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View Original Article Here: Gerotranscendence: Often Overlooked Virtues of Aging

According to the Population Reference Bureau, the number of American seniors projects to at least double by 2060. Although many people resist the changes that occur with every birthday, getting older is a privilege. We often ignore the benefits of maturing, but this “third age” can be one of the most fulfilling times in your life.

What Is Gerotranscendence Theory?

Gerotranscendence theory was developed by gerontologist Lars Tornstam to dig deeper into the vital components of human elderhood. Tornstam posits that even though many of us view the side effects of getting older as a type of decline, we become more whole in the way that we experience the world.

The theory of aging says that we recreate our sense of self in our later years. Just because we look, feel and behave differently when we’re 80 than we did at 50, it doesn’t mean that we’re any less whole.

In fact, as we transcend into maturity, we become less preoccupied with our egos and more connected with the world. This transcendence can help us relinquish our fears of death and merge into an idea of communal human existence as we near the end of our lives.

While many people see the effects of getting older as problematic, Tornstam explains that the general perspective, not the typical behaviors of older adults, could be the problem. The indicators of health, wellness, and vitality at 20 are different than they are at 50 and 80.

For example, many elder care facilities focus on providing a wealth of social opportunities for their residents. That’s because social engagements and group activities are a sign of healthy living for younger people. However, what if elderly adults have a greater need for solitude than they did 20 years ago?

A resident who shies away from participating in social programs might appear withdrawn or depressed. If you view the individual from the perspective of this theory, however, you understand that the person has grown into another phase of maturity.

Three Dimensions

Dr. Tornstam’s theory looks at three dimensions of human existence. He says that as we get older, people tend to move away from a materialistic, practical worldview. We rise into a realm where the dimensions of self, cosmic energy and relationships shift.

To younger people, this may make elderly adults seem like they have lost their grasp on reality. If we recognize this as a healthy part of the changes that happen as we mature, it’s completely normal.

The Self Dimension

Some psychological and social theories claim that the personality is unchangeable. However, Tornstam believes that your self is constantly changing as you experience the world. In your later years, taking time away from other people helps you build your integrity.

As you mature, you have a decreased need for attention. You have been part of many communities throughout your lifetime, and you feel the connection between yourself and others. Your sense of purpose seems to fall into place, and you’re more comfortable with who you are.

The Cosmic Dimension

As you get older, you might merge the past and the present. From the outside, this is viewed as confusion. People who care for older adults may feel that this is abnormal behavior.

However, Tornstam believes that this is a healthy part of maturing. Older adults are more comfortable with things that they don’t understand. Therefore, they don’t have a distinct need to separate the past and the present.

As their ability to describe their experience using language diminishes, it also becomes harder to explain what they’re thinking and feeling. Instead of being seen as a detriment to their quality of living, this can be a positive sign that the individual feels comfort and peace surrounding their place in the world.

The Relationship Dimension

Tornstam assumes that people’s value in social relationships changes as they grow older. They may intentionally choose to be more selective about social relationships. They also need more time to themselves.

As people grow older, they may also become less concerned with social norms and other people’s opinions. Although this may cause them to act in ways that people in their 40s may disapprove of, many elderly adults have merely transcended the boundaries of what we assume is the proper way to behave.

Limitations of The Theory

This theory can help caregivers come up with appropriate models of care that take into account what’s healthy for a senior. Using the theory allows care staff to assess patients in a more inclusive way.

A need for solitude can be seen as part of a healthy relationship dimension and not antisocial behavior. Facilities that base their standards on this theory can provide more access to nature and allow for more sharing of personal stories. They may also develop processes that help seniors express their sense of self through the continuum of time, such as journaling or art therapy.

The theory is limited in a few ways, however. Tornstam never defines Gerotranscendence. He explains that older people can transcend the limitations of society and the material world, but he never specifically delineates what the term means.

Tornstam also says that the theory is limited to elderly adults. Other researchers say that the sense of self, cosmic energy and relationships shifts and redevelops throughout every decade.

Finally, the theory doesn’t integrate mental health statistics very well. Experts say that up to 90 percent of people in long-term care settings are depressed. Tornstam’s theory would claim that all of the symptoms that we associate with depression aren’t necessarily indicators of the mental health condition in older adults. He says that negative experiences correlate with higher levels of transcendence.

The theory could redefine the way that we treat older adults with mental health issues. However, researchers need to explore the theory and current knowledge more deeply.

Dr. Lars Tornstam

Dr. Lars Tornstam was a Swedish sociologist and a professor at Copenhagen University and Uppsala University. His theory is similar to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which was amended in Maslow’s later years to include the idea of going beyond your potential and experiencing communion beyond the self.

Tornstam researched gerontology for more than 30 years. His initial work on Gerotranscendence made a splash in the late 1980s. It reversed society’s notions that healthy aging involves continuing to form social relationships and staying productive. The idea that retreating into your consciousness and disconnecting from the material world is a healthy sign of maturity was somewhat revolutionary at the time.

View Original Article Here: Tai Chi For Seniors: Exercises, Benefits, and Tips For The Elderly

Tai chi, a form of Chinese martial arts that focuses on slow, controlled movements. It’s low impact and gives people with limited mobility a chance to improve their balance, range of motion and coordination. Research shows that tai chi for seniors can reduce the incidence of falls in elderly and at-risk adults by about 43 percent. With fewer than 34 percent of aging adults getting enough exercise, it’s important for caregivers, older individuals and people who work with seniors to know about this gentle but effective activity.

What Is Tai Chi?

Tai chi is an ancient way of moving that is practiced by more than 200 million people across the globe. Unlike many forms of exercise that focus on strengthening your muscles, improving your endurance or boosting your flexibility, this activity allows you to work with your qi, or life force.

The idea behind it is that when you’re feeling slow, sluggish and fatigued, your chi is low. With an abundance of chi, you feel alert and vibrant.

Every movement helps develop energy flow. For example, the tai chi prayer wheel is a cornerstone move that can rejuvenate you and renew your energy whenever you’re feeling stressed, anxious or tense.

The practice is considered to be a perfect exercise. It is associated with a low rate of injury and has a wide range of medical benefits, including:

Balance control

Improved fitness

Better aerobic capacity

Stronger muscles

Increased energy

Reduced inflammation

Improved mood

Less depression and anxiety

Better sleep quality

Improved immunity

Weight loss benefits

Tai chi has even been linked to increased longevity. In one study that looked at the exercise habits of more than 61,000 men in China, researchers found that it is relatively equivalent to walking and jogging for reducing mortality rates.

The history of tai chi is steeped in mystery. It was developed between 700 and 1500 years ago as a Chinese fighting art. The Taoist monk Zhang San Feng is credited with creating the practice.

Some people confuse tai chi with qi gong. Both involve energy work and slow, graceful motions. People who practice both types of exercise focus on energy flow within their bodies. However, qi gong involves more varied moves than tai chi. It also focuses on directing certain energy flows, whereas tai chi works on the energetic body as a whole.

So how do you practice? It involves moving fluidly through a series of positions. As in yoga, you must be mindful of your breath when practicing. As you move, you concentrate on inhaling into your belly, which is the center of your qi. The practice can create a better mind-body connection and help you become more present in your surroundings.

How Does Tai Chi Benefit The Elderly?

Although anyone can practice, it may be especially beneficial for older adults. Tai chi for seniors can be practiced in a chair, bed or wheelchair. Limited mobility is not a problem when performing tai chi exercises for seniors. Also, it has been found to improve medical conditions that often affect aging adults.

It Improves Stability In People With Parkinson’s Disease

One study looked at the ways in which tai chi balance exercises for seniors could improve postural stability in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Physical activity has been proven to help slow the deterioration of motor functions in these individuals. It also helps prolong independence.

However, many exercises geared toward people with Parkinson’s require equipment and safety monitoring. Seniors don’t always have access to gyms or trainers.

It was found to improve postural stability in patients with Parkinson’s disease because it encourages the type of rhythmic weight shifting that happens when you stand and walk. It also emphasizes making controlled motions when the center of gravity is displaced.

It Can Reduce Chronic Pain

Harvard Medical School researchers discovered that the traditional Chinese exercise is also beneficial for people with chronic heart failure. After a 12-week program, participants in the study reported having a better quality of life and experiencing better sleep.

Tai chi can also help with pain, which can affect up to 85 percent of seniors, according to NIH Medline Plus. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that the exercise might be useful in treating fibromyalgia. Participants who practiced an hour twice a week for 12 weeks experienced more improvements in symptoms compared with people who were involved in wellness education and stretching.

Harvard Medical School reports that it can help relieve pain in people with arthritis, tension headaches and other chronic diseases. In a 2015 analysis, researchers looked at the practice’s effects on quality of life for adults in their 60s and 70s. All of the participants in the studies had at least one chronic disease, including cancer, osteoarthritis, heart failure or COPD. On average, the individuals who performed the movements showed improvements in gait, muscle strength and quality of life.

It Helps Treat People With Diabetes And Metabolic Syndrome

Tai chi can even help people control their type 2 diabetes. Medical News Today cites two studies that were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The researchers found that it lowers blood glucose levels and improves immune system response in people with this type of diabetes.

In addition to lowering inflammation and boosting the immune system, it was found was found to raise fitness levels and general feelings of well-being. Participants said that they slept better, had less pain, experienced an increase in energy levels and had fewer food cravings while participating in a tai chi program.

It Helps Prevent Falls

The National Council on Aging explains that falls are the leading cause of injury in seniors. Falling can affect an individual’s independence, making them reliant on a wheelchair or other people for assistance. It can also produce fatal injuries.

Twenty-five percent of Americans ages 65 and older fall every year. A senior citizen dies from a fall-related injury every 19 minutes.

Many seniors avoid activities that improve their wellness and quality of life because they’re afraid of falling. The less they move around, the more their risk of falling increases. In addition to damaging their physical well-being, this activity restriction can also lead to isolation, depression, and feelings of helplessness.

Tai chi is an integrative approach that can help older adults improve their balance and stamina while boosting their mood. Harvard Medical School says that an hour of intense movements brings about similar aerobic benefits as taking a brisk walk. Plus, performing the slow motions can improve a senior’s confidence more than hitting the sidewalk and venturing away from home.

Some researchers have found that the practice is just as effective for building muscle as more forceful types of weight training. Again, aging adults may be more likely to try something new if it is easy to do and doesn’t involve vigorous activity.

The movements improve stability because it requires practitioners to concentrate on all of the physical components that tend to decline as they get older. While performing the positions, you build leg strength, improve range of motion, work on flexibility and keep your reflexes sharp. These are all factors that can contribute to falls.

Surprisingly, the emotional impact of tai chi on falls cannot be overlooked. Fear of falling is one of the greatest predictors of a tumble. It helps reduce that anxiety by making you more comfortable on your feet.

It Is A Low Impact Exercise

Unlike many other forms of exercise, including walking, the exercise is considered to have zero impact on joints and bones. It’s one of the safest ways to get moving while avoiding injury. You can start the practice at any fitness level. You can also choose to work your way up to more intense motions if you become stronger and more mobile.

Easy Exercise Videos For Seniors

Tai chi for seniors is not difficult to learn. You don’t need to know a special language, follow certain steps or have specific equipment. Simply wear comfortable clothing and turn on a video to learn some moves.

Master Gohring

Before you begin a routine, you should learn to focus on your breath. Even if you don’t incorporate any physical actions into your practice, learning how to inhale and exhale properly can provide benefits.

Your breath provides a mind-body connection. It’s also calming. The breath may be the most important aspect of the activity.

You may find it hard to coordinate the breath with the motions at first. That’s normal. You can get more practice by practicing this regularly throughout the day whether you’re doing the exercises or not.

Picture your breath to move as a continuous circle into your body and out of your body. One of the most important aspects of tai chi breathing is to focus on inhaling into your belly while relaxing your muscles. The more you practice, the more natural this type of deep breathing will become.

Warmup In Chair

This warmup can be done while seated, which makes it ideal for people with limited mobility. It’s a gentle way to strengthen and loosen up the body if you have an injury or issues with stability or pain.

The exercises emphasize the muscles of the upper body and abdomen. However, the lower body is not neglected. Some leg extensions and ankle exercises are incorporated in this sitting warmup video.

The instructor talks you through each movement. If you have trouble hearing the directions, you can follow along with what you see on the screen. Each sequence is repeated several times, making it easy to mimic.

Movements For Arthritis

This sit-down tai chi for arthritis program was first developed in 1996. Over the years, people who aren’t able to do standing movements have been able to benefit from this type of sequence. It has been taught to people who have suffered from strokes, multiple sclerosis, heart problems and lung conditions.

Dr. Paul Lam explains that these easy exercises can even be practiced on an airplane.

