Free and Unbiased Information Blog Focused on Helping The Aging

In 2019 it is estimated that 5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of dementia. There are more than 10 million new cases of dementia discovered each year. In the beginning stages of dementia, you may notice your loved one becoming more forgetful or they may do things like get lost in unfamiliar places. By the middle stage, the signs begin to be more pronounced such as forgetting people’s names, having more difficulty with communication, and exhibiting behavioral changes unlike them. By the late stage of dementia, memory disturbances are serious and can include seniors becoming aggressive, having difficulty walking, and the inability to recognize relatives and friends, even those very close and whom they see on a regular basis. It can be upsetting and even devastating to some family caregivers and loved ones who help their senior on a daily basis when they forget who they are. It is difficult to handle and sad to think that the person

March is National Nutrition Month, a campaign that encourages Americans to make informed food choices and develop sound habits for eating and physical activity. For seniors, this means learning about how personal food choices might be affecting their body. Older Americans are at a higher risk of their health being compromised by illnesses and diseases from having too much salt, fat or sugar in their diet or having too little calcium and other minerals and vitamins. What is Informed Nutrition? Seniors can start assessing their nutritional needs by taking the simple step of “knowing their numbers” for cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and body mass index. Taking stock of what foods can help or hurt these numbers lets seniors make healthier choices that are based on “informed nutrition.” Says Amada Senior Care client Rose, “I learned to keep track of my blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and BMI. I talked to my doctor about starting healthier eating habits that addre

With age, you experience new and different concerns. The process of accustoming oneself to post-retirement life, health issues, shrinking social circle, and lack of regular income can have an effect in multiple ways. Whether or not you notice any significant change, you should take the initiative of talking to your children and friends about anything that is bothering you. Talking out your concerns is useful in addressing issues at a preliminary stage. Along with such discussions at a personal level, it will help if you get a psychological assessment done. Such an evaluation becomes even more vital if you notice signs of aloofness, develop any chronic medical ailment or face a personal loss. What is a Psychological Assessment? Psychological assessment is an objective manner of assessing your mind’s functioning. It is an indepth evaluation in which multiple problems get discussed and analysed. In addition, resources and strengths also get analysed, and recommendations for appropriat

  The space around us can have a huge impact on mood, concentration, comfort, and safety. For the elderly, particularly those living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, a calming environment can make a huge difference. An environment that creates a state of calm and relaxation can reduce agitation and confusion. The following are three key things to consider when creating a calming environment for yourself or an elderly person you love. 1. Lighting – Since the elderly often struggle with sight, a well-lit room is essential to creating a calming environment. Provide as much natural light as possible, but when that is not possible use lighting fixtures with high wattage bulbs. Be careful where lamps and overhead lights are positioned to ensure even lighting across the space. Too intense light in one area or a dark, shadowy corner in another can be frightening. For people with poor sight, especially those with dementia, an ominous shadow can be mistaken for a reason to feel threatened, and

Living with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes usually requires care that is universal to all age groups. However, some people may find that there are specific changes that occur as they get older that affect their diabetes. This means that sometimes, recommendations around creating a suitable diabetic meal plan for older people can vary from more general advice. It is essential for older people with diabetes to eat well and regularly. Not doing so may lead to hypoglycaemia, or a hypo, where a person’s blood sugar is too low – this often causes trembling, sweating, headaches, a lack of concentration and heart palpitations. Living with diabetes does not always lead to hypos, so it’s important to keep the balance of diabetes medication, food and physical activity at the right level to keep them at bay. When it comes to retirees in care homes , it is essential that the most appropriate meal plan is formed by team members to ensure that all residents live well with any condition they may have. O

Samvedna Senior Care Foundation organized a workshop on Handling Geriatric Emergencies on 14th February, 2020 for its members and staff. Dr. Kislaya Mishra , Consultant–Physician/ Psychiatrist, Samvedna Senior Care, talked about how an elderly can comprehend and respond to an emergency situation by the time a first-responder, paramedic help reaches their doorstep. Dr. Kislaya explained the warning signs and necessary steps to be taken for various situations. She explained the symptoms for major emergencies related to heart attacks, falls, stroke, diabetic coma and critical situations like delirium, urinary tract infections, bladder control, malnutrition and sleep disorders. During the workshop she also checked on everyone’s balance and gait and performed the “Get Up and Go Test” to identify participants needing further evaluation. The participants appreciated the talk and felt that the workshop has equipped them with knowledge and some basic techniques to handle an emergency situati

It’s no secret that the furry friends we call “pets” can bring joy and meaning to their owners’ lives. While many people enjoy having pets for this reason alone, studies have shown that pets can improve the health of their owners in multiple ways, especially for seniors. Seniors living independently with pets have better physical and mental health than those without pets. Whether it’s walking the dog, cleaning the litter box, feeding, grooming or playing, most pets force their owners to stay active while caring for them. This exercise can help seniors fight obesity and other health problems. A University of Minnesota study found that pet owners have lower cholesterol and blood pressure than non-owners. Seniors with heart issues especially benefit from owning a pet – they reduce their risk of heart disease and have a better chance at long-term survival after a coronary event. Overall, pets lower health care costs because seniors with pets actually make fewer doctor visits than those wh

