Last articles from Elder care category on Home and Family Top News

Advice For Seniors - Working Your Way Through Retirement

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Caring for the elderly can be daunting and challenging at times. It is something to that everybody has something to worry about sometime. Everyone gets old in each and every family, and at the very least, most people have a relative of an advanced age. This stage poses a lot of uncertainty and behavioral change that the person himself/herself is unaware and can hardly control.

1. Theory on Behavioral Change Among Elderly

Each of life's stages are characterized by unprecede... (Read All)

Aging, Elder Care, and Senior Retirement Centers

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

There was a time, not that long ago, when a senior citizen could plan on living with an adult child as the years took their relentless toll. Now senior retirement centers are popping up seemingly everywhere.

It's a good idea to take a look at why these changes are taking place and how each of us can best fit into this new pattern of elder care.

The most glaring difference today is the prevalence of working women. Even a few decades ago, a full-time homemaker often had the t... (Read All)

Are You Drowning in Caregiving?

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

An area of concern that I get asked about the most is
finding someone to give the caregiver a break.

Most adult children fall into caregiving as a result
of an incident that placed their elder in a crisis situation. After the dust settles and reality sets in often we realize that our lives have changed and this change is often not welcomed.

We find ourselves unprepared for caring for our parent
especially when that care is for issues such as dementia, inco... (Read All)

Be Prepared For Assisted Living

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Assisted living is simply finding help in the form of a care giver or a family member assigned to assist an elder who with illness or diminished mental ability is no longer capable of living an independent life. Depending as to the circumstances involved, an elder may also be sent to a nursing home or a community of professionals wherein she can be well taken care of.

As an elder, know how to decide between assisted living in your children's home or in a residential home. Ask these ... (Read All)

Best Practices For Wheelchair Safety And Selection

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

There are many things to consider before you purchase a wheelchair. Regardless of whether you want a manual or powered chair, consider the following:

1. Folding or rigid frames?

On manual chairs, folding frames are the usual conventional type having an X brace in the center allowing the frame to be folded sideways. Folding is simple, but a chair of this type tends to be bulky as well as quite heavy. New versions of lighter materials are now available, but regardless of thi... (Read All)

Discover How To Becoming A Successful Alzheimer Disease Caregiver

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Alzheimers disease is a progressive disease in which the condition worsens over time. As more parts of the brain are being damaged, the symptoms of Alzheimers disease become more severe. Patients experience frustration and grief as they struggle with gradual loss of function and fading memory. Their family members grieve as well, as they observe their loved ones losing their abilities, personality and function. Anger, confusion, sadness and depression are common reactions in families experie... (Read All)

Eight Ways to Make a House Elder-Friendly

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

If you are selling a house over the next 10 or more years you need to know about a huge trend. Many buyers are retiring. Is the house you are selling fit for an aging buyer? Here is a list of eight things you can do to make your house elder-friendly. You can do some or all, but if you do these, you may open your house up to many more buyers.
1) Eliminate throw rugs. It is way too easy to catch a foot on a throw rug and... (Read All)

Elder Care Planning Guide

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Q. When do you need a care facility?
A. A residential care facility should be taken into account when at least one of the following circumstances happens:

- Your elderly relative requires and demands twenty four hour of continuous care and attention.
- Your elderly relative can not anymore cope up with the activities of day-to-day living such as eating, bathing, using the toilet, changing etc.
- Your elderly relative is more likely to have either physical or verbal vio... (Read All)

Elderly in Jeopardy During Heat Wave

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Summer heat waves pose a very real danger to the eldely. Normally, our body controls and regulates elevated temperature by allowing heat loss through the skin and by evaporation.

As we age, our ability to control the body's temperature is diminished. Aging causes a decrease in the body's ability to adjust to heat and to sense temperature extremes.

The elderly are more susceptible to heat related
disorders and react to sudden changes in temperatures
by loosing the... (Read All)

Elderly Man Burglarized By Gas Company Criminal

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Martin was an 80 year old citizen of North Dakota. He had relatives who lived far away and were only able to visit periodically. Although he is up in age, he still does all the things he needs to live from day to day. With a little help from his neighbors he gets along just fine. He is living where he wants to live, and around people who check on him from time to time.