You’ll learn how to do the wave motion with proper form. Dr. Lam tells you what parts of the body to focus on as you do the hand positions. This involves some less obvious positions, including putting pressure on a specific foot and concentrating on pulling in your knee.

8-Minute Daily Practice

These easy tai chi moves are taught from a standing position. They’re simple for beginners to learn.

If you practice every day, you’ll improve your balance and posture. You should start feeling fewer aches and pains if you do these over time.

The instructor tells you exactly what to do with your hands and feet as he shows you the moves. He even explains how many repetitions of each action you might want to do.

The moves included in this video include:

Calming the waters

Push water to the side

Ball to the valley

Push and pull

Gentle Tai Chi and Qi Gong LEAP Service

If you want to perform a longer exercise program, try this 22-minute routine. You’ll learn some gentle moves that you can do while standing or sitting. The instructors will show you how to adapt the positions for different levels.

They also explain how to adjust the moves if you have limited mobility. You’ll see how to use a large or narrow range of motion. The instructors also remind you to check in with your body frequently so that you’re always performing moves that feel comfortable and safe.

You’ll begin by inhaling and exhaling as you relax obvious areas of tension. You can always come back to this basic posture if you need to rest during the sequence.

What Is The 70% Rule?

When we strive to do anything in life, we’re often told to “give it our all” or “put in 100%.” We get used to doing that, and it puts us at greater risk for injury when it comes to exercise.

Tai chi is rooted in the Taoist tradition. Part of the philosophy involves the 70-percent rule. This says that an individual should not perform at more than 70 percent of his or her capacity.

That doesn’t mean that you should sit back and do the moves in an unfocused manner. You can put in your full concentration and determination.

However, don’t push your body to its limits. This not only strains your muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments but also puts mental pressure on you. In tai chi, your mental state is just as important as your physical moves. If you shut down because you feel tense or overexerted, you won’t be able to do the practice effectively.

The 70-percent rule applies to every aspect of the practice. To follow it, think about how much you can do. For example, perhaps a move requires you to bend all the way to the floor, and you’re capable of doing so. You should still only bend 70 percent of the way down so that you can work on developing the position properly.

The rule pertains to the length of time for which you practice too. If you know that you can do an hour-long routine, you should practice the 70-percent rule by only doing tai chi for 45 minutes.

Can Tai Chi Be Used As A Treatment For Anything?

Tai chi is part of traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM. TCM practitioners use mind and body practices, such as tai chi, to prevent and treat physical and mental problems. Therefore, you might wonder if you can use tai chi to treat any medical conditions.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, it is a complementary approach for treating many conditions. Because it’s cost effective and generally considered to be safe, it doesn’t hurt to try it for conditions such as:

Fibromyalgia

Parkinson’s disease

Pain management

Menopausal symptoms

Osteoarthritis

Stress

Heart failure

Type 2 diabetes

Much of the research that has been conducted on tai chi for treating medical conditions is in its infancy. Therefore, some of its claims for alleviating certain problems aren’t substantiated. Still, the physical and psychological benefits are so numerous that you can use the practice to indirectly improve your well-being even if it doesn’t treat a specific disease.

Tai Chi Classes For Seniors

Many gyms, community centers and senior centers offer tai chi classes. A group class can keep you motivated and hold you accountable for creating consistency with your practice. With other people around, you will also have help if you do fall or injure yourself. An in-person instructor can also correct your form as you do the moves.

If you decide to take tai chi classes for seniors, you might wonder what to expect. If you have never taken any online classes or watched any videos, you may not know the moves. Make sure that you tell the teacher that it’s your first class.

You should also ask the instructor whether it’s appropriate to ask questions during the class or save them for later. You might even want to observe a few classes and jot down your questions to ask the instructor before you attend your first class as a participant.

You might feel like you’re not keeping up with the other students, but there is no set endpoint. Tai chi is a journey, and you’ll always have more to learn. If you go in with an open mind, you won’t feel pressure to perform perfectly. Be patient with yourself, and remember that the more you practice, the easier the moves will become.

Tips And Strategies

Because many people have never performed tai chi, they might be hesitant to learn the moves. These tips for seniors will help you get started.

It’s Never Too Late To Learn

More than half of the people who practice tai chi begin after age 50. Don’t avoid learning because you feel like you’re too old or out of shape.

Learn From Others

If you can take an in-person class, you can establish a rapport with your peers and learn how others adapt the moves to work for their fitness and mobility levels. If you can’t attend a class, you can learn something new from every online instructor or YouTube video that you watch.

Work It Into Your Daily Life

Some experts say that about 30 percent of seniors might deal with anxiety on a regular basis. Incorporating tai chi into everything you do can help you manage stress.

Set an alarm to remind you to do mindful breathing every few hours throughout the day. Work the 70-percent rule into everything that you do.

When you structure your day based on tai chi principles, you may live in a state of relaxation instead of tension. For example, you can apply the 70-percent rule to every aspect of your life. It can help you prevent injury when doing other physical tasks. This rule can also help you stay calm when you’re presented with a problem that you would normally obsess over until you wore yourself out.

Stay Consistent

It can be hard to develop new habits when you’re older. Try to set aside a specific time each day to practice.

If you can only do 5 minutes at a time, that’s fine. In fact, you should probably start with 3 minutes in that case so that you stick with the 70-percent rule. Once you feel like the short practice is part of your routine, you can begin to lengthen it if that’s a goal.

Don’t Learn Everything At Once

View Original Article Here: How Long Does Shingles Last In The Elderly?

Shingles is a viral infection that follows a varicella-zoster infection, although it can take decades for symptoms of the secondary disease to emerge. The condition presents as a painful and blistering rash, but it is not life-threatening.

According to the Center for Disease Control, there are nearly one million cases in the United States each year, and almost half of those cases are in older adults over age 60. Some people only see one instance of the illness, while others have recurring symptoms, but 30 percent of Americans will develop shingles at some point in their lifetime.

Duration of Shingles: Timeline of the Virus

The timeline of shingles is consistent once symptoms begin, but many people may have the condition for years without realizing it. Internal shingles can take decades to present itself, while many people never show symptoms at all. If you’re asking yourself, “how long does shingles last,” it can be different for each person, but below is a general progression.

Itching, Pain, or Tingling

Before any irritation appears, the site may first itch or tingle, or even feel painful. These sensations start to happen between one and five days before redness or itching begins. Many people may not recognize these symptoms, particularly if they have a mild case of shingles.

Blister-Like Rash

After the initial discomfort in a specific area, blisters begin to emerge. This contagious rash can take two to four weeks to go away, but once a flare-up ends, an individual will no longer be contagious. Shingles duration varies based on whether people take medication and the current state of their health, however.

Potential for Transmission

During the time that the blisters are active, a person with shingles can transmit the varicella-zoster virus to others. Once the blisters scab over, the transmission risk disappears. People who have chronic conditions or have undergone cancer or other treatment that suppresses the immune system may be more vulnerable to disease transmission.

Treatment

While you cannot cure shingles, antiviral medicines may shorten the eruption period of rashes. These medicines can also help lessen the severity of an outbreak. Both topical pain relief and oral medications may also relieve discomfort. Calamine lotion and gentle oatmeal baths may help with itching, too.

Return to Health

Once the irritation clears, most people with shingles feel healthy again. However, most adults with shingles can experience flare-ups more often when their immune function is low, or they are otherwise ill.

In total, the condition can last for anywhere from two to six weeks, and many people only experience an outbreak one time. However, it is possible to have it multiple times.

What Is Shingles?

Shingles is a condition that lies inactive in people who have a particular type of herpes. If you look at shingles pictures, a shingles rash appears as blisters. The pattern usually follows a stripe across the torso, but variations do occur.

How Does Someone Get Shingles?

Only people who have carry a dormant infection can contract shingles because the viral illness sticks around in nerve tissue that can reactivate later in life. While people of all ages can develop shingles, it’s most common in people who are over age 60.

Risk factors for shingles include increased age, leukemia, lymphoma, and HIV infection. People who receive steroid treatments and cancer chemotherapy are also part of the high-risk category. At the same time, people with underlying conditions that affect their body’s ability to fight infection are also at risk. This can include people with diabetes or other conditions.

Shingles Symptoms

Although the National Shingles Foundation notes that the symptoms of shingles are understandably vague, because each person feels the effects differently, there are general guidelines for what people can expect to result in a diagnosis. However, the symptoms are often similar to the mild flu, which leads to people delaying a doctor’s visit.

According to the Mayo Clinic, early symptoms include mild tingling, numbness, burning, or discomfort in a small area of one side of the body. Sensitivity to touch, red skin, and itching come before clusters of fluid-filled blisters. Additional symptoms can also involve fever, headache, sensitivity to light, and fatigue.

While these symptoms can also indicate other health issues, individuals who have a higher risk of shingles need to remain aware of their body’s signals and contact their medical care provider in case of any concerns.

In very rare cases, shingles can occur without visible indications. This subcategory of shingles is zoster sine herpete, but still involves shooting sensations, numbness, tingling, or itching. In some cases, people do not notice the emergence of blisters, and so assume that their symptoms have nothing to do with shingles at all. This is more common than actual zoster sine herpete.

When Should I See The Doctor?

If you have never experienced shingles before, you should contact your doctor and bring along a list of your symptoms to make sure that you address any underlying issues or oddities. This is especially important for people over age 60 because seniors often face additional complications.

You can visit any medical professional, such as a general practitioner, family physician, internist, dermatologist, or even a neurologist for assistance. A test will confirm or deny the suspicion of shingles.

Your care provider needs to know about any prior health conditions as well as any medications that you are currently taking. If you require any drugs to help recover from shingles, your care provider will need to avoid drug interactions, so a list of medicines that you are on is helpful for this.

You should also consult medical help if large areas of the body show blistering activity, or if the affected area is close to your eyes. Severe complications can occur if these conditions remain untreated, but with medical assistance, patients can avoid many undesirable outcomes.

Many people can live with shingles and avoid severe complications, but an early and accurate diagnosis is the first step in promoting and protecting your overall health.

Shingles Treatment Options

To effectively treat shingles, you should first obtain an official diagnosis from a medical professional. Ideally, you should begin a course of action within 72 hours of the onset of symptoms.

At your initial visit, your care provider can take fluid and tissue samples and provide prescriptions for antiviral drugs like Zovirax or Valtrex for shingles treatment. A range of medications is available to alleviate shingles pain as well.

Acyclovir (Zovirax) and Valacyclovir (Valtrex) are two common antiviral drugs that can aid recovery of shingles. For management of discomfort, topical capsaicin patches (Qutenza) or numbing agents such as lidocaine in cream, gel, spray, or patch form soothe from the outside in.

Injections of corticosteroids, local anesthetics, anticonvulsants like gabapentin (Neurotonin), and even tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline) can also offer relief. The right medication can help shingles sufferers retain their normal function and get back to living life as usual, despite their underlying diagnosis.

However, not all medications will work for all patients, and each medication carries its own side effects and risks. You should discuss these potential side effects with your health team and decide which is in your best recovery and health maintenance interest.

One important consideration, while you are taking medications for shingles, is to avoid alcohol. According to the Mayo Clinic, drinking alcohol can reduce the effectiveness of many medicines, including those that relieve shingles symptoms.

Managing Shingles in Older Adults

Populations of elderly adults are at a higher risk of contracting shingles because of lower immune capacity. As we age, our bodies begin to become more susceptible to outside influences.

Immunocompromised individuals with other underlying conditions also face a higher risk. In fact, by age 80, half of all people have had shingles. This means older adults have the most to worry about when it comes to contracting shingles and living with its effects.

There are unique factors to consider for elderly populations, particularly if those individuals live at home and do not have access to medical support or means of self-care.

Long-Term Pain and Other Complications

In many cases, shingles causes lasting problems for older adults.  These complications range from minor to severe and debilitating and vary based on each person’s unique life circumstances and healthcare history.

Vision and Hearing Problems

If the outbreak originates near a person’s eyes or ears, this can affect their vision and hearing. Scarring and sensitivity can damage eyes and ears. Permanent blindness is a serious potential side effect of shingles on elderly populations. Luckily, treating instances of facial shingles quickly can help avoid long-term damage.

Bacterial Infection and Scarring

Because the blisters present as open sores, seniors who cannot manage self-care, or those who do not receive assistance, can contract bacterial infections. In some cases, however, people develop bacterial infections because of environmental factors, not personal care abilities.

When bacterial infections take hold, tissue can become scarred or necrotize completely without proper medical care. This dangerous and devastating effect of shingles can result in disfigurement or potential handicap if it continues without rehabilitative measures.

Post-Herpetic Neuralgia

Post-herpetic neuralgia is a complication that stems from nerve damage. It affects nerve fibers inside and outside the body and can prolong discomfort even after rashes clear up. People who are over 50, those with severe shingles outbursts or who had shingles on their faces or torsos, and people with chronic diseases are at higher risk of this disorder.