The American Cancer Society recently put out a report that states the rate of deaths due to cancer in the United States has gone down 29 percent between 1991 and 2017. Experts believe that advancements in detection and treatment are part of the reason for the decline. A reduction in the number of people who smoke has also helped. Even with the reduction in cancer deaths, though, cancer is still the number two cause of death in the United States, right behind heart disease. There are ways you can help your older family member to reduce their chances of getting cancer, such as the tips below. Quit Using Tobacco Tobacco use of any kind (cigarettes, chewing tobacco, pipes, etc.) are all dangerous and seriously raise the chances of getting cancer. Some of the cancers that tobacco use has been linked with are cancers of the: Lung. Mouth. Larynx. Throat. Pancreas. Bladder. Cervix. Kidney. Even if your older family member has been smoking for years, it’s not too late to quit. A

Leading senior care franchise to roll out computerized balance tracking assessment tool to help combat potential injuries ROSEVILLE, Calif. (Feb. 3, 2020) — Always Best Care Senior Services, one of the leading senior care franchise systems in the United States, announced today it is beginning to introduce a Balance Tracking & Fall Risk Assessment Program to help keep its clientele safe. The Balance Tracking System will provide an objective, accurate and reliable measure of a client’s postural sway – known as a key indicator of balance ability commonly used in fall risk assessment. Always Best Care will become the first senior care franchisor to introduce the program at this scale and is currently rolling out the program to its franchisees nationwide. “We are committed to raising the standards of in-home care through technology innovation and additional services and resources that enhance our clients’ quality of life,” said Jake Brown, President and CEO of Always Best Care. “Our

By Nikki Jhutti Twelve years ago, Noreen Peters married the love of her life, Jim. “He’s a fun loving guy, he’s a joker and he has a great sense of humor,” smiles Noreen. “He promised me I would never be bored.” Jim kept that promise.  But not in the way the couple imagined. In 2014, Jim was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.  “I finally found someone who loves me unconditionally and he’s going to disappear,” Noreen says holding back tears. Jim is now 81-years-old. The doting wife cares for him full-time and up until recently, she was still working. “He wasn’t safe to stay at home by himself, but I needed to work,” Noreen explains. That’s when she learned about Providence Care’s Adult Day and Overnight Stay Care program. It provides quality respite care for adults living with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or physical disabilities. Jim started going to the program in February 2018. “He started one day a week, but he wanted to know why I was working and he wa

This month is American Heart Month ! What better way to take care of your heart than by following the tips below! 1. Exercise – Being active is a major contributor to keeping your ticker ticking. Getting enough exercise can significantly improve your cardiovascular health. At least 30 minutes of exercise a day is recommended. 2. No Smoking – There are numerous reasons to quit smoking, including improved heart health. So, if you are trying to keep your heart healthy, it is time to quit. 3. Healthy Diet – Diet plays a huge role in our health, including the health of our hearts. A heart-healthy diet should include lots of fresh fruits and veggies, healthy fats and proteins while limiting your intake of fatty proteins, saturated fats, and salt. 4. Relax – Stress is a major contributor to poor health. When people are highly stressed, they tend to make unhealthy choices. Those poor choices combined with the effects stress has on other heart disease risk factors can significantly al

Today almost everyone is directly or indirectly affected by Alzheimer’s . If you don’t know someone personally who has Alzheimer’s, the probability is high that you know someone who knows someone with Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s makes up between 60 and 80 percent of the people living with some form of dementia. It is estimated that there are about 5.7 million people currently living with Alzheimer’s in the US. With that number expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, it has never been more important to be able to recognize the signs. 1. Changes in Memory – It’s normal for your loved ones to forget things sometimes, one of the first noticeable symptoms of Alzheimer’s is when you start to notice lapses in memory occurring more and more frequently. Questions to ask yourself are: Does your loved one ask the same questions repeatedly? Does your loved one forget the names of people they met more recently or younger family members? Is your loved one being uncharacteristically forgetful?

When a senior is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, or a similar form of dementia, families often begin to explore senior care options. Family members may need support with their elder’s personal care or help with keeping a senior safe while they are at work. Searching for short-term solutions may result in hiring a home care aide or enrolling in an adult day program. As the older adult’s disease advances, the search for assistance may shift to assisted living or memory care communities. While these are two distinct types of care, they are frequently located on the same campus. A memory care program is often a dedicated area of an assisted living community. It is designed to meet the unique needs of adults with memory impairment. If your family is beginning to visit memory care communities for a loved one, we have a few tips for conducting an objective evaluation of each option. 6 Tips for Evaluating a Memory Care Community 1. What is the community’s philosophy of care? Dementi

