’s a fact of life that hearing diminishes as we age. Why? As we get older, degeneration within the inner ear and along the nerve pathways to the brain can impact hearing. Most of the time, these changes are related to the health of the tiny hair cells in the inner ear that help us hear . In this respect,

7 Ways to Take Care of Your Feet for Healthy Aging

Many older adults struggle with foot pain. One in three seniors over the age of 65 experiences pain, stiffness, or aching in their feet. What are some common foot problems as we age and what can be done to prevent or resolve the issue? It may be true that the eyes (okay, ayes) have it, but for most of us, it’s about the feet as well. The American Podiatric Medical Association reports by the time someone reaches age 50, on average he or she has walked about 75,000 miles. Abraham Lincoln famously said, “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” Words to live by aside, what if your feet become such an issue that the simple act of standing firm—or in some cases standing at all—is fraught with pain and discomfort? According to studies, one in three Americans over age 65 suffers from some form of foot pain, stiffness, or aching. Daily functions that may include getting up from a bed or chair, walking to the door, climbing stairs, preparing meals, or doing tasks such

Planning to Live as an Elder Orphan or Solo Ager

Marita Ellers* was lucky. Her parents lived three blocks away in Greater Detroit. She enjoyed a close relationship with them and could tend to their needs as they continued to age, which was well into their 90s. They both passed away when Marita entered her 60s as she helped with their hospice care needs. But having never married, and with only a chronically ill brother and sister-in-law living in Seattle, reality set in when Marita needed major surgery which would incapacitate her for weeks or possibly months. Unlike her parents who had her to depend on, Marita had no one. Of course there was her circle of friends, but as it turned out most were married. She’d never thought about cultivating relationships with single people; it had just never occurred to her. Her married friends had busy lives of their own with spouses, adult children, and grandchildren, and the last thing Marita wanted to do was impose on them during a long recuperation. Ellers is part of a growing trend of “elder

2022 Summer Reads and Listens for Seniors

When the temperature rises, thoughts of days at the lake, the beach, in the backyard, or wherever lying under a big umbrella is a sublime thing to do come readily to mind. After all, what beats slathering on coconut-scented SPF 40 sunscreen and diving headlong into an icy cold Arnold Palmer—with a great summer read or podcast, of course! You have every excuse to do so, as scientific research shows that reading offers many mental and emotional benefits as we age . Similarly, audiobooks have been seen to boost elderly mental health . With the summer solstice, curated sources such as The New York Times and Goodreads , book critics, and other literary pundits emerge with their list of recommended “beach reads.” But whatever you choose to call them, and in whatever season you choose to read, reading and listening open the universe to us—same as when we were children. As we age, no doubt taking in lots of stimulating information helps keep the cognitive juices flowing. Audiobooks? Amazon