Many people with this condition report that it is difficult to even wear clothing in some cases, because of the extreme sensitivity of their bodies. Sleep can be difficult to come by because of topical irritants, and venturing out of the house can become an insurmountable challenge.

Fortunately, the CDC reports that the zoster injection is 66.5 percent effective in preventing post-herpetic neuralgia, and it also appears to reduce the severity of shingles and PHN if a person contracts shingles despite preventative vaccination.

Depression

For seniors who live alone and deal with shingles, the condition can influence more than their physical health. Because older people are already at a high risk of isolation, already more than seven million American adults over age 65 experience depression each year.

This unfortunate fact means that even minor illness, and particularly a condition like shingles that influences both physical and mental abilities, can pose a huge challenge to senior adults living alone. In addition to the regular aches and headaches from depressive episodes, older adults dealing with shingles outbreaks face further isolation and emotions that are difficult to process.

As with any disease, older adults who live alone or in an assisted living facility require additional support and care, both from family and medical staff. This is an important aspect of action because both social and medical factors should contribute to whole-person care solutions.

Loss of Sleep

With or without post-herpetic neuralgia, many sufferers of shingles deal with long-term sensitivity, tenderness, and severe discomfort. This can impact their sleep habits, therefore affecting their ability to engage in enjoyable activities and maintain energy levels throughout the day.

Keeping active is a vital part of aging healthfully, so elderly adults with shingles should focus on healthy habits as a primary means of combating potential flare-ups. Getting enough sleep, exercise, and maintaining food intake can all help the body combat illness.

Frequently Asked Questions:

From “how long does shingles last” to “how much time will I need off work”, there are a lot of questions surrounding how to cope with a shingles diagnosis.

Here are the most common questions surrounding the condition along with their answers.

How Long Can Shingles Last Without Medication?

Without medication, blisters typically scab over within seven to ten days, clearing completely by two to four weeks later. Symptoms can arrive before an outburst, but also continue to remain after the redness and blistering subside.

Medication is optional for people suffering from shingles, but it’s often a welcome reprieve from the complications of the condition. Still, some medication can prolong shingles outbreaks if a person is allergic or suffers other side effects from any dosage.

How Long Does Pain Last With Shingles?

Because every person is different, the duration of a shingles outbreak can last anywhere from two to six weeks, but the after-effects can linger for months or even years. Once blisters heal, many people still deal with soreness and painful recovery.

When Does Shingles Stop Being Contagious?

Shingles is only contagious during periods when the active blisters leak fluid. Also, you cannot give shingles to another person, but they may contract chickenpox from exposure.

How Do I Shorten The Duration of Shingles?

Antiviral drugs can speed healing after a shingles outbreak, and topical and internal medicines can aid in relieving discomfort. In this way, the overall duration shortens, and the effects are less severe. However, medication is entirely optional for people with shingles, although its ability to offer comfort and a shorter outbreak period is something to consider.

How Long Do Shingles Blisters Continue To Appear?

Blisters typically stick around for under two weeks, and often people only experience one shingles episode in their lifetime. However, it’s possible for the condition to recur, since that is the nature of all viruses.

Some people experience multiple outbreaks, particularly with increased age, standard illness, chronic pre-existing conditions, or seasonal sickness that knocks down their immune systems’ defenses.

According to the National Shingles Foundation, shingles recurs in roughly one to five percent of patients. However, the location of the blisters usually varies, and many recurring cases are not actually shingles, but another variation of herpes instead.

Accurate diagnosis requires testing and a professional opinion, so attempting to self-diagnose is often more harmful than helpful.

How Can I Prevent Transmission?

To keep from getting others sick, avoid direct contact with people during an outbreak of shingles where blisters are active. Alternatively, you can attempt to cover the affected area to avoid contact. Either way, once blisters scab over, they no longer pose a transmission hazard, because the fluid inside is what carries the viral material.

Also, even people who have received the zoster or varicella vaccines are still at risk for contracting this form of herpes from people with shingles. This is because Zoster is not 100 percent efficacious, meaning it does not prevent shingles 100 percent of the time.

According to Immunize.org, the efficacy of zoster is 51 percent in people ages 60 and older, but this number decreases with an increase in age. Also, according to their research, shingles protection with zoster appears to last for less than ten years. This means most people will see a recurring risk of shingles regardless of vaccination status.

Does Valtrex Shorten The Duration of Shingles?

Valtrex, or valacyclovir, is a drug that blocks the spread of herpes that creates shingles. This helps fight infection and reduce the duration of outbreaks. It works for shingles as well as other herpes conditions like genital herpes and cold sores in adults.

There are serious side effects with Valtrex, but its ability to shorten the period of blisters and discomfort with shingles are often worth the risk for many people. Side effects include harm to the kidneys, especially when you take this medication along with other medicines that tax those organs.

Fever, bruising or bleeding, red spots unrelated to shingles blisters, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, weakness, fainting, and lack of urination are concerns that warrant immediate action.

How Long Will I Be Out of Work?

People who work with at-risk populations, such as seniors or immunocompromised individuals, should ensure that they adequately cover any lesions so that none of the fluid from the blisters touches others. If that’s not possible, it’s better to abstain from working completely during an outbreak.

Ideally, you should avoid working when you are contagious when blisters are present, but for many people, this is not feasible. However, if the blistering episode has passed and symptoms like fever, fatigue, or discomfort remain, consider taking extra time for recovery.

Should You Get The Shingles Vaccine?

According to geriatric pharmacist Kenneth Cohen, PharmD, Ph.D., CGP, zoster (also Zostavax), the shingles vaccine, “significantly reduced the incidence of herpes zoster” and can preserve the quality of life of people who avoid shingles through vaccination.

However, the Center for Disease Control’s Q&A on zoster does advise people with severe allergies, immunosuppression, or those who are pregnant to avoid receiving the shot. They do recommend routine vaccination for people over 60 but only advise vaccinating in specific cases for those ages 50 to 59.

For people ages 50 to 59, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, does not recommend routine vaccination with Zostavax. This is because disease rates are lower in this age group than in the 60 and above population. Also, their statement notes that there is “insufficient evidence for long term protection” with the shot.

Because the protection period lasts roughly ten years, the ACIP states that vaccination should take place at age 60 at the minimum. However, because Zostavax is FDA-approved for ages 50 through 59, physicians can still administer the shot without the ACIP’s recommendation.

When it comes to the injection itself, even for people who do not have a significant risk of reaction to the shot may experience redness at the injection site, tenderness, swelling, and itchiness. In the CDC’s key clinical trial, 1.4 percent of participants reported serious adverse reactions, but they note that the placebo group’s percentage was identical. Overall, this equates to a high safety profile on the vaccination.

Prevention of shingles is tricky business, partly because there are no clear answers on why some individuals experience outbreaks while others do not. Experts reason that this is a result of individual health and immunity factors, as well as other considerations like age.

Beyond these innate differences across populations, the unpredictability of the shot’s efficacy means that some people will have protection against shingles, while others will not, and there is no reliable way of predicting who will avoid infection and who will end up with a diagnosis.

More Information About Shingles

Here are a few resources where you can learn more about the duration of shingles in the elderly.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636)

[email protected]

https://www.cdc.gov/shingles/index.html

National Shingles Foundation

(212) 222-3390

[email protected]

View Original Article Here: Learn How To Make A Family Tree With This Simple Guide

Learning how to make a family tree can be an easy and fun experience for everyone in the family.

You may be wondering how to make a genealogical tree, and in this article, we’ll tell you exactly what to do. You won’t need any specialized tree templates to make your tree chart, so don’t be afraid to dive right in.

What is A Family Tree?

A family history is a diagram which charts the familial relationships of each generation of a family. In essence, a family history tracks your family genealogy and is the way you make a family tree: who is related to who, and how. You could also call family history charts genealogical trees, but it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as well.

A very small family history chart might be one node for a mother, another node for a father, and then above them, nodes for their children. Most families who make family history charts want to go a bit further than the obvious, though.

Complicated family history charts look more like tree charts than simple diagrams because they contain a lot of information. Each node of the family history chart shows who gave birth to that person and also any children that person subsequently had, and with who. If you’re trying to establish your family’s lineage past a couple of living generations, you’ll rapidly find that things get difficult.

How to Make a Family Tree

Making a family history chart can be as simple or as difficult as you choose to make it. Some families prefer to hunt down distant relatives in other countries, whereas others are content to account for everyone within two or three generations.

You’ll follow four main steps to make a family history chart: tallying your living relatives, figuring out where dead relatives should go, hunting down more detail on dead relatives if desired, and compiling all of the information together.

If you don’t have a poster board, pins, and boxes of old photos, you should probably assemble those before starting. You can also use a software program to keep track of your family’s genealogy if you prefer.

Account for Living Relatives

Accounting for living relatives is as easy as writing on an index card the name of the living family member, then pinning that index card to the board. Pinning a photograph to the index card on the board helps to see who is who at a glance.

Start from your immediate family first, then work your way outward. For everyone that has a maiden name or a nickname, you should write it on their index card. For now, pin older generations lower on the poster board and pin the younger generations above them.

As an example, let’s say your immediate family consists of your parents, you, your sibling, your spouse, and your two children. Your parents would each have a card, and have their index cards at the bottom. Above them should be your card, and next to your card should be your spouse.

At this point, you should work out a system for identifying the original bloodline of your family. Mark your spouse’s card to indicate that they weren’t a child of your parents, but rather a child of someone else’s parents—who you may or may not want to put on the tree. Put your sibling’s card next to your card, once again making sure that it’s clear that they’re your sibling and not your spouse.

Above you and your spouse, put a card for each of your children. Voila, you now have a simple family history chart which accounts for the founders of the family, their progeny, and then the latest generation as begat by those progenies.  This basic family history chart will look more like a shrub, but it’s a start.

If you want to get fancy, you can write stuff like the country of origin or other data onto the index cards.

Interview Living Relatives About Dead Relatives

You probably want to take the family history chart way beyond a simple bush, though. To fill out the roots and branches of the family history chart, you’ll need to start including dead relatives, including those that you may not hear about much.

Interview your living relatives about the ones who have passed is a great starting point.

You’ve probably heard your parents or grandparents mention their lost siblings or parents in passing, but now it’s time to pin down those relationships. Ask questions until you have an index card for all of the siblings, parents, great-aunts, cousins, and others that you may have never heard of before.

A great question to start with is “who did Grandma like to tell stories about that you never met?” questions like these build the basis for the harder-to-reach roots of the family history chart. You may not necessarily have enough information to place the new entries correctly—sometimes it won’t be clear who was on what side of the family.

The important thing during this step is to assemble names, ranges of years, and geographical areas. If your dead relatives were particularly talkative, you might have a huge extension of your family history chart just by interviewing some of their caretakers. It’s much more likely that you’ll have a lot of clues and only a few completed cards to add to the board after interviewing, though.

It’s worth interpreting “living relatives” very loosely during this step of the process. If you think you might be distantly related to someone with the same surname as you, call them up and ask them a few questions to see if you might be related. Reaching out to a stranger is a bit scary, but you can add a huge amount of depth and breadth to your tree if you’re willing to take a chance or two along the way.

Surviving friends of dead relatives are also good sources of information. They’ll likely know more details about the person’s relations in periods of time before their children were born.

After interviewing comes the hardest step: following the clues from interviews to finish those incomplete index cards so that you can place them in the correct spot on the tree.

Request Official Documents on Dead Relatives

Thankfully there are many resources designed to help genealogists hunt down people to understand their lineage. Scour these resources with the partial pieces of information that you scrounged from interviewing your living relatives.

Remember to check nicknames, maiden names, and potentially misspelled surnames if your relatives immigrated at any point. If you have a common family name, your task will be considerably more difficult. Try to zero in in dates, locations, professions, and relations as much as possible given the information that you have.

Often, this round of research can create a lot of hunches that are not-quite-confirmed. If you can track enough information about a particular node on the family history chart, you can probably request a public record document that will put your hunch to the test. Birth and death records are retained for long periods of time at municipal places like town halls, so requesting the document (and showing that you have reason to believe you are related to this person) can put your questions to rest.

This process can get difficult for families whose family history chart spans multiple countries, as many do. The single biggest dead ends in family history chart record hunting are the barriers between countries, especially in the era of World War 2. Many records from that era were lost or intentionally destroyed, but if you’re lucky, the immigration bodies will have some record which will be of use for you—though not all will be forthcoming.

If you hit a dead end in your research quest, don’t feel too bad. Some families live in the same geographical area for many generations, which makes genealogical tree research very easy, and other families are more dynamic, making them much harder to pin down.

Should I Get Genetic Testing?

