There are kids living in a family that includes a grandparent. In some cases, the grandparent is living with dementia. This can be scary for kids, especially when they are too young to understand the disease. To them, take the time to explain and answer questions that arise. The list below can help:
1. The best thing to do is to be honest with the child. Explain to them the grandma or grandpa is having trouble remembering things. This may help the child understand and be more willing to help.
2. Always encourage smaller children to ask questions. Try to answer them in terms they can understand. Instead of giving a medical definition of the disease, explain it in simple terms.
3. Have the child interact with the senior. Helping with simple, everyday things, such as tying shoes and helping seniors eat can benefit the child as well as the senior with dementia.
4. Explain to children that there is nothing to fear. Grandma may forget things, but she can still be a joy to be around. Encourage kids to include seniors in fun time.
5. Talk to children before the senior moves in and try to explain the situation. If the child has questions, answer them as well as you can without being too complex.
Home Care Jacksonville, and Home Care Fort Myers FLprovides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Destin, and Palm Coast. Call us today at 904-363-6699 or 850-243-6464.
As we age, there are adjustments we have to make. To make them easier on our aging, adult children are urged to get involved and help their parents adjust to these new changes. The following list provides some ways in which children can help their senior parents make necessary changes to their everyday lives as they continue to age.
1. Encourage seniors to have their driving evaluated to determine if they are still safe on the road. At-risk drivers can be the cause of many accidents and these may cause the death of the senior or another innocent person.
2. Be direct with the senior if they have to give up driving. Do not make up excuses and try to cover the facts. Simply state that they are no longer safe on the road.
3. If necessary, involve a doctor. The doctor will be able to tell the senior that they can no longer drive. Seniors will often take the information better coming from a medical professional.
4. Talk about alternatives, such as a transportation service or car pool. If the senior realizes they can still go out and do what they like, they will accept the fact better.
5. Driving can be dangerous for many seniors, especially those with severe health conditions. Make sure to discuss this with the senior as well as their doctors.
Home Care Jacksonville, and Home Care Fort Myers FLprovides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Destin, and Palm Coast. Call us today at 904-363-6699 or 850-243-6464.
With Halloween around the corner, children are getting excited. For grandparents who want to participate in the costume fun, we suggest spending time with grand kids doing crafts and costume design for Halloween. It’s a great way to bond and enjoy time together. The following list offers some suggestions.
1. Making decorations is inexpensive and fun. Kids love to color and paint, so grandparents can get in on this by creating cut out paper and allowing kids to decorate them. Then display them in and around the home.
2. Making a costume does not have to be difficult. Instead of sewing, try using fabric glue. Make use of old items, such as pantyhose and old t-shirts. With a little creativity, you and the child can create something great.
3. Carving pumpkins is always a Halloween favorite for kids. Make sure to save the seeds and bake them for a healthy treat that can be enjoyed while decorating. If there are multiple children, try a pumpkin contest to see who can make the best one. For younger children, simply allow them to paint faces on their pumpkin instead of carving.
Home Care Jacksonville, and Home Care Fort Myers FLprovides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Destin, and Palm Coast. Call us today at 904-363-6699 or 850-243-6464.
Caregiver Stress- Yoga and Meditation for Caregivers
Being a caregiver, it is vital to take time for yourself to rejuvenate and balance your energy. Yoga is recognized by the Health care industry as beneficial to one’s body, spirit and mental well being. The three main aspects to the Yoga tradition are exercise, breathing, and meditation. Yoga exercises put pressure on the glandular systems of the body, which then increases its efficiency and benefits your health. There are different kinds of yoga.
Hatha Yoga: The most common practice which combines breathing patterns with physical exercises.
Bhakti Yoga: The practice of expressing devotion to one’s God.
Karma Yoga: All movement but spiritually based.
Tantra Yoga: Consciousness through words and movement.
Look for a place to practice yoga where you live, if you are unable to find a place, go to a local bookstore to purchase a yoga video. Try the library, you may be able to rent a video for several weeks. It’s best to try it out first before purchasing.
Home Care Jacksonville, and Home Care Fort Myers FLprovides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Destin, and Palm Coast. Call us today at 904-363-6699 or 850-243-6464.
Seniors are very prone to experiencing falls when they are in the bathroom. It is common for seniors to slip in a shower. Since this is such a concern, there are some things that seniors and caregivers can do to help protect them against these events. The following list provides some ways that seniors can make their bathroom safer and help protect against falls and injuries.
1. Caregivers should be aware of any physical restrictions that the senior may have. This could affect their ability to shower on their own. If there is concern, these seniors may need assistance while in the bathroom.
2. All bathrooms that are used by seniors should have safety equipment installed. This does not mean the entire room must be remodeled. Installing safety bars and non-slip mats could help protect seniors in the shower.
3. Some seniors could benefit from having a telephone placed in the bathroom. If the senior owns a cordless phone, taking it into the bathroom when they shower is a good idea. This way they will be able to call for help if they fall.