The weather was brutal in the winter months so he did not get out much. There is too much uncertainty for a man of h... (Read All)

Electric Wheelchairs Promote Mobility and Safeguard Independence

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

With more and more people living longer and longer, the question of quality of life is a constant concern. Some older people choose to grab life by the horns and soak up every second. Others are simply unable to do so. Still others choose to let little things get in the way of living and then watch as these problems snowball to take away their mobility and independence. For those who want to enjoy life to the fullest, sometimes a little help is needed in the form of devices such as electric whee... (Read All)

Five Things You Must Do When Traveling With Older Parents

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Here are five things you must do to ensure that you and your parents will have a great vacation.

1. Ensure that the itinerary is not too fast paced.

Old folks tend to get tired easily and thus it is not advisable to include activities that are too strenuous. It is also not advisable to pack too many activities in the itinerary such that you and your parents have to rush from one place to another.

2. Ensure that everyone has ample sleep

Plan to have at... (Read All)

Have a Healthy Senior Life with These Tips

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The Sixty Year Old Personality Benjamin Franklin once said that all would live long, but none would be old. What should we actually expect of ourselves after sixty years? Must we eventually become senile and mentally old, or can we have a long life and still remain alert and bright with opinions others respect?

The answer is simple. Age itself creates very few mental problems; it simply makes us more transparent and reveals the way we have actually been all of our lives. Thus, cranky... (Read All)

Healthy Eating for Senior Citizens

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Healthy eating and nutrition for the elderly is
greatly impacted by several factors, one of them
being a change in body composition. During the
later years in life, the body will lose bone and
muscle and gain fat because the hormones aren't
very active anymore.

There are many factors which hinder an elderly
person's health. The information below will help
you to lead a healthy life - no matter how old you
may be.

Water
Water i... (Read All)

Help Seniors To Be Independent

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

You have spent all of your life raising children, working to feed everybody, buy a home, buy clothes to dress everyone, made all of your own financial decisions and you have done a really good job of it. Now, someone comes along and decides that you can't do this anymore. That they are going to do things to change your life...for your own good. Now tell me, how would you like this to happen to you? Well, it happens to Senior Citizens everyday and sooner or later, you're going to be one yourself,... (Read All)

How To Choose The Best Senior Housing For You

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Going through life's sunset presents many daunting challenges and consequences. You will have to face financial constraints and inflexibility due to limited source of income, fixed social security benefits, facing the high cost of health care and preparing all those legal documents through power of attorney in cases when you can no longer carry out duties normally attributed to a healthy person.

1. Types of Senior Housing

One of the things that concern most people reachin... (Read All)

How To Chose A Retirement Home

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Finding an appropriate retirement home could waste you precious time and money. So make sure you're ready to plan for this major change. Retirement homes are usually developed as a condominium or a compound of properties, but are these the only options for you? There are five elements that you should consider before buying retirement properties.

1. Location

The setting of the retirement home is important because you will want a home that has good proximity to hospitals, sh... (Read All)

How to Protect Senior Citizens From Bird Flu

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Senior citizens are at high risk of catching bird flu during a pandemic because their immune systems are weaker due to their age.

While it's true that not many bird flu victims of the current strain of H5N1 have been elderly, that's probably because it's in countries where the life expectancy is lower than in developed countries, so there just aren't as many elderly people. Plus, they are not as likely to have direct contact with living or uncooked chickens.

However, once b... (Read All)

How to Shift from Daddy's Girl to Dad's Caregiver

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Ever wondered how you could nurture your aging parents while you are sandwiched between caring for them and the rest of your family?

It was painful for Tricia, as her father declined in his 80's. "Dad and I shared such fun times together when I was young - he taught me how to ride a horse, shoot a BB gun, ice skate, stand on my head. He was always so active. Last year, I had to insist that he not drive anymore. Now, seeing him shuffle around just breaks my heart."

It... (Read All)

IDEAS FOR VOLUNTEER PROJECTS THAT BENEFIT SENIOR CITIZENS

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Here are some other ideas of helpful projects that would be of benefit to Senior Citizens.