In this day and age, you can get genetic testing which can give you additional clues regarding your family’s geographical ancestry if the trail has gone cold. If you don’t have an active lead to a specific geographical area after reaching a certain node, it might be worth getting your genome sequenced via one of the popular services to see what you can learn.

Genetic testing can typically clean up areas of ambiguity in your family history chart, provided that you have samples that you’re willing to part with and pay for processing. The more living members of your family that you can get tested, the more information you’ll learn. You might learn, for instance, that your first cousin is your second cousin, or that your grandmother isn’t related to you by blood.

Testing of this sort can unearth family secrets that some people would prefer to remain buried, so tread carefully.

For most people, this is a bit too much work for too little chance of reward, though.

Assemble the Information

Once you’ve assembled all of the possible records on everyone that you can really find information on, it’s time to clean up and fill out the giant poster board. Don’t be afraid to start from scratch, just be sure to have the oldest generation at the bottom of the tree and the latest generation at the top.

Each generation accounts for roughly 20 or 30 years of life, so it may be a useful unit of organization to break up the tiers of your tree. Don’t get too hung up on having specific generations, though. People don’t always reproduce exactly in phase with the period that they “should,” and your tree doesn’t necessarily need to account for when people were born, merely their relationship to each other.

Seeing your entire family’s bloodline in one giant chart can be very interesting, and it can give your entire family a new sense of their place in history. The more information on each node that you can add, the more you can understand how your ancestors lived.

It’s acceptable to have gaps and uncertain connections in your family history chart; almost everyone does. It’s often very difficult to create much of anything of certainty in your family history chart beyond the “great-grandparent” level. At that point, you’re reaching back about a century in time, which is a feat.

Tips for Creating Your Genealogical Tree

Now that you know the basic process for making a family history chart let’s tie everything together.

Here are a few good tips that will set your family history chart on the right growth trajectory:

Keep track of maiden names and be sure to search for them instead of newer names

Use common sense when following the paper trail; don’t search randomly, search near where other relatives were or came from

Churches sometimes have a different set of documents than municipal sources

Sometimes finding a living friend of a dead relative is just as useful as finding the relative

Don’t be afraid to reach out

Immigration officials often have the best sets of documents

Sometimes names get misspelled during migration paperwork

It’s also easy to get off on the wrong track while making your family history chart. Here are a few common mistakes to watch out for while making your family’s tree:

Starting to chart from the branches rather than from the roots

Assuming that nobody was adopted

Assuming that a lack of official information on a person is a dead end

Assuming that nobody had any illegitimate children

Not reaching out to people who share the same surname as someone of interest

Not including yourself in the family history chart

Getting discouraged when you find a dead end

View Original Article Here: Understanding Diogenes Syndrome and Elderly Hoarding

Did you know that up to 1 in 20 of the elderly have tendencies that are consistent with hoarding? Scientists call the combination of self-neglect, extreme hoarding, squalor, and a lack of shame “Diogenes syndrome,” though it’s often a complete mystery to caregivers and others. At the end of the article, we’ll explain why “Diogenes” is a bit of a misnomer, but for now, let’s dive into the uncomfortable world of hoarding.

It’s understandable for older relatives to be a bit eccentric or reclusive, but at what point do their behaviors become pathological? Patterns of excessive hoarding and self-neglect in the elderly can be painful to witness, and even harder to remedy when you’re dealing with a stubborn person.

The many symptoms of elderly hoarding and squalor aren’t pretty to think about, and they’re even less pretty to deal with first hand. Often, elderly hoarders only reach out for help when they’re at the end of their wits– and unfortunately, the end of their lives. Hoarding and living in squalor are both broadly dangerous and detrimental to anyone’s health, never mind the weakened health of a mentally ill senior.

In this article, we’ll teach you about the syndrome, senile squalor syndrome, hoarding, and what to watch out for in the senior citizens that you love. At the end of the article, we’ll offer a few potential solutions and treatments to the syndrome and squalor syndrome.

What is Senile Squalor Syndrome?

Senile squalor syndrome is a pathological condition in which seniors can no longer take care of themselves or their homes, resulting in the buildup of messes, objects, and decay. It’s common for the homes of seniors with the syndrome to be laden with piles of rotting food, peeling wallpaper, and even dead pets trapped beneath hills of debris that a well-functioning person would have never let accumulate.

Squalor gets mentioned in the same breath as hoarding disorders very frequently. Squalor syndrome occurs for several similar reasons which may surprise you. First, frontal lobe damage or degeneration from dementia are core to senile squalor.

The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for executive functioning, which includes long-term planning, motivation, task saliency, and also short-term planning of action. In senile people, connections between the frontal lobes executive functions and the rest of the brain have likely weakened after a lifetime of use. Weakened communication between the frontal lobes and the rest of the brain means that certain norms aren’t worth following in the eye of the senior.

Impacts to the senior’s physical mobility often play a role in the development of senior squalor syndrome. The more physical work a senior believes the task of cleaning up or picking up will require, the larger of a motivational barrier they build in their minds. Once this imagined task of cleaning or picking up becomes too big to deal with, the thought is suppressed, or action of picking up is procrastinated to a later time.

Planning to perform actions, like cleaning up or picking up, is extremely difficult with a degraded frontal lobe. The seat of working memory is also in the frontal lobe, which means that even tenuously created plans to clean up are at high risk of being forgotten and falling by the wayside. Thus, squalor develops via a combination of reduced physical ability, accumulated brain damage, and lack of a sufficient support network to assist with everyday tasks.

So long as a senior citizen is living in a context where they still have the ability and the agency to maintain their environment, they should be safe from squalor. As they age, the probability becomes more and more likely because of weakening physical ability and also weakening mental prowess.

Risk Factors

The risk factors for squalor may surprise you. In the previous section, we mentioned frontal lobe degeneration or damage. Prior brain damage during earlier in a senior’s life makes them have a higher risk of developing a hoarding syndrome. Likewise, if a senior was diagnosed with depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder earlier in life, they have a much higher chance of developing a hoarding disorder in their twilight years.

There is an abundance of natural aging processes which result in frontal lobe degeneration, but for senile people prone to hoarding and living in squalor, there are other factors at play, too. It takes more than old age to turn someone into a full-blown hoarder, willing to live in total squalor.

Seniors suffering from hoarding or squalor typically live alone and are at increased risk of depression, which causes further damage to the frontal lobe’s ability to regulate the rest of the brain. In short, being reclusive and lonely causes brain damage.

This fact means that the seniors that are at the highest risk of developing a hoarding disorder are those who are isolated and vulnerable. On top of the negative health effects of isolation, isolation also enables many of the behaviors that characterize senior hoarders. Housemates and relatives are seldom okay with living in filth, and in their presence act as a barrier against the development of full-blown hoarding.

Prior emotional trauma involving loss also puts seniors at a higher risk for hoarding and squalor, as does a history of generosity. This can lead to heartbreaking interactions between hoarders and their relatives in which the hoarders attempt to offer their seemingly precious items to the relatives, who are revolted.

The hoarders simply don’t see squalor due to deficits in their working memory or other frontal lobe features. It’s critical to stay compassionate, even when the elderly lash out as a result of their confusion—they simply can’t control themselves.

Signs and Symptoms of Elderly Hoarding

Hoarders syndrome starts off in a way that may seem innocent: retaining objects for sentimental reasons. Everyone is entitled to have personal possessions, and keeping things around for their sentimental value is also something that everyone has a right to do.

The difference is that hoarders attach sentimental meaning to every object, and can never stand to part with something that could, in some fantastical situation, come in handy.

Seniors can likely articulate these fantastical reasons for any given object if prompted. The key to understanding the rationale behind each object is that the senile individual’s perspective of what items are worth keeping and which are not is severely skewed. There will be a rationale for every object, no matter how trivial disposal may seem.

To a normal person, these rationales will be overtly false, but to an elderly hoarder, they ring true. The very perception of reality of an elderly hoarder is extremely compromised. Even coming to terms about what behaviors are damaging to their health can be hard when it comes to talking about cleanliness and object retainment.

The biggest single test for elderly hoarding is to prompt the hoarder to discard an object that has no sentimental or utilitarian value. In many cases, it could be rotting food, wrapping paper, or broken dishes. The hoarder will reject the call to discard the useless objects, inventing a rationale. The rationale will seem completely off-base to a rational observer, indicating that the senior is in deep trouble.

Diogenes Syndrome Prognosis and Treatment Options

There are a few tactics for treating senior hoarding and squalor. The most effective tactic is to remove the senior from the conditions of squalor and place them into a supervised living facility. Though the senior will likely resist this separation from their objects, squalor and hoarding are always accompanied by a general inability to take care of oneself.

This means that the senior belongs in a place where others can help them to maintain a decent standard of living which they couldn’t on their own. It is not recommended to move a relative with hoarder syndrome into your home for care.

Seniors who hoard and live in squalor are beyond the level of care that most people can provide at home, and will likely experience a big drop in their quality of life as a result.

There are also several combined pharmacological and psychological interventions, formulated from protocols for obsessive-compulsive disorder. These interventions are unlikely to work because they depend on the senior to take the medication that they are prescribed consistently while also implementing lifestyle changes with the help of a therapist.

The medications required for this approach may also have adverse drug interactions with other medications that the senior is taking or should be taking, which can cause medical problems. If hoarding a habit in a senior, the most common treatment regimen as outlined above is likely to be ineffective.

Critically, any attempts to generate change within the hoarder will resist. Resistance gets stronger for senile persons with dementia, who may become confused and more agitated. Sneaky techniques are ethically questionable, and so are not attempted.

Tips for Dealing with Parents Who Hoard

Living with a hoarder is extremely difficult because hoarders tend to allow their squalor to spill out of their areas and into common areas. If possible, draw very clear boundaries about which areas the hoarders are allowed to pollute, and which are strictly forbidden.

These boundaries are unlikely to work long term, will probably cause familial strife, and may result in unsafe living conditions inside of your parents’ quarters. As the clear-minded adult, you must do your best to enforce the boundaries, however.

You may also want to enforce boundaries on what can be kept in your parents’ living spaces. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to stop your relative from hoarding entirely, but you can at least impose rules such as “no piles blocking access in and out of the room” or “no piles taller than two feet high.” It may break your heart to be strict, but remember that every pile can grow larger, so long as your senile relative can procure new objects. Keeping piles small in the first place will save you a big headache later on.

Insisting on weekly inspections and deep cleanings will also be helpful in maintaining the condition of your hoarding parent if you are forced to keep them in your home. Grime builds up just as quickly as piles, and it’s important to catch and reprimand hoarding of disgusting things like used toilet paper, which the hoarder may consider to be still useful.

Compassion will be in short supply, but try to remember that hoarders suffer from a neurological condition which prevents them from remembering, planning, assessing, and executing actions effectively. They aren’t playing with a full deck.

Unfortunately, disputing the rationales provided by elderly hoarders is where things can start to get ugly. Elderly hoarders tend to react to the questioning of their rationale with hostility or outright aggression. In the mind of the senile hoarder, attempts to clean up or throw out hoarded objects are direct affronts to their personal space. The hoarder views the person trying to help them as a bully, and often ignorant.

To conclude our article, it’s time for an explanation about why the syndrome has its name as such. Diogenes disease is perhaps incorrectly named. Diogenes, according to Greek legend, was a beggar who lived in a barrel in ancient Athens.

Diogenes had one possession: his cup, which he used to drink water. Diogenes was well known for his curmudgeonly behavior to anyone who approached him, and according to legend, even snubbed Alexander the Great by asking him to move out of the way of the sun as he was basking in it while laying outside of his barrel.

Diogenes never bathed, often comparing himself to a dog– no shame, no cleanliness, no possessions, and no acknowledgment of any worldly status or even worldly existence outside of his immediate surroundings.

View Original Article Here: How To Organize Your Care Calendar with Lotsa Helping Hands

Seniors need help, but they’re often left to fend for themselves. Over 8 million seniors get support from long term care services yearly. Support agencies aren’t always going to be around when seniors need their help, though. That’s why caregivers are teaming up to create a care community where their efforts can be shared to help seniors: Lotsa Helping Hands (LHH).

Lotsa Helping Hands to The Rescue

LHH is a care organization system that lets caregivers form care communities to help out the people they love. With LHH, you’ll be able to have easy communication with your loved ones, your helpers, the other people in your community, and plan around obstacles to solve them as painlessly as possible.

How is this possible? Lotsa Helping Hands has a website, app, and, most importantly, a great community that’s ready for you to join. You’ll be able to deliver great care to your loved ones without having to pay a dime.

Features

Where is LHH adding value to your care routine, though? In short, everywhere. Using Lotsa’s tools, you’ll be powerfully hooked into the cutting edge of providing care. You won’t need to worry about people you love being in need for lack of help.