4. Many seniors do not have a lot of physical strength. This could prevent them from doing simple tasks while showering. Using a shower chair could help keep the senior safe while showering.
Home Care Jacksonville, and Home Care Fort Myers FLprovides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Destin, and Palm Coast. Call us today at 904-363-6699 or 850-243-6464.
Seniors still need to take care of their teeth even in older age. Many seniors still have their own teeth, which makes dental care even more important. When seniors begin to neglect the care of their teeth, they could be at risk for other medical problems. Below is a list that provides seniors with some tips that will help them maintain their dental health and practice good oral hygiene.
1. Have a healthy diet. This will help improve oral health. Eating green and raw vegetables will be beneficial.
2. When brushing teeth, do not forget about the tongue. Daily brushing of the teeth on a daily basis is not as effective unless the tongue is also brushed at the same time.
3. Omit refined sugars from your diet. There are many products that will provide seniors with a sweet tooth the satisfaction they are looking for without the sugar intake.
4. Always provide your dentist with medical records. This will ensure you receive the proper medications if necessary.
5. Just because dentures are not real teeth, they should not be treated any differently. Brush and clean them daily.
6. No matter what the circumstances are, never decrease brushing. Always make sure to brush on a regular basis to maintain oral health.
7. Be sure to keep those dental visits. Routine cleanings are just as important for seniors as they are for young adults.
Home Care Jacksonville, and Home Care Fort Myers FLprovides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Destin, and Palm Coast. Call us today at 904-363-6699 or 850-243-6464.
Even though the seasons are changing, there will be days where seniors are exposed to extreme heat. This is why it is important to always be prepared for this type of weather. Keeping seniors safe when it is hot outside is essential. The following list offers some tips that will help with the hot weather, even though summer is already over. Those with health conditions need to be especially careful when the temperature rises.
1. Always make sure seniors are drinking plenty of fluids. This should not include alcoholic beverages. Water and sports drinks are the best. Juice will also be helpful.
2. Do not engage in strenuous activities when the temperature is high. This will place a strain on the heart and may make it very difficult for the senior to cool down their body temperature.
3. During the warmest part of the day, generally later morning and early afternoon, seniors should try to limit their activities. This is the time that would be best spent sitting on a porch.
4. Taking cool baths and showers will help keep body temperature down which can help seniors battle the heat.
5. Wearing light clothing and a hat when outdoors will benefit seniors. The hat will protect them from the harmful rays of the sun while light clothing will help keep the skin cool.
Home Care Jacksonville, and Home Care Fort Myers FLprovides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Destin, and Palm Coast. Call us today at 904-363-6699 or 850-243-6464.
Seniors are now becoming very familiar with the internet. Though many seniors will only use the internet for email to keep in touch with friends and family members, there are a number of seniors who are now using it in other forms.
Online banking and social networking have become popular among seniors. Below is a list that contains some interesting facts about seniors and the internet.
1. Most seniors will use the internet for email to contact family and friends, but many are now using it for social networking. Seniors are using Facebook and Twitter.
2. There has been a 225% increase in the number of seniors over the age of 65 using the internet for social networking and a 100% increase in those between the ages of 50-54.
3. Some seniors are using the internet for banking purposes and to stay up to date on news and current events.
4. More than half of the seniors who are using the internet report feeling comfortable doing so. Some seniors are still reluctant to use the internet and prefer to get the news from print sources.
5. 57% of seniors who are using the internet are doing so through a desktop computer. 26% are using a laptop and only 9% are using mobile devices.
6. Since the introduction of high speed internet service, the number of seniors who are using the internet have increased drastically.
Home Care Jacksonville, and Home Care Fort Myers FLprovides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Destin, and Palm Coast. Call us today at 904-363-6699 or 850-243-6464.
When seniors have Alzheimer’s, it often falls to their families to determine the best sort of care for them. Unfortunately, due to lack of knowledge and preparation both on the part or the senior and the part of their family members, care that’s selected often does not have the quality of life in the senior in mind. Seniors need to create a living will with an advanced care directive to ensure that medical professionals and their loved ones know what they’d like when their care needs change and they’re not able to speak for themselves. Families should research the options and understand the types of treatment used so they are in a position to make sure that the senior’s wishes are carried out.
There’s no treatment for Alzheimer’s, so it can’t be said that there are any sure fire treatment options, however, there are some that clearly don’t have the best interests of seniors in mind:
• Improper pain control – because many seniors in the later stage of Alzheimer’s or dementia cannot express themselves, proper pain management techniques are not being administered even though it’s clear that many seniors are in pain
• Treatments don’t focus on comfort – most seniors with Alzheimer’s continue aggressive treatment until they pass away, but there is no focus on comfort at the end of their lives even once treatment is typically ineffective. Only about 11% of seniors who are hospitalized with one of these illnesses is transferred to a hospice
• Medications used can make symptoms work – often medications are administered to treat other affects of the disease like osteoporosis or high blood pressure, but these can only add to senior’s feelings of confusion and general lack of well-being
