Warning Signs of Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes can be a common health issue that develops later in life and affects a large number of seniors. For those who may not make frequent visits to their doctor, it’s essential to be aware of the signs and symptoms of diabetes so that medical help can be sought and treatment started before the health issue progresses further.

Seniors and caregivers should recognize the following as being potential symptoms of diabetes:

1. More frequent urination – if suddenly there’s a more frequent need to urinate with no evident changes in drinking patterns or diet, this can indicate diabetes as the kidneys attempt to dilute the glucose

2. Weight loss – it’s not a apparent in Type 2 diabetes though even gradual weight loss with no obvious cause can be reason for concern

3. Fatigue or physical weakness – it’s not uncommon for seniors with diabetes to become more fatigued or have feelings of physical weakness. Often they attribute this to aging and don’t seek additional help, but these are not symptoms that should just be accepted

4. Extreme thirst – diabetes can cause seniors to feel constantly thirsty. Drinking more frequently is common, but even then thirst can be unquenchable

5. Tingling and Numbness – high levels of glucose, when left untreated can wreak havoc with the nervous system resulting in numbness or tingling in the limbs

6. Skin imperfections – frequent bruises that fail to go away, rashes, itching and dry skin can also appear

Via: about.com http://diabetes.about.com/od/symptomsdiagnosis/p/Symptoms.htm

A senior’s release from the hospital can be an exciting time, but for families, it’s when the hard work really begins to help with their recovery process and ensure that they receive the best care possible. There are a few things that families can do in order to help the transition from hospital to home:

1. Don’t expect too much – release from the hospital doesn’t mean that a senior has recovered; there will be lots of hard work at home for many seniors

2. Ask questions – understand the senior’s diagnosis and their future prognosis. Take notes, and don’t be afraid to ask questions

3. Talk to a hospital discharge planner – a discharge planner can help families determine if a senior will require home care or nursing care after they leave the hospital. They can also advise families on additional supplies and equipment needed

4. Make sure you’re prepared at home – before the senior goes home, purchase any necessary safety equipment; hire a care provider, and make sure you have medications on hand

5. Don’t be afraid to ask for help – get the contact information of hospital staff who provided care to your loved one, and don’t be afraid to contact them with any questions or concerns after your senior has left the hospital

Via: Caring.com

Image source: sxc.hu

Q – The time has come where I know my mom needs more help at home. I’d love to become her primary caregiver, but that just isn’t realistic for me, so the best I can do is try to coordinate her care. I want to make sure that the caregiver she’s with provides for her needs and ensures that she’s healthy and happy. Do you have any tips for selecting a caregiving agency?

A – Just because you won’t be providing care primarily, doesn’t mean that you’re not a caregiver; you’re playing a major role in the process in finding care for your mother, and here are some tips to help you through it!

1. Know what’s out there – to choose the best option, explore them all. Even if you have home care in mind, visiting a nursing home will only help to reassure you of your decision

2. Ask the opinion of others – the best feedback you will receive on home care places you’re exploring is from other trusted friends and family members who have been through the process

3. Interview someone at the service – before you even meet with a caregiver, interview someone in charge at the home care service about what they provide, and what their specific policies are

4. Ask about licensing – the home care service should have appropriate licenses as required by their jurisdiction; ask about this, and also find out if the home caregivers have any specific level of training

5. Be straight forward – to make sure that that important senior in your life receives adequate care, don’t sugar coat what you’re dealing with. If your loved one is difficult with certain tasks or activities, let them know so they can reassure you by talking about how they’d address these circumstances

Via: Family Caregiver Alliance

To honor family caregivers, there is a petition to create a stamp which will pay tribute to those who make daily sacrifices to care for a loved one. This petition will bring awareness to the public, offering them information regarding just how great family caregivers are. Many people are not aware of what actually goes into being a caregiver. There are many sacrifices that are made, including:

• An estimated out of pocket expense of $5,531 per year which include travel and transportation, medical care co-payments, food and household goods

• These additional expenses result in the cutting of leisure activities, personal savings, vacations and putting off home improvements

• More than a third of caregivers use their own savings to provide for their loved one

• Almost half of current caregivers have had to quit their job in order to keep up with caregiving responsibilities

• The annual estimated expense is much higher for long-distance caregivers

• These expenses increase levels of stress and can have an effect on the over-all health of the caregiver

• The financial burden that comes along with being a caregiver can have serious emotional effects

Sources:

caregiving.org

stanford.wellsphere.com

Halloween is almost here, and Thanksgiving, Hanukah and Christmas are just on the horizon – while many of us are gearing up to enjoy this time of year full of holiday experiences, one demographic can face a serious case of the Holiday Blues. For seniors, the holidays can be a trying time, since they can remind them of times spent with family and friends who are no longer around. If someone in your life seems to be suffering their way through the holidays, encourage them to try the following techniques:

• Don’t expect too much – if big family get togethers haven’t been a big part of holidays recently, don’t expect them or you’ll only face disappointment

• Don’t do things that are too stressful – holidays are meant to be a time of enjoyment, so if there are certain tasks that surround the holidays that stress you out, avoid them!

• Volunteer – surround yourself with others in the community by volunteering and giving back

• Don’t isolate yourself – when holidays aren’t the way they used to be, seniors might become isolated; join in on activities in the community, get together with friends and make sure you don’t have to be alone

• Maintain a healthy lifestyle – to keep your spirits up, take care of yourself. Exercise, eat well and limit  alcohol consumption

Sources:

1. 4Therapy

2. About.com

Traditional walkers help provide Palm Desert seniors with stability while they get around; but while their safety might be moderately increased, walkers don’t greatly improve their level of mobility. Seniors who use traditional walkers are typically left moving at a slow pace, because walkers help keep them stable but have no real effect on their overall level of physical mobility. For that reason, the electric walker has been introduced.