Care Calendar

The biggest feature that you’ll make the most use out of with Lotsa is the Calendar. With the Calendar, you’ll have very granular control over who is taking care of which aspect of your relative’s care on what day and for how long.

The potential of the care calendar is nearly limitless. You can easily put important events like:

Doctor’s appointments

Scheduled visits

House cleanings

Birthdays

Recurring appointments

Lunch dates

The calendar lets you assign who gets to do what when it comes to your relative’s care. If you think that one person on your care team would be a better fit for a given task than another, you can assign them based on their ability on the calendar.

Easy Communication and Relative Support

Communicating with your relatives and the rest of their care team can often be a quagmire of emails, text messages, and other forms of communication that requires playing telephone. Lotsa removes the disorganization by locating all of the caregiving information into one single place. Seniors can view the information on Lotsa, too, allowing them to be an active participant in their care if they feel like they’re up to the task.

With the help of Lotsa’s communication and support systems, everyone will be on the same page about what they should be doing to support your loved ones. If someone in your care community is struggling, it’s also very easy to reach out and offer your support.

Small signals of support can uplift people more than you might think, and you’ll be perfectly enabled to offer your goodwill with Lotsa. After a fall or an illness, these small signals of support could uplift you, too. With Lotsa, there’s no limitation on who can provide support of this sort, so there’s no chance for anyone to start feeling isolated after they experience a loss of mobility or something similar.

Caregiver Support

Helpers have a lot to teach each other, but rarely do they have a place to exchange tips. Lotsa offers that place in the Helper forums, where helpers everywhere can speak with each other about what works, what doesn’t work, and why.

By enabling helper to helper communication, Lotsa lets everyone on your care team up their game and provide a higher quality of care to your relatives and loved ones. Learning from other helpers is also a great way of kindling relationships with others and forming broader caregiving communities that may help each other out in the future.

Track Your Progress

Via Lotsa’s photo gallery and other progress tracking features, you can chronicle your care team’s successes and your relatives’ happiness over time. Because a picture is worth a thousand words, it might be worth taking a few pictures before using Lotsa so that your team can compare the night and day difference.

Tracking your progress is important because it’ll give you an undeniable record of how powerful well-organized care can be. Especially if you’re skeptical about having a central hub for caregiving, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the photo album’s chronicling of your increasing ability to organize care.

A Care Calendar Makes Life Easier

The calendar is one of the core features of Lotsa that you’ll use to make your loved ones have a more comfortable life. Via the calendar, you can integrate concepts like meal calendars, medical calendars, social calendars, and other events so that your senior has a comprehensively attended to lifestyle.

Especially for core life functions like eating and getting medical attention, Lotsa enables your care team to make sure that the ball never gets dropped to the detriment of your relative. For seniors, Lotsa provides peace of mind—everything is scheduled and accounted for in an easy to understand way, so they won’t need to worry about gaps in coverage.

Often lifting the burden of anxiety about their care can massively improve the happiness and contentedness of seniors, which results in them needing less care and being more cheerful to their helpers.

Not Just for Seniors

Seniors can become an empowered member of their care team and their community using Lotsa, but it’s also an extremely powerful tool for helpers, friends and family, and community volunteers looking to pitch in.

Caregivers

Helpers using Lotsa get the advantage of having all their care duties located under one hood and with easy communications between members of the team. Likewise, helpers can directly communicate to seniors as frequently as they’d like to make sure that they don’t get lonely.

Horizontal communication from distinct caregiving groups is also possible with Lotsa. If the caregiving group responsible for providing meals is running late, they can drop a line to the helpers or family members that are currently with the senior to let them know. Likewise, seniors can communicate to their helpers that they’re in a spot of trouble and might need assistance sooner than scheduled.

Friends and Family

Friends and family are also some of the primary users of Lotsa because it gives them the ability to have a clear line of communications with their caregiving team, their senior, and other members of the caregiving community that may be able to offer them emotional support or technical tips on senior care.

Friends and family are core to using Lotsa effectively, as they’ll be the ones making the most use of the calendar and progress tracking photo albums—who wouldn’t want a lot of pictures with their smiling senior?

Volunteers

Community volunteers can also get their hands dirty using Lotsa. If anyone in the community is looking for a chance to pitch in, they’ll find plenty on the calendar or in the forums. Volunteers can fill gaps in helper coverage, help friends and family understand their senior’s challenges a bit more, and elevate themselves with the joy of community service.

Often, volunteers can give a new face for your senior to befriend and interact with. Integrating more volunteers into your family’s caregiving strategy is a great way to keep your senior’s life a bit more dynamic, which is good for their health.

If your family is looking for a volunteer opportunity, Lotsa will provide you with a limitless number within your broader care community. You’ll be able to join with other members of the website to volunteer to make seniors’ lives easier, happier, and healthier. Volunteers can organize their efforts just like helpers, meaning that everyone is fully up to date about who will be providing what service on what day.

How to Get Started

With all these features and people that are involved in Lotsa, you might be getting the impression that it’s a complicated system to get rolling. Lotsa is incredibly simple to use, and to prove it, here are the steps you’ll need to take to get your community up and running within ten minutes:

Sign up on LotsaHelpingHands.com

Create a community or join a community

Start adding items to the calendar

Introduce yourself on the message boards

Start tracking your progress with the photo gallery

Start using LHH to coordinate care

Coordinate with other members as needed

Never Go Without Help

View Original Article Here: How Does Low Acid Coffee Help Seniors With Digestive Disorders?

Seniors are prone to many different digestive disorders, but even in spite of these disorders, are probably reluctant to give up their daily coffee habit. Thankfully, there’s a solution which will allow seniors to retain their coffee habit and its proven benefits while avoiding the downsides: low acid coffee.

Reduced acid coffee or acid-free coffee is a modern chemical marvel which removes one of the least desirable flavor and health elements from coffee: acid. Acid ruins the flavor of many different coffees and also is the source of most (but not all) of the potential health issues caused by coffee consumption. In this article, we’ll talk about how low acid or no acid coffee might be a healthier choice for your senior.

At least 60% of the adult population suffer from acid reflux each year. For seniors, this percentage is even higher thanks to a reduced ability of the body to effectively process acids. The acid in coffee also causes the infamous coffee heartburn, tooth decay, and general stomach perturbations.

Coffee acidity typically makes the coffee itself taste worse and varies extensively from bean to bean. If your senior is having issues with coffee acidity, avoiding espresso beans is a must—espresso beans are typically much more acidic than other coffee beans. Dark roasts are the way to go, and we’ll suggest a few later on. First, let’s discuss how digestive disorders in seniors can be exacerbated by the acid in coffee.

Seniors & Food-Related Digestive Disorders

Because they’re not as capable of digestion as younger people, seniors are prone to several food-related digestive disorders. These disorders include acid reflux (GERD), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcers, constipation, diarrhea, and nausea.

Acid Reflux

Acid reflux, or GERD, is common, even in people who aren’t seniors. Coffee is a notorious cause of acid reflux, however. We’ve all been there: the extremely unpleasant burning sensation in the throat, nausea, chest pain, and other painful and uncomfortable symptoms which occur after consumption of acid rich foods.

Acid reflux is a hassle for most people, but in seniors, it can be dangerous. Acid reflux damages the lining of internal membranes which food passes through, meaning that after reflux episodes it can be painful to eat normal and nonacidic foods. This can cause seniors to lose precious weight, which is a critical indicator of their general health.

Acid reflux can massively reduce a senior’s standard of living, often invisibly. Be on the lookout for seniors who seem to be losing weight for no discernible reason, or making gagging motions with their lower throat. Quick remedies include drinking a lot of water or over the counter acid-nullifying products.

Try not to use the over the counter acid nullifying products unless your senior is having a bad acid reflux episode. The flip side of using the over the counter products for acid reflux like Tums or Pepto Bismol is that they can cause other gastrointestinal disturbances which can hurt your senior later on, once the acid reflux episode has passed.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

IBD includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, all of which are unpleasant syndromes which cause extreme gastrointestinal discomfort. These syndromes aren’t linked directly to acidity or coffee consumption, though in some cases acidity can aggravate pre-existing symptoms and there’s some evidence that coffee can provide a protective effect against developing these diseases.

The main point here is to avoid aggravating your senior’s IBD or other bowel issues by consuming coffee with a high level of acidity. The acidity will cause the fragile state of the compromised gastrointestinal tract to react badly, and likely cause irritation which extends from the bowels up through the stomach and into the esophagus.

This cluster of diseases have an extremely negative impact on the senior’s quality of life and are often episodic. If acids in coffee are one of your senior’s triggers for an inflammatory episode, that means that any acid in coffee must not be drank. Days or weeks of discomfort simply aren’t worth a cup of coffee.

In rare instances, IBD and its associated diseases can be lethal. Like with acid reflux, one of the signs that your senior may be silently suffering from IBD is unexplained weight loss. Often, it’s too embarrassing to complain about the symptoms of IBD or too difficult to describe exactly where the discomfort is, so be sure to be on the lookout. Finally, flare-ups of IBD aren’t necessarily easy to correlate with drinking coffee containing acid, so be sure to get a physician to make a diagnosis to be sure.

Ulcers

Ulcers are more common in people that consume lots of highly acidic foods and drinks. In seniors, ulcers are areas of irritation within the stomach lining that can be caused by excess coffee intake. Ulcers may or may not be a chronic condition, and they don’t form overnight.

Like many other issues plaguing seniors as a result of excess acid consumption, ulcers can be silently harming your senior and cause them to lose weight via lowered appetite due to nausea after eating or drinking. It can also be hard to diagnose an ulcer without a medical imaging scan, so it’s best to try to avoid them in the first place.

If your senior has a history of getting ulcers and is complaining of abdominal pain, nausea, excess gas, or insomnia because of their stomach issues, you should get them to a doctor and see whether their coffee consumption is the cause of their ulcers.

Constipation

Seniors are extra prone to constipation because of the reduced efficiency of their gut motility cells. Coffee or prune juice are traditionally excellent treatments for constipation, but in rare instances, coffee can cause or worsen constipation via its acidity.

The cause and effect should be easy to figure out here: your senior will drink coffee, then soon complain about being blocked. There’s no guarantee that a switch to acid-free coffee will solve this issue if it’s a chronic one, but it’s worth a shot.

Diarrhea

Seniors who drink too much coffee or who drink coffee too quickly are likely to encounter bouts of diarrhea, causing them to be uncomfortable and potentially lose weight or become dehydrated. If it’s the acidity of the coffee that the senior is drinking that is causing diarrhea, the solution is to switch to a lower-acid coffee.

If your senior is simply drinking too much coffee, advise them to cool down for a while—or at least drink a cup of water and eat a snack with each unit of coffee to avoid becoming depleted.

How the Elderly Benefit from Low Acid Coffee

The elderly can derive some benefits from low acid or acid-free coffee:

Reduced impact of acid reflux disease

Easier digestibility

Fewer interactions with medications

Better dental health

Less disruption of gut microbiota

Smoother taste

Less chance of triggering other health issues

These benefits are substantial and warrant finding a tasty low or no acid coffee bean for your senior’s enjoyment. The biggest benefit is that a low acidity coffee will avoid triggering your senior’s acid related health issues, which can massively impact their standard of living and enjoyment of life. It’s no fun to have an irritated gastrointestinal tract, and it tends to prevent seniors from enjoying their favorite activities and eventually becomes medically dangerous as a result of weight loss, dehydration, isolation, and tissue damage.

Don’t let your senior suffer because of the wrong coffee bean—picking a bean that can give the satisfaction of coffee without the risk of triggering a health problem is relatively easy, and we’ll help you in the sections below.

How to Identify Coffee with Low Acidity Levels

The acidity of coffee will vary from bean to bean, but there are a few general tips which will help you locate the better coffee for your senior. First, avoid all espresso beans. Espresso beans tend to be much higher in acid content than other coffee beans and cannot be non-acidic coffee.

This means that you should avoid buying arabica cultivar coffee beans unless they’re specifically marketed as having highly reduced acid content or no acid content whatsoever. You can usually determine the cultivar by reading the vessel of the coffee beans. Robusta cultivar beans are typically less acidic, but there’s no ironclad guarantee, just rules of thumb.

As far as the taste goes, coffee that tastes acidic is known for the way that it invigorates the tongue, with what some describe as an electric sensation. If you sample a cup of coffee and immediately detect this—or a churning of your gut—there’s a good chance that the coffee has a high acidity and isn’t suitable for senior consumption.

Though human experimentation isn’t ethical, it goes without saying that you should probably sample the coffee that you’re going to offer to your senior as a low acid alternative to ensure that the taste agrees with the marketing. Even if you’re not an experienced coffee drinker, you can easily discern the high acidity of an espresso from the low acidity of a dark French roast. Lower acidity coffees will taste more like the dark French roast than the espresso as a rule.