A calming environment is beneficial for seniors with dementia. Agitation is among the more difficult outcomes of Alzheimer’s, and may be frustrating for family members to help a senior loved one control. One of the keys is in taking steps to address agitation before it’s felt and conveyed by the senior, which involves keeping an eye on what has triggered these feelings in the past, and establishing a calm home environment for dementia patients in which those triggers are minimized. These pointers can help: Designate a location of retreat. When life starts to become stressful, having a specially created place for the senior to go to de-stress can work wonders in restoring peace. This might be a specific room, or just a comfortable corner with several soothing activities readily available, quiet music, a relaxing scent to enjoy like lavender or vanilla – whatever produces peace and relaxation for the older adult. Assess the house for distressing items. Pay attention to what your

This blog is written by our clinical psychologist Meenakshi Chopra , MSc, MPhil. No visible symptoms, no runny nose, just a head full of darkness. No fever or rash, no fracture or sprains, just a longing for something, I can’t explain. It is very commonly seen that as people get older, they start worrying about their health. They look for signs and symptoms and try to comprehend what their bodies are trying to tell them.  Upset stomach? Let’s see a gastroenterologist. Difficulty breathing? We should consult a pulmonologist. One sign and people rush to seek expert medical opinion. And many a times, the doctors are unable to find anything physically wrong with their body. A confused senior might feel, “This doctor knows nothing, I should seek a second opinion.” Further visits may lead to similar results and they might be suggested psychiatric opinion. Although difficult to understand, but many psychological illnesses come under the garb of physical manifestations. An individual wit

Lots of caregivers believe that the stress they experience as a part of caregiving is something that they only experience in that situation. But stress doesn’t care where you are or what you’re doing. If you ignore it, you’ll find the effects of stress following you even to your career and that can be bad for multiple reasons. Stress Is Everywhere Stress is a normal part of life. It’s literally everywhere and it takes the form of both “good” stress and “bad” stress. So-called good stress makes you alert to dangers and can keep you from making mistakes that could prove harmful to you. Bad stress is stress that takes a toll on you mentally and physically. It’s a result of being hypervigilant for too long. Stress Doesn’t Stay in Categories Something else to understand about stress is that it doesn’t stay boxed up neatly. Your stress as a caregiver will flow into the rest of your life, including your career and your other relationships, unless you take steps to manage it appropriat

Valentine’s Day, love surrounds those who are fortunate enough to have found it, while the rest of us may find ourselves annoyed by the online posts of dinner dates, flowers, chocolates, and teddy bears. As irritating as it can be at times, true love and dedication to another is certainly something to be celebrated and to aspire for. Because of this, we’ve collected excerpts from love letters, songs, quotes, and books that go hand-in-hand with the history they belong to. On July 28, 1914, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, and World War I began. Cecil Slack served as an officer with the East Yorkshire Regiment, a line infantry regiment in the British Army. As he was fighting in WWI, Slack wrote home to his then-fiancee, Dora Willatt.   My Dear Dora, For a long time before asking you to marry me I had been thinking things over and I was and am quite certain of my own feelings. But I feel a rotter for asking you when I did. I ought to have waited, for one thing, unt

Older adults contribute to the family and society in various ways. They continue to play many essential roles, even post-retirement. From the caretaker of grandchildren at home to volunteers of the community, they assume many significant roles. However, seldom we realise that their life is changing. They are experiencing many social, physical and financial changes. The death of a loved one, retirement, medical problems or stressful life events can make them uneasy. However, sometimes due to these changes or a multitude of conditions at the same time, they can develop depressive tendencies. Depression is different, it starts to interfere with their daily routine and normal functioning. It is not a normal part of ageing. In some cases, the depressive tendencies can be major like unable to work, sleep and eat or minor depressive tendencies. Irrespective of a major or minor depression, it is essential to diagnose it early and help your elderly. Depression has many symptoms and if you not

A senior loved one with dementia may experience eyesight changes. The complicated steps needed to enable us to see are mind-boggling. In the blink of an eye, our brains have the ability to take transmitted information on the environment all around us, translate that information based on input from other senses, memories, and thoughts, and then shape an understanding of that information to make us aware of what we’re seeing. It’s not surprising that dementia and eyesight changes go hand-in-hand. Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease can suffer from visual deficits and misperceptions , especially in the aspects of: Depth and/or color perception Contrast Motion recognition Peripheral vision Additionally, those diagnosed with dementia can often suffer from a distorted perception of reality in the form of illusions. For example, an individual with dementia might see a shadow on the floor, and confuse it for something harmless, such as the family dog, or a threat, such as an intru

Local Entrepreneur Now Providing Award-Winning Senior Care Services in New Haven, Fairfield and Litchfield Counties Always Best Care Senior Services, one of the leading senior care franchise systems in the United States, announced today that Jeff Gladstein is the new owner of the Southbury franchise. Always Best Care of Southbury has been serving New Haven, Fairfield and Litchfield Counties since 2010. The agency is one of six Always Best Care agencies across Connecticut and provides senior care services to several communities including Southbury, Danbury, Bridgewater, Redding, Middlebury, Roxbury, Wilton and surrounding areas. “The aging population in Connecticut continues to grow, as does the need for senior care services,” said Jake Brown, President and CEO of Always Best Care. “Always Best Care of Southbury has established a strong rapport within the community over the past several years, and we’re thrilled to have Jeff on board to lead the territory. His passion, dedication and