1. Rake the leaves in a Senior's yard.

2. Assist with shoveling the snow from a walkway.

3. Help with the grocery shopping.

4. Check the safety equipment in a Senior's home.
? Be sure to check the fire extinguisher, and batteries in the smoke detector.
? Are there any loose rugs or electrical wires that could cause tripping and a fall?
? Do you need to help install ... (Read All)

Improving The Safety Of Your Home For Elderly Loved Ones

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Everybody get old; its a simple fact of life that can be hard to face. The truth is that muscles and bones get weaker and the home can slowly become a dangerous place. However, making some minor modifications to keep your loved ones safe is a very easy process.

Improving safety indoors

You cant always prevent falls, but there are many things that you can do to help prevent them. Here are a few ideas:

Clear floors of clutter The majority of falls come from ... (Read All)

Incontinence: Myths Exposed, and Helpful Tips

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

What exactly is incontinence?

Incontinence is an apparent loss of the body's ability to control fecal or urinal activity. People suffering from fecal incontinence are unable to control bowel movements, and are unable to keep the stool from involuntary escaping from their anus or urine drawing involuntarily from their bladder. Likewise, people suffering from urinary incontinence are unable to control the flow of urine from their bladder. This results to unexpected wetting and may expo... (Read All)

Know the Right Retirement Location for You

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

You might be overwhelmed by the number of retirement locations offered across the country.

Each of which may provide everything you need or the best comfort and amenities you are looking for.

You might be confused on which of the retirement locations you would like to spend your retirement age.

Make a checklist of the things you need to help you narrow down your choices.

This will help you to not overlook the important things that you need to consider.... (Read All)

Medicare Part D Doesn't Have To Be Confusing

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

As of Jan. 1, 2006, the federal government expanded Medicare coverage with the launch of the Medicare Part D program. This program enables seniors to get the prescriptions they need, when they need them with the benefit of an insurance program that can really help lessen the annual costs for drugs. To take advantage of the program, however, Medicare recipients have to navigate a system that seems a little confusing on the surface.

To begin to understand how the new Medicare program wo... (Read All)

Monster Terrorizes Elderly Couple

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Amberly is a career woman with aging parents. Her parents require assistance to daily life routines. Amberly is not able to continue her career and look after her parents, as she would like. She had no other relatives in the area. After careful consideration, she decided to hire someone to assist her parents while she worked.

She performed a detailed search. She also conducted what she thought was an extensive background check on all the candidates. The were many prospects with variou... (Read All)

Nine Types of Assisted Living and Explanations of Each

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

It is never to early to learn about the types of assisted living, this information may be needed for a friend, neighbor, family member or eventually for ourselves. Be prepared and know what types of services are available, how much the cost will be, how to set up these services and who to contact. A good starting point is the Office On Aging, The American
Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health in Aging and AARP;although there are other resources too.

Families are increasingly... (Read All)

Parenting: Thought You Were Finished

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Most of us were raised by our parents. Some of us go on to be parents ourselves. But what happens when the parents who raised us need parenting?

This phenomenon which I will call re-parenting is occurring more and more today. Since none of us plan to get old and need help what happens whether we like it or not is that we get old and we need help. Many of us have not made wills, powers of attorney, estate plans, health directives and many of us do not think about this until the ine... (Read All)

Planning For Aging Parents

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Most parents do not want to burden their children when it comes to care in their later years, other parents expect their children to care for them. The best way to balance these expectations is to discuss options for long term care long before the care is needed and to make financial plans now to cover needed expenses.

For example, parents can live in the home of the children or vice versa. What modifications would need to occur to make this necessary? Adding a separate apartment wi... (Read All)

Planning For The The Frail Period

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

But no matter how they made you feel, you should always watch elders carefully. They were you and you will be them. You carry the seeds of your old age in you at this very moment, and they hear the echoes
of their childhood each time they see you.
Kent Nerburn, "Letters to My Son"

THE FRAIL PERIOD

Over the past decade, I have worked with thousands of
families as they have gone through and grown through
the aging of their parents or elder family memb... (Read All)

Provide For Your Funeral Costs With Burial Insurance

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Death is inevitable and he who is born must one day leave for heavenly abode. Most of us avoid talking about death and funerals but the fact is that there are funeral costs to be borne and in the event one has not provided for it, the family has to undertake the expense. Funeral costs are not only a matter of affordability but of timing as well. Death, unless it comes after a terminal illness that every one is aware of, comes unannounced and sometimes at difficult times. The family may not be i... (Read All)