About the ICIO Personal Transporter for Seniors:

• It has a convertible design

• Seniors can choose to use the personal transporter as a traditional 3 wheeled walker

• During periods when they’d like to move at a faster pace, they can stand on an attachable support and activate the electric function

• The device is suitable for seniors as their level of physical mobility changes, since it also converts into a mobile scooter with a seat

• With the personal transporter, seniors can venture out for exercise and convert the device if they get tired, giving them the security that they won’t be stranded

We’ve seen many devices lately that increase the option for seniors to remain independent throughout their elder years, and this is just one more innovative way that seniors can use in order to stick with their chosen lifestyle as long as possible!

Sources:

1. TrendHunter

2. The Design Blog

3. TrendHunter

It seems like everywhere we look right now, there’s new technology available that can do the job of a human caregiver. The most recent that’s on our radar is the Memo, a robot designed to assist seniors with Alzheimer’s, which can essentially do the job that a caregiver would; either allowing seniors to remain in their own homes independently, or give their family caregivers some much needed respite while knowing that their loved ones are safe.

The Memo Alzheimer’s assistive robot can provide seniors with medication reminders, help them find objects that they’ve misplaced and even provide companionship by playing games or carrying a conversation. With all of these services available from a machine, people can’t help but wonder if human caregivers might be replaced entirely over the coming decades. It’s looking more and more that it might be the realistic progression of caregiving; but there’s one element of caregiving that an assistive robot will never be able to replace, and that’s delivering that special human touch.

Sources:

1. Trendhunter

2. DVice

3. Trendbird

Trusted Home Care for seniors and elderly living in Palm Springs and Palm Desert. Please call us for more information at 1-760-469-4441.

Many seniors with Alzheimer’s encounter something called Sundowning; a restlessness and inability to sleep at night. This is a concern for many Palm Springs families who have seniors that suffer from this disease, because at night, when they should be asleep, is the time when they are most likely to be at home alone, and when unsupervised, some sometimes incognizant of their actions, this can be a serious safety concern. Home caregivers hired to help with Palm Desert seniors most often work during the day, unless they live in the senior’s home; and since this can be a more costly alternative for many families, it’s hard  to know what to do with seniors with Alzheimer’s to keep them occupied and safe during the nighttime hours.

Elderserve at Night is a one of a kind Alzheimer’s program to help families and seniors living with this disease cope during the nighttime hours when they can become the most restless and likely to injure themselves with no one available to help. With this nighttime program for seniors with Alzheimer’s, seniors are picked up from their homes and kept busy between 7am and 7pm every evening and well into the night. Seniors are given the opportunity to socialize, the engage in guided activities like painting, music, potting plants, and they are provided methods to just relax away from home where they constantly face the worries that come around when the sun sets.

With this program, seniors even receive meals, the opportunity to shower, and the chance to rest if the mood strikes them; but the top benefit is that seniors and their families know that their loved ones aren’t going to become victims of the night.

Sources:

1. NYTimes

Trusted Home Care for seniors and elderly living in Palm Springs and Palm Desert. Please call us for more information at 1-760-469-4441.

Traditional nursing home and assisted living facilities are large institutions that provide basic care, but don’t necessarily cater towards improving the quality of life for Palm Desert seniors based on their living arrangements. The Green House Model in eldercare focuses upon quality of life and comfort first, and care elements, while they are a priority, are not the center of being like they are in the large, traditional institutions.

The Green House Model tries to give seniors the comforts of home with the conveniences of having care services around them 24/7. The atmosphere is less sterile and hospital like because they try to provide a warm and welcoming environment where only 6-8 seniors are living. The goal of The Green House Model is to eliminate big institutions and move towards this model that focuses on quality of life to improve overall senior well-being. As more and more seniors are dreading moving to a nursing home or assisted living facility as they get older, the elder care structure is adopting methods that allow for senior independence and aging in place. With this in mind, The Green House Model might just be the future of elder care.

Sources:

1. Eden Alternative

2. NCB Capital Impact

Image Source: pro.corbis.com

Trusted Home Care for seniors and elderly living in Palm Springs and Palm Desert. Please call us for more information at 1-760-469-4441.

It’s increasingly more common for families to care for and protect aging parents. For many adult children, caring for their aging parents is met with mixed reviews. When faced with the dynamics of caring for the aging population, it is important to establish family boundaries especially among siblings.

Siblings, when involved in the care of aging parents, commonly disagree as to what is best for the parent. As a result, even the closest of siblings can often find they are at great odds as to how to care for an aging parent, ultimately breaking down the sibling relationships to a significant degree.

Research on the aging population shows that, for those who rely upon their children for care, there is generally one child that will assume 99 percent of the role in the care of that particular parent. Unfortunately, it is this one child who carries the greatest burden and compromise in their personal life and may suffer the greatest strain when faced with issues and care of the aging parent.

For the non-active siblings, or those who are not directly involved in the care of the aging parent, there is often confusion as to how best to approach a parent and sibling who, in most cases, now reside together. For most of the aging population, one approach tends to work best; continue to allow one child to make all of the medical and financial decisions for the aging parent while the other siblings work as a support network, assisting with care and transportation to and from events such as doctor’s appointments.

Research has shown the more children are involved, the better off the parent will be both physically and emotionally. However, it is important the adult children elect one person to assume the care and that all siblings respect and support the decisions of that sibling.

Home Care in Palm Springs and Palm Desert providing safe and quality in home care for aging loved ones when family members and friends cannot be there.  Call us for more information at (760) 404-1423.