By Charlotte Bishop on
5/16/2012 5:57 PM
What costs relatively little, is accessible to virtually all individuals regardless of age, is safe and helps to prevent the onset of a medical condition that adults almost universally fear? The answer is that physical activity – of all kinds – turns out to be an effective way to delay or even prevent the onset of the form of dementia we refer to as Alzheimer’s.
Scientists have long known that a person whose muscles get a regular workout and are generally active are actually generating new neurons in their brains. New research now shows that it is not just about exercising and working up a sweat that will confer this benefit; virtually any kind of activity is good for the brain and measurably reduces the incidence of Alzheimer’s. Research published this year has shown that basic activities like housework or yard work are linked to a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s. So, washing dishes, doing the laundry, dusting the furniture, pruning the bushes and more actually have a tangible mental health benefit.
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By Charlotte Bishop on
5/7/2012 8:40 AM
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) adverse drug reactions or overmedication result in more than 700,000 hospitalizations a year. And many of these could be avoided by following advice offered by the American Geriatrics Society. The AGS’s Foundation for Health in Aging offers advice for all of us who care for older parents or adults in our orbits. Here is a summary of the six major recommendations.
Ask before taking OTC drugs: Never assume that just because you can buy a medication in a drug store without a prescription that it will be harmless. Most of these drugs started out as prescription meds. Ask the doctor or pharmacist if an OTC drug is a risk by itself or in combination with a prescription your elder may already be taking.
Make/update your List: A lot of medical offices are very good about asking patients on every visit what medications they are taking and keeping it in their records. With every visit the provider needs to add new medications so that everyone is aware...
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By Charlotte Bishop on
5/2/2012 8:22 AM
May is National Geriatric Care Manager Month, but I am thinking that most of you probably did not get the memo. You may have been following my blog – especially those with an older parent or loved one – and you know what it means to be a caregiver, but not as many may know what a geriatric care manager (GCM) is. Geriatric care managers are the people who work with caregivers to older parents who want time for their own families and confidence that their mom or dad will be well cared for. We also work with older adults who do not want to be a burden to their families as they navigate health care issues and make decisions about where and how they can live as independently as possible.
And a person does not have to really be a caregiver to seek the services of a geriatric care manager. We also work with professionals who want to get help for their aging clients when they have had a life-changing incident and wish to remain as independent as possible. These are professionals who want to help their clients...
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By Charlotte Bishop on
4/27/2012 9:52 AM
In an age of high tech health care, it is really gratifying to know that something as simple and personal as human touch can make a difference in the life of an older person. By stimulating the receptors that are just beneath skin, massage can bolster an individual’s immune system, reduce their stress level and generally improve their mood and sense of well-being. Gentle massage of an older person also will improve their blood circulation, ease their aches or pains and enhance their emotional outlook.
Anyone who has raised kids knows that sometimes it is just a hug, a kiss, or a gentle touch that takes away the stress or hurt of an infant. And we all know that holding hands, a pat on the back or a kindly touch conveys so much in the way of a feel good to another person with whom we want to connect. So, if you have an older person in your orbit, try one of these four approaches to enhance their health and well-being:
Compression and Release – starting at the wrist and working your way up a person’s...
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By Charlotte Bishop on
4/16/2012 2:57 PM
This marks the 100th posting on our blog since its inception October, 2010, and it gave me pause to stop and reflect on what one learns at 100. So, whom better to ask than people who have had 100 birthdays, made it to that milestone and have been paying attention along the way. I have gathered together here a short compilation of wisdom from some centenarians whom I felt had something to offer the rest of us. You tell me what you think.
Ruth offers advice on life and style. Appreciate that Ruth lifts weights everyday and practices Pilates weekly, an activity she just picked up when she was 92. Perhaps her most memorable piece of advice is about time and age; she says, “Don't look at the calendar just keep celebrating every day.” This, from a lady who does not wear blue jeans and makes herself get up and out every day for at least a short walk. (And she is a real believer in the values of...