If you’re science inclined, it’s easy enough to perform litmus tests to get measurements of how acidic different types of coffee are. While certainly a fun learning opportunity for younger relatives, your senior relatives may not appreciate the turning of their kitchen into a laboratory.

If squinting at coffee boxes or doing chemistry isn’t for you, opt for one of the established low or no acid coffee beans that are on the market. These beans come with the guarantee of low or no acidity as their primary feature and make up for their weaknesses in flavor with their guaranteed healthiness for your senior.

Best Low Acid Coffee Brands

Thankfully, some different companies produce low or no acid coffees which your senior will love. We stand by these companies and their products, and we can promise that your senior will love a steaming hot cup from any one of them.

You can find your senior’s favorite roast and type of bean in any of the offerings from the companies below, just make sure that the low acid promise extends to the bean that you end up buying.

Trucup

Trucup offers reduced acid coffees in six different roasts. You can purchase Trucup’s offerings as whole bean, ground up, or as single-serving K-cups, which is a nice extra touch if your senior has the right machine at home. Trucup coffees are palatable and will give your senior the benefits of coffee without having to suffer from the penalties associated with acid unless they drink too much.

For seniors that are extremely sensitive to acid and enjoy drinking large volumes of coffee, Trucup may be a bit of a gamble.

Don Pablo Subtle Earth Organic

Don Pablo’s Subtle Earth Organic Coffee isn’t specifically advertised as a low-acid coffee, and it is an arabica cultivar bean. While it does have a great flavor profile, its acid content is higher than the other low acid coffee offerings that we’ll discuss today.

This bean is perfect for seniors who only have a small problem with acid, and who are sticklers for a good taste. Don Pablo’s coffee is very smooth, has a great array of chocolatey earthy flavors, and has an excellent dark roast—which you should buy for your senior if you’re concerned about acid content in the coffee.

As an added benefit, the Don Pablo line of coffees are all organically harvested and procured via fair trade. While these likely aren’t huge concerns for your senior and their coffee consumption habits, it’s important to buy from sustainable sources so that the seniors of the future have a chance to taste low acidity coffee, too.

Puroast Coffee

Puroast Coffee offers what it claims is a 70% reduction in the amount of acid contained in the coffee bean. It also claims to have seven times as many antioxidants as other coffee beans, making them a coffee that should be healthier than its counterparts even if acid isn’t a concern. It’s far from certain that your senior will benefit from the increased antioxidants inside Puroast’s coffee, but they can’t hurt.

Puroast does still have some acid remaining, but your senior will probably love their beans and have no health issues unless they’re particularly sensitive to the small amounts of acid that remain.

Healthwise

Healthwise Coffee offers TechnoRoasted™ coffee beans which reduces their acidity to within the range of mineral water. While this reduction doesn’t make Healthwise’ coffee beans acid-free, it does make them the winners of the lowest acid quantity on this list.

Healthwise Coffee is suitable for the seniors that are the most vulnerable to acidity within their coffee bean. You’d have to drink quite a large amount of Healthwise Coffee to have to suffer from any negative effects resulting from its acidity as a senior.

Tieman’s Fusion

Tieman’s Fusion Coffee offers low acidity coffee, which should be appropriate for most seniors who struggle with the acid content of their coffee. Concerningly, Tieman’s lists the pH of their coffee beans as percentages, which indicates a lack of understanding of the metric.

If we give them the benefit of the doubt and interpret their percentages as absolute pH values (which is the correct way of expressing the metric), we can see that their coffee beans are indeed quite low in acidity, though they’re a few hairs more acidic than Healthwise’s offerings.

If your senior struggles with acid in their coffee, Tieman’s beans offer a large selection which will probably allow them to avoid acid related issues when they have their coffee.

Say Goodbye to Acid

Thankfully, if your senior slips up and has coffee with a higher acid content once in a while, it probably isn’t a big deal. Most of the damages caused by higher acidity in coffee reside after a day or two, and if your senior has managed themselves well, they’ll likely be back to tip top shape in no time flat after a brief encounter with acid.

It’s a lot easier to avoid slip-ups if you provide your senior with a few different acid-free coffee options, though. Having multiple different acid free coffees on hand will let your senior enjoy the feeling of making choices and ferreting out favorites among the different beans we’ve suggested.

View Original Article Here: Seniors Can Now Lower the Potential of Identity Theft with MySSA

Metlife Mature Market Institute estimates that senior citizens lose a minimum of $2.9 billion a year to identity thieves. There are several ways a criminal can steal someone’s identity, and elders were particularly susceptible to a few tactics.

One of the more common ways in which seniors’ identities become compromised is through the mail. For instance, any criminal can easily access an elderly victim’s mail which may contain sensitive information such as social security checks or credit card statements.

Introducing the My Social Security Account

Creating a My Social Security Account is one of the first steps everyone should take in preventing future identity theft.

Even if you’re a few years from collecting social security, the account will allow you to access your Social Security Statement, obtain estimates of your future benefits, and verify your earnings. You can even request a replacement social security card from the comfort of your own home.

Those who already receive benefits can use their MySSA account to get proof of their benefits, change contact information, change direct deposit information, and replace a lost or stolen Medicare Card. A My Social Security Account provides more than just security. It provides an easy way to access necessary information without tedious steps.

Senior Citizens & Identity Theft Risk

Identity theft occurs when a criminal accesses someone’s personal information and uses it to steal money from their victim. Thieves can clean out bank accounts and ruin credit with only a few pieces of identifying information.

Seniors are at the greatest risk of having their identity stolen. People were more trustworthy when they were growing up. Seniors are more likely to think that the stranger on the phone has their best interest in mind, and are less liable to be suspicious.

Seniors often have a considerable amount of savings compared to the rest of us, which means they are one of the more lucrative targets for identity thieves. Adults over 50 control at least 70% of the national household net worth. Seniors are especially vulnerable and offer a large sum of money to those who want to take advantage of them, which makes them a perfect target for identity criminals.

Online Phishing

Identity theft has been a concern for a long time, and the methods criminals use are developing. Online identity theft is becoming an increasing worry, especially among elderly users who aren’t as computer literate.

Online thieves often send spam emails to their victims asking for personal information. These emails may appear to come from a reputable source, such as Amazon or eBay, but they’re a criminal impersonating a company.

Online Exposure

Sometimes criminals can gain access to information through insecure websites. Seniors may not be as confident on the computer as the rest of the population. They are more likely to click on suspicious links and visit unsafe websites. When this is the case, the victim may not be aware that they put their identifying information at risk before it’s too late.

Fraudulent Phone Calls

Another way criminals get hold of personal information is through phone calls. Criminals specifically target seniors over the phone due to their trusting nature and lack of online presence.

There are several ways a criminal can extract information over the phone. Sometimes they pretend to be the IRS, other times they’ll pretend to represent a charity. Seniors are trusting, so it’s far more likely that they’ll divulge some of their personal information for a chance to help a worthy cause.

The phone calls seniors receive make it clear that they are the ones who criminals target at a larger rate. After the age of 60, people are more likely to receive scam phone calls. They could be offering assistance on a computer, telling you they can reduce your pain, or extorting money out of you by telling you you’re in debt to the IRS. Remember, no legitimate organization will require that you offer any personal information over the phone.

Credit Card Theft

Physical theft has never changed, and the prospect of thieves stealing seniors’ credit cards and wallets are always a concern. A person may not even notice that someone stole their credit card if it was a card they barely use. Theft has always been a slight fear for those who are older, but criminals are making it, so they don’t even have to steal your wallet anymore.

Lately, criminals have made it even easier to take their victim’s information. They no longer have to steal the physical card to take the information. Identity thieves place small scanning devices on credit card machines, allowing them to take the number and run up a tab before anyone notices.

Mail Scams

Just because a senior isn’t active online doesn’t mean identity thieves can't target them by the “phishing” method. Criminals use regular mail to accomplish the same results as they do online.

The thieves send their victims letters that appear to be from a reputable source – somewhere like a bank or doctor’s office. These letters will request some personal information, and anyone who sends something back to these thieves will usually end up losing a considerable amount of information

Mail Theft

Thieves stealing information from the mail has been a problem for as long as identity theft has been around. This method is one of the oldest, and criminals still use it. Seniors are especially susceptible to mail theft because they frequently receive checks and statements that contain sensitive information.

There are several ways in which criminals will steal mail. They can steal it right out of a mailbox, or they can go dumpster-diving to look for documents containing social security numbers and account information. Since seniors usually have a lot more money saved-up, they are one of the best victims for identity thieves who use this method.

Thieves who steal mail can victimize the elderly in a few ways. They can cash checks on the victim’s behalf, but one of the more common methods thieves use is to take the personal information off of the documents they find in the trash. Social Security checks and statements are of specific concern, as these offer multiple forms of identifying information.

Using the information gathered off of a Social Security Statement, thieves can make a profit in various ways. They can bill insurance companies for services, file taxes under the victim’s name, and many other means of making money. These thieves can even target a person after they have died, using the deceased’s information to collect checks and benefits.

A MySSA Account Can Prevent Senior ID Theft

As a whole, seniors are the most vulnerable to mail theft. Computers may not come as second-nature to senior citizens who prefer to receive information in paper form. Unfortunately, receiving paper copies of your Social Security Statement puts you at extreme risk of having your identity compromised by criminals.

Creating a MySSA account is one of the best ways to ensure your identity is well protected. In your account, you can access your Social Security Statement without receiving any mail. This feature eliminates the threat of criminals stealing the mail and using it for their own gain.

For additional security, the My Social Security Account now requires a two-step verification process, where the user is sent a one-time security code when they log in.

On top of the security, the My Social Security Account provides, there are also several features that will make future interactions much simpler. You won’t have to call or send a letter to change any of your preferences. Just log on and make the changes yourself.

The best form of protection from identity theft is to remove the tools that criminals use. Viewing your Social Security online instead of on-paper gives thieves one less way to steal your identity.

How to Create an Online Social Security Account

Creating a MySSA account couldn’t be simpler than it already is. It’s a secure way to ensure that your information is safe and out of the hands of criminals who want to steal from you.

You will provide some of your information to ensure that more of your information isn’t compromised. Follow these simple Social Security account setup steps to protect yourself against people with malicious intent.

Make sure you have a valid Email address: If you don’t use your computer much, you may be lacking a valid Email address. You need an Email address create a Social Security Account. There are several free options available online, including Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and many others. Choose which site you like best and make an account.

Go to www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount

Select “Sign In or Create an Account.”

Select “Create an Account.”

Read the Terms of Service and check the box “I agree to the Terms of Service.” Then select “Next.”

On the next page, enter your first name, last name, and middle initial as it appears on your social security card.

Enter your Social Security Number

Enter your Date of Birth, Home Address, and Phone Number

Adding Extra Security: At this stage, the site will ask you if you want to add additional security to your account. If you select “Yes, let’s start now,” then you will be given three options that will offer your account further verification and extra security. Select “Next” once you are finished adding your information to this page.

Answer the Personal Questions: These questions are designed in a way that only the user will know the answers. Make sure that you keep this information secure as well. Select “Next” after you have finished answering.

Create a Username and Password: Your username must contain between 8 and 20 letters and/or numbers. These letters and numbers cannot be part of your name or your Social Security Number. Your password must also contain a minimum of 8 characters, and has to have at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number, and one symbol (such as !,@,#,$,%, etc.)

Add your Email address.

Select Password Reset Questions: These questions offer further security in the case that you forgot your password. Make sure to select questions that provide memorable answers but won’t be too obvious to anyone who may try to be fraudulently accessing your account. Select “Next” when you are finished.

Choose How You Want Your Security Code Sent: In this section, you will be asked to provide a means of communication for your one-time security code. If you have a cell phone, you can have the number texted to you. If you don’t have a phone capable of receiving texts or don’t want to receive your code this way, you can have the code sent via email. You can change your registered email at this time.

Enter Your Security Code: If you entered your email or phone number correctly. You will receive a one-time security code to enter into this box. Take note that this code only lasts for ten minutes, so if you miss the window you’ll have to receive a new code.

Account Created: If you have completed these steps correctly, you will get a message telling you that you have successfully created your account.

Signing In: Each time you sign in, you will be required to enter your Email address and password, along with a security code that My Social Security Account will text to your phone or send to you via Email.

Visit www.socialsecurity.gov or call 1-800-772-1213 for more information. TTY number is 1-800-325-0778 for those who are hard of hearing.

View Original Article Here: Enjoy Your Newfound Freedom with These Unique Ideas for Retirement

Americans aged 65 and older are among a vast and dynamic part of the population. However, they also face a unique and very particular set of problems. According to reports, roughly two-thirds of Americans exit the workforce by the time they reach age 66. There are some who retire even earlier than that.