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By Charlotte Bishop on
4/12/2012 8:30 PM
Health care providers call them decubitus ulcers, but most people know these pressure wounds on the skin as bedsores. Although bedsores as a medical condition are not tracked by the Centers for Disease Control, it is generally estimated that about two million Americans suffer with these ulcers any given year. The vast majority of pressure ulcers occur among adults in their 70’s or 80’s, but the real cause is not age; it is lack of mobility. An unfortunate – and high profile – case in point was the late actor, Christopher Reeve. He did not succumb to his paralysis, per se. He died of a systemic infection that began in a pressure ulcer in 2004.
But older adults are the more common victims of bedsores for a lot of reasons. They have more fragile skin to begin with, a natural outcome of aging. They also tend to be less hydrated and have relatively poorer nutrition, both conditions which make for less healthy skin and for poorer circulation and healing if there is a wound. Elders who may be bed ridden or...
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By Charlotte Bishop on
4/3/2012 8:42 AM
We all have heard it said that we are what we eat, but something that many of us do not always think about is how the foods we eat may not mix with the medicines we take. And this becomes the potential for a perfect storm of medicines and foods among older adults. Their bodies do not eliminate food or drugs as quickly; they typically have a lower body weight; and they have lower water content in their bodies. All of these magnify the problems that younger adults may face, because anything they ingest becomes more concentrated.
It also is an even more likely to be an issue with older adults because research shows that four out of five people over age 57 are on at least one prescription, and half also are taking some medicine or herbal supplement they have bought over the counter. Thirty percent of older adults take more than five prescription drugs.
Computerized medical records make it a lot easier for health care providers today to avoid drug-drug interactions in their patients, but not all of them warn...
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By Charlotte Bishop on
3/22/2012 8:38 AM
One to two million Americans 65 years of age and older suffer from some form of physical, financial or mental abuse. The figures are not precise, because so many cases of abuse go unreported, and abuse can take on many forms from physical injury, to financial exploitation to neglect. The real tragedy is that most abuse comes from those who are caregivers to an older adult, those who are supposed to be helping – not hurting.
Be vigilant for elder abuse by knowing the most likely victims of abuse:
A large share of abused elders are what we term the “old – old;” they are over the age of eighty, and while they may not be frail, they cannot as readily defend themselves or even seek out help.
Abused elders are more likely to be women than men.
The victim is most often a person who depends on the abusive individual for basic needs; it is most typically not a stranger.
The victim also may be suffering from a mental illness such as some form of dementia that gets in the way of their...
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By Charlotte Bishop on
3/16/2012 11:49 AM
March is Brain Awareness Month.
It gives us all a reminder to nourish our neurons and soothe our synapses, and this is even more important for older adults. A person’s brain may have more years of use, but that does not mean there is not a lot within every person’s individual control that can help the brain function at its best at any age. Here are five suggestions for helping your brain or that of an elder in your orbit to be as brain healthy at 80 as at eighteen...okay 48:
What you eat: A lot of really medical solid research in recent years has shown that “we are what we eat” at every age. Older adults will benefit from a diet heavily populated with protein, antioxidants-folic acid is a concentrated source, omega-3 fatty acids-in fish, fruits and vegetables and vitamin B. It is important to stay light on the carbs and trans fats as well.
Active is more than sports: We all appreciate that a person who physically works out typically will have a healthier, robust physique. The same...
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By Charlotte Bishop on
3/8/2012 3:53 PM
If you take a straw poll of any gathering of older adults or their caregivers you are likely to find that what they fear most is not their death, but their loss of their mental faculties. Yet, about one in every four persons who begins to manifest that cloudy thinking we all fear is some form of dementia may actually have a reversible condition. And this condition may be brought on by allergy medications or some other prescriptions as well as some over the counter medications.
Researchers from the Alzheimer’s Association have reviewed studies from large clinics around the country and report up to 25 percent of people who come to specialists fearing they have dementia really are suffering from bad medicine instead. Most often the culprit is a family of drugs referred to anticholinergics, drugs that are common to a wide range of medications ranging from anti-depressants and pain killers to antihistamines. And the cloud that they create in a person’s mind usually is the result of side effects of the medications....
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