Some aging Americans can ease into retirement without batting an eye. On the other hand, researchers suggest that there are some who suffer from boredom and depression after retirement. If you are among the aging population of Americans, you should develop retirement ideas before retiring. Developing plans and goals for your retirement years can help you enjoy the time more sufficiently.

Before Retirement

Before you retire, there are certain plans you should make. For instance, you should consider your financial plans. To make the most of your retirement, you should develop hobbies and goals. While there are many activities you can do, some are going to cost money.

You should work to have your finances in order before retirement. You should also work on retirement ideas before exiting the workforce. In fact, some of the things you should do the following before you retire:

Meet with a financial advisor to plan your retirement investments

Talk to your spouse or partner about your retirement ideas

Take into consideration that the IRS will continue to tax your income after retirement

Create a bucket list of interests, hobbies, and places you would like to visit

Assess your personal budget

Review the process you will face through Social Security

Determine the financial standing of your estate

Evaluate your bank account to ensure coverage of any drafts

Each of the ideas given above can help you kickstart your retirement with a measure of ease and success. You can focus less on financial worries and more on activities and adventures that you would like to accomplish.

As an added suggestion, make sure you also participate in a retirement plan. Experts suggest that participation in retirement plans has declined over the years, even among individuals nearing retirement age. Involvement in a retirement plan can help you better plan financially for your exit from the workforce.

After Retirement

After retirement, you have several options. To make use of all those options, you must be willing to try out new things. Your best bet is to set goals and use your imagination. Set goals to do things that you have been wanting to do and have not been able to do while working. You should also set goals to do things that you have never done before. Learning new things keeps the brain active and allows the mind to stay sharp.

Perhaps you have children and grandchildren who live in another state. If it has been awhile since you visited them, make it a point to take the time to do so. Grandchildren benefit mentally and emotionally from their relationship with you. Maybe you have friends that you would like to catch up with, or perhaps you would just rather enjoy some time to yourself or with your spouse.

No matter what goals you want to set for yourself now that you are retired, make sure you follow through with them. If you are stuck trying to develop some retirement ideas, try the ideas listed below:

Enjoy the fresh air by taking up gardening

Exercise more by going for walks or bicycling

Start a collection (coins, stamps, etc.)

Join a club, such as chess, and compete against like-minded individuals

Find activities near you, such as bingo, where you can likely meet new people and make friends

Schedule a vacation for you or you and your spouse

Take some time to yourself and go fishing

Learn a new skill, such as boating

Plan gatherings at your house where you can host card games

If your living situation allows, purchase a pet to have as a companion

Volunteer at your local animal shelter so you can stay active

Take the time to visit with your neighbors more often

Enjoy a new craft activity, such as crochet

Be more active with activities like golf

Pamper yourself by visiting a spa and receiving a well-deserved massage

There is absolutely no limit to the things you can do after you retire. All it takes is the willingness to try new things, meet new people, and fulfill the goals you set. There are plenty of retirement activities you can find to do if you take the time to look for them.

Help with Ideas

When trying to figure out what to do in retirement, it is sometimes best to ask for help from people you know. Friends and family members can offer some great ideas for retirement. In fact, there might be some friends or family members who would like to participate in retirement hobbies with you. The stronger your relationship with your family, the more likely it is that you can seek them out for help.

Participating in activities and hobbies after you retire is a terrific way to get back in touch with the people you love. You should take the time to visit friends and members of your family as much as you invest in time for yourself.

Taking time for yourself is great, of course, but it is also an excellent idea to enjoy the company of others. In fact, enjoying the company of others can help combat any feelings of depression, loneliness, and boredom.

Have your friends and family help you in creating a bucket list. Do your best to fulfill that bucket list as best you can. You can accomplish goals you have always wanted to achieve while also trying new things. Retirement gives you a chance to release your adventurous side.

Of course, you can always relax within the quiet confines of your home and enjoy a delightful book, but it is just as good to get out and mingle. In fact, you should find the right balance between quiet solo activities and fun group activities.

Asking for help with retirement activities from friends and family gives you an excuse to visit the people you care about and love. Perhaps you can even find common interests that you share with others by asking them for ideas and suggestions.

Stay in Touch After Retirement

Part of what makes retirement so difficult for some is because it marks the end of something so familiar. If you think about it, people often spend 40 hours a week working. Some people retire from their careers after 20 years or more.

In other words, that is 20 years that a person spent getting up, going to work, performing the same routines and seeing the same faces. Retirement disrupts that process, which is difficult for at least some individuals.

One of the best retirement ideas is to celebrate this new chapter in your life by staying in touch with people. You can celebrate by meeting up with your former co-workers outside of the workspace. Ask your buddies to join you for a BBQ, card game, or a drink at the bar.

Plan a retirement party so you can invite friends, family, and co-workers to help you celebrate. Throughout the party, make it a point to talk to your guests and find activities that you might share. There might be someone else attending the party who is either nearing retirement or recently retired.

Finding ways to maintain contact with others can make accepting this new chapter of your life easier and far more shocking. Even planned retirement can have an impact on a person. For the first few days or weeks, you may feel happy and excited, but as it sets in that your daily routine is now different, you may start to feel dumbfounded and depressed. Men are especially vulnerable to these feelings.

Rather than focusing on any of the negatives of retirement, focus on all the positives by making it a constant celebration. Your relationship with former co-workers does not have to end. In fact, you now have more opportunities interact with them at your disposal.

Search Your Local Options

There are likely many local retirement opportunities for you. There are often plenty of organizations that offer activities and clubs for retired groups of individuals. Finding out who hosts activities and clubs for retirees is perhaps the best retirement idea there is.

Many organized activities cater to retired individuals from all walks of life. Joining a group of people for weekly events allows you to discover new interests and hobbies. It also gives you the chance to meet someone who shares the same likes and dislikes as you.

Your ability to make new friends doesn’t stop because you retire. In fact, you should make every effort possible to meet someone new and befriend them. Going out to local activities or attending organized events catered toward retirees is an ideal way to do just that.

You can often find local options by searching online, asking around among your local community, or even checking the news. Your local newspaper often posts events throughout your area so that you never miss the opportunity to get out and enjoy something new.

Once you find a group or organization that hosts activities you enjoy, make sure you stick with it. Attending events like that can also provide you with new retirement ideas you might not have thought of before. In fact, you should ask other retirees for some ideas to see what hobbies or interests they enjoy.

Another local option would be a part-time job. Many retirees who hold a part-time job report feeling much happier compared to those who do not have a part-time job to occupy their time. Typically, you would want to stick with something you know, so try finding something that is like what you did throughout your career.

View Original Article Here: Nursing Home Signs You May Not Be Noticing

As the population ages, more family members find themselves taking care of elderly parents, grandparents or other loved ones. It can be difficult to care for loved ones while working, caring for your children, and keeping up with social commitments. You will likely arrive at a crossroads where you’re forced to ask “when is it time for assisted living?”

While many family members do not want to consider committing their loved ones to an institution like an assisted living facility or a nursing home, it isn’t always possible to move them into your house. As loved ones’ medical conditions worsen, they may need around the clock care, which you may not be able to provide.

Decreased Mobility

Approximately 19 million people in the United States have mild to severe mobility issues, with the median age being between 59 to 67 years old. Disease and trauma can cause changes in gait and balance. The primary concern for people with mobility problems is the increasing likelihood of falls.

Having poor balance or changes in the ability to walk is a common cause of falls for older adults. Falling can lead to serious injuries which can further limit mobility, result in a loss of independence and reduce their quality of life. Some senior citizens do not recover well after falling. Broken bones and hip injuries can become fatal.

If a loved one shows increasing signs of not being able to get around without assistance, then they will need continuous care. You may need to consider asking, “when is it time for assisted living?”

Even if they use a walker, cane or wheelchair, there can be obstacles in a house which can increase their risk of falls. Toys left out on the floor, attempting to go up or down stairs or even a pet can accidentally trip them and further limit their mobility.

Poor Hygiene

If you notice a loved who used to be fastidious often wears the same clothes or their clothes appear dirty, they are unshaven, or their hair hasn’t been washed, this can indicate they are no longer able to care for themselves. While forgetfulness can lead to poor hygiene, so can depression, dementia and physical problems which limit their ability to take care of themselves.

Poor hygiene habits make people look dirty and cause body odor. They may eat without washing their hands, garbage may not be disposed of properly, and they may have poor bathroom habits. These problems may result in illness. Pests, which can carry diseases, may also enter a messy home where they can find food.

Poor hygiene can result in parasitic infections of the hair and skin, the skin can become infected due to bacteria or fungi and food poisoning, or gastrointestinal problems can result from poor toileting habits or not washing hands before eating. Further complications can arise from these issues, such as dehydration, which in some elderly patients can be fatal.

If your loved one shows signs of poor hygiene habits, putting them in an assisted care facility will ensure they get the assistance in staying clean. There will be people to help them bathe, use the toilet, do their laundry and keep their room neat. Some of these problems can help answer the question, when is it time for assisted living? The following video sheds more light on the issue:

Cognitive Declines

While the memory sometimes isn’t as sharp when you’re older, severe cognitive declines are usually due to health issues. Caregivers may start noticing both short- and long-term memory problems, confusion, coordination problems and impaired judgment. Cognitive problems are the result of damage to the brain, either by trauma, genetics, or by abusing drugs and alcohol. Certain medical conditions, such as dementia, can also result in cognitive disorders.

Dementia and Cognitive Dysfunction

Since all forms of dementia affect the brain, it usually results in some form of cognitive problems. Mild Cognitive Impairment, MCI, is common in many older people and is often the first stage of dementia. Its symptoms may include:

Forgetfulness

Frequently misplacing or losing objects.

Trouble remembering words.

Become more impulsive.

Getting lost in familiar places.

Although some people who have MCI can get better, others will usually experience steady declines if they are diagnosed with some form of dementia.

As cognitive abilities diminish, many seniors may become more irritable, apathetic and depressed. This degradation of cognition may result in family members questioning when is it time for assisted living care for their loved ones?

However, it’s unclear whether depression develops because of declines in mobility and cognitive functioning or if it contributes to the development and progression of reduced cognitive abilities.

Poor Eating Habits

Further evidence of someone’s inability to care for themselves is poor nutrition and eating habits. Many older people will lose weight, their clothes will start looking baggy, and poor nutrition can cause tiredness.

Sometimes people with dementia will forget to eat. Poor dental hygiene may affect their ability to chew food; decreased mobility functions will make it difficult for them to feed themselves or, if they’ve developed depression, they may not feel like eating.

Poor nutrition can further complicate many of the conditions a senior may have, and it can weaken the immune system. A weakened immune system can lead to developing infections, their wounds may not heal well, and the risk of falling can increase because of weaker muscles. A person who has a poor diet may not get enough liquids. Especially a lack of water, which can result in dehydration.

Dehydration presents problems because in some cases, it causes an older adult to become very ill. Severe dehydration can be fatal. During the summer, someone who is dehydrated may not be able to perspire to cool their bodies. As a result, they can become overheated and may succumb to the heat. There are several factors for older people that lead to dehydration, such as:

Inability to retain water.

Stress

Chronic conditions like diabetes.

Medications

Not eating enough fruits and vegetables.

Eating too few carbohydrates.

When is it time for nursing home care? Poor nutrition may be a major hint. Professional caretakers can help seniors to remain in better health through a balanced diet. When a loved one isn’t getting the proper nutrition, an assigned living facility might be necessary.

Changes in Personality

As their physical or mental health declines, some older people may develop changes in their personalities. Where they were once outgoing and friendly, they may become withdrawn and quiet. Especially if they are grieving or undergoing changes in their health that they don’t understand.

They can also become abusive or aggressive seemingly without cause, but certain forms of dementia, infections, strokes, depression, and traumatic brain injuries are the common causes for such personality changes.

Personality changes with Alzheimer’s patients are common as the disease progresses. Another type of dementia, called frontotemporal dementia, affects the parts of the brain responsible for behavior and emotions. These parts are the frontal and temporal lobe.

As you can see from the image, the frontal and temporal lobes are located behind the forehead and around the ears. Behavioral, personality, and changes in relationships are some of the prominent, early signs of this form of dementia. It most often develops among 50 and 60-year-olds, but people in their 20’s or as late as their 80’s can develop it as well.

As the disease progresses, a patient’s ability to form words and understand them may be affected, their muscles may weaken, and some patients develop ALS, or their muscles in their body, including the eye muscles, may stiffen. Someone with this type of dementia may need more help than a sole caretaker.

Links to Depression

Depression also links to the other problems listed above. While depression can be situational and result from losing cognitive abilities, reduced mobility and changes in personality, it can cause some of these conditions. Depression can lead to:

Lack of appetite

Sleep disturbances

Lack of interest in taking care of oneself

Irritability

Sadness

Isolation

Thoughts of suicide

Although depression affects nearly 6 million people 65 and older, only about 10% get help for it. If you notice signs of depression in an elderly loved one, notify their doctor.

With the population getting older, families often take on the responsibility of caring for loved ones at home. Certain conditions can make things complicated. If you find that you continually wonder “when is it time for assisted living care?”, the time may be now.

View Original Article Here: Erasing the Stigma of Geriatric Anxiety and Learning to Help

The effects of anxiety disorders are becoming ever more prevalent in our society. Even with new research shining a light on how many Americans suffer from these varying disorders, we have only begun to scratch the surface. This is especially true when it comes to understanding anxiety in the elderly.

Higher rates of loss, increased pain, chronic conditions, and multiple medications can all increase the levels of anxiety in senior citizens. This makes having the discussion about geriatric anxiety a crucial factor in aiding our loved ones who are suffering.

Understanding Anxiety

We all experience anxiety to a certain degree, and it can even help us to be more productive in our daily lives. However, higher levels become disruptive and unhealthy. The effects leave thousands feeling crippled by pain and fear.

It is important to understand that these disorders are genuine biochemical disturbances, often the aftermath of a traumatic event or a genetic predisposition. They are not sign of weakness or a lack of character, and in no way make someone “crazy”. In fact, The National Institute of Mental Health states that tens of millions of people are experiencing the effects of anxiety every year.

Signs of anxiety in the elderly come in a broad range of forms and signals. The most common of these appear when an elderly person is excessively worrying. Sounding outlandish, or even bizarre, many find themselves dismissing these fears as all in the person’s head.

Active listening is an important part of care for the elderly. Taking their concerns into consideration not only helps to ease their anxiety, but can also reveal immediate dangers to their wellbeing such as criminals. In some cases, hearing what they have to say reveals that they may need therapy to help cope with a traumatic event.

While it is certainly challenging to imagine what those with these conditions are experiencing, it is important to be sympathetic when the signs arise in any demographic. The more empathy we display towards mental disorders, the closer we become to properly diagnosing and treating those who suffer.

The Major Forms of Anxiety

There are seven major types of anxiety existing in today’s known psychological realm that have a prevalent impact on the elderly. Learning to identify the signs and symptoms makes all the difference in getting an elderly individual the help that they need. These disorders include:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Social Anxiety

Acute Stress Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Panic Attacks

Phobias

Each is defined according to its own characteristics, and require different forms of treatment. While research is being done on the effects these conditions have on the elderly, we still know very little on how these conditions vary with age. There are, however, signs that you can be aware of.

This video does an excellent job of illustrating the experiences of a person with these conditions. Understanding any form of anxiety without experiencing it ourselves is a challenging task. However, there are professionals out there who are working hard to shed some light on the subject.

In the video, Marie-Ann Schull is speaking about both anxiety and depression. The symptoms of anxiety disorders and depression may overlap. Depression and anxiety combined can be even more difficult to cope with. Identifying the symptoms and seeking the proper treatment can help save a life.

Below are general descriptions that outline the symptoms associated with each of the major anxiety disorders.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Pessimism or reacting in an exaggeratedly depressed manner over minor setbacks may indicate Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This is a chronic condition accompanied by insomnia, aches and pains, exhaustion, and restlessness.

These symptoms must last at least 6 months to be considered signs of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Excessively worrying about finances, health, and relationships are the most common displays of GAD.  However, showing severe distress over something as simple as a television remote ceasing to work can be a sign as well.

Social Anxiety

Those who are terrified by social interaction for fear of judgment have Social Anxiety. Having a harder time hearing, suddenly needing to use a walker, and incontinence can all cause an elderly person to develop this form of anxiety. It inhibits their desire to be around other people, and if left untreated victims tend to isolate themselves often.

Social Anxiety begins as a very simply matter of embarrassment, slowly increasing into a more crippling disorder. It is important to talk with your loved one when major changes are occurring in their lives. Speaking with them is a great way to help them through these difficult times.

Acute Stress Disorder and PTSD

A sudden onset of anger, insomnia, agitation, or violent outbursts are all symptoms that occur after experiencing a traumatic event. Something related to that event triggers these reactions, and causes the victim to relive the trauma they witnessed or experienced. Identifying the trigger is the first step in helping them cope with what caused this disorder in the first place.

Many veterans suffer from PTSD, as do victims of sexual assault and physical battery. Those suffering from Acute Stress have recently witnessed or were subject to a traumatic event, usually within one month, while those with PTSD are experiencing this pain long after the event has taken place. Even though their symptoms are overlapping, each requires extensive therapy to truly heal the person suffering.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

If you are noticing sudden repetitive behavior or obsessive thoughts that interfere with a loved one’s daily life, they more than likely have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. These impulses are uncontrollable, and often harmless aside from the person feeling that they need to do them. However, they can extend into repeated thoughts of harm to one’s self or others.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder comes in the form of thoughts, actions, or both. Motor tics accompanying OCD are not uncommon, including repeated vocal and motor functions. If these symptoms are sounding familiar to you, there are methods of screening to identify this condition.

Phobias

It is highly common to develop phobias later in one’s life. Experiencing or witnessing a frightening situation often causes a phobia to develop. While a fear of snakes or traveling on an airplane is typical, developing an irrational phobia can severely inhibit the quality of anyone’s life.

A sudden and intense fear of treatment can cause undue stress and anxiety in the elderly. Fearing hypodermic needles, cramped spaces, or even caretakers makes it terrifying for these individuals to receive the care they need. Therapists are working wonders in the treatment of phobias, and can help you or someone you know to overcome them.

Panic Attacks

This type of attack is a sudden onset of overwhelming fear and anxiety without a terrifying event. A pounding heart and inability to breathe often accompany these attacks. An experience like this is extremely frightening for people of any age. Any of the above disorders are known for causing panic attacks in the elderly.

Growing older causes the body to become frailer over time. Panic attacks wreak havoc on heart conditions, trouble breathing, and other symptoms. While it less common for an elderly person to experience the symptoms of a panic disorder, those who suffer from them are at an increased risk.

Aid and Treatment for the Elderly

If you are noticing any of the above symptoms in an elderly friend or family member, it is important to notify their current caretakers or doctor. Letting these symptoms go can result in worsening of the condition or even harm to the person in question. Thankfully, there are a variety of treatments proving effective in helping with anxiety in the elderly.

One of the most effective treatments is seeking the help of a professional. A licensed therapist, skilled counselor, or social worker can all provide aid.

Medications including Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft display a great effectiveness in helping those with anxiety disorders cope with the associated symptoms. It is important to exercise caution when prescribing an elderly person with a new treatment. Talking with a physician helps you to better understand what is being prescribed, and any necessary safety measures.

Anxiety in the elderly is just as prevalent as any other demographic. Addressing their symptoms and disorders is extremely important for their overall wellbeing. Identifying the signs, actively listening to their fears, and understanding their need for treatment are the best ways to help.

View Original Article Here: Offering Comfort Through the Stages of Death and Dying

Death is not a subject that is easy to discuss. Yet, it’s something we all must face someday. If you have a loved one who is nearing this time, it can be helpful to know what to expect throughout the stages of death. While the timeline of death may vary, there are three stages of death that most people will experience. Knowing these stages can help you to be helpful and supportive during this difficult time.

The Physical Stage

The first stage that a person will experience is the physical stage. This stage involves a wide variety physical signs and symptoms that manifest themselves as the body prepares for death. While not everyone will experience these symptoms, it’s likely they will experience some combination of several of them.

Loss of Appetite

As a person approaches the end of their life, their need for energy declines. Foods that were once a source of enjoyment are now difficult to consume and digest. They will prefer foods that are easier to eat and blander in flavor. When this occurs, it’s best to cater to their requests and help them to slowly consume small amounts of food.

Excessive Fatigue and Sleeping

The person may begin to sleep for many hours throughout the day and night. If a person has lost their appetite, it will cause their metabolism to slow down. As the metabolism slows, the body feels an increasing need to sleep. If your loved one is manifesting these symptoms, it’s best to allow them to rest. Try to avoid the desire to wake them as they need this sleep.

Coolness

As the metabolism slows, you may notice your loved one’s extremities are cool to the touch. This is due to a decrease in blood circulation. When this occurs, the body is attempting to conserve its energy and direct the blood flow to the vital organs.

This decrease in circulation will cause a person’s extremities to be cool to the touch. You may also notice their skin looks paler or even has a slight blue tint.

If your loved one’s skin feels cool to the touch, add an extra blanket to help keep them from getting too chilled.

Urine Decrease

When less food and drink is being consumed, the need to urinate will lessen. A significant drop in blood pressure will also affect this, as the kidneys will be forced to shut down. The urine that is produced will be a dark brown or reddish color due to the lack of hydration. This can be alarming but is a common part of the stages of death.

Change in Breathing Pattern

Breathing patterns change from slow and even to choppy and irregular. This can sound alarming to others, but typically the dying person is completely unaware of this change in their breathing pattern. You may identify their breathing pattern as Cheyne-Stokes respiration. This is characterized by a loud, deep inhalation followed by a pause.

Focusing on the person’s overall comfort during this time is key. Keeping their head slightly elevated and well supported will help.

Increased Weakness

The decline in food consumption and energy levels will cause a person to find even basic activities to be extremely difficult. Things that were once simple like changing their head position or moving an extremity may be impossible. The person may find this to be very frustrating, especially if they are still very mentally alert.

It’s best when this occurs to help in every way possible. This may mean helping them to find a more comfortable position in bed or offering to feed a bit of food or sip of water.

Swelling of the Feet and Ankles

The kidney’s job is to process bodily fluids. When the kidneys can no longer do this, the body pushes fluids as far from the heart as possible. This causes a swelling of the feet and ankles. In some cases, you may notice a person’s face or hands appear to be puffy as well. Swelling of the extremities is one of the primary signs that death is near.

When you identify this symptom, seek to make your loved one as comfortable as possible. Slightly elevating their feet can help reduce this swelling. However, it’s important to consult a doctor before doing so.

Knowing how to properly care for your loved one is important in preserving their quality of life for as long as possible. The following video is helpful in further describing these symptoms and how to help.

The Mental and Emotional Stage

A second stage a person experiences in preparation for death is the mental and emotional stage. This stage of changes can occur simultaneously with the physical changes. As a person processes the reality of facing death, they can experience a wide range of mental and emotional symptoms. It can be difficult for friends and family members to witness this stage. Seek to offer support and acceptance as they work through these mental and emotional changes.

Confusion or Disorientation

When a person’s organs begin to fail, they can experience a change in higher-order consciousness. When this happens, they will experience feelings of confusion and disorientation. They may be unable to keep track of time or remember where they are. Family and friends who they know and love may seem like strangers at times.

It’s best when this occurs for friends and family to continue speaking to the person just as they normally would.

Withdrawal

As a person prepares to face the reality of death, you may notice they seem to detach from the people and places around them. This is their attempt to begin letting go. They may appear to be withdrawn or unresponsive to activity around them. However, these symptoms do not indicate that they cannot hear what is going on in the room.

Continue to speak to your loved one as you normally would, as this can be of great comfort to them. The ability to hear is often the last sense for people to lose. This means your loved one is likely to hear you speak even up until a moment or two before they pass away. Your words of love and comfort can be heard even if they are unresponsive.

Mental Restlessness

When the brain experiences a decrease in oxygen, it can manifest itself in mental and physical distress. You may observe your loved one to be repeating the same phrase over and over, or tossing and turning in bed. This can indicate mental discomfort. Something may be bothering the person, causing them to be unable to experience peace in letting go.

Anti-Social Behavior

As a person prepares to be released, they may not want to be around many people. They might stop responding to questions or simply turn their head away when spoken to. This can be difficult for the friends and family who seek to interact with their loved one for as long as possible. However, this is a natural part of the stages of death.

The Spiritual Stage

This stage is the most varied of the three stages of death. Spirituality is something that each person experiences in a unique way. This stage is not defined by a large list of symptoms. However, many people do have several specific spiritual experiences as they move throughout the stages of death and dying.

Visions and Hallucinations

The person may tell you they have visited places that cannot be seen or spoken to someone who has passed away. These experiences of visions and hallucinations are one of the latest signs of death. The person is beginning the process of detaching from life. These visions help lessen their fear in the transition. Support your loved one by listening to what they say.

Desire to Make Peace

As a person nears the end of their life, they may experience a desire to find meaning in the life they have lived. This can manifest itself in through a need to right any wrongs or resolve disagreements with family or friends.

If your loved one is experiencing these feelings, it’s best to be open to these conversations. This will help them move into the final stages of death and give them peace in letting go.

Finding Spirituality

Many people seek comfort in their faith or religion as they approach death. They may request a visit from someone they trust in their religious community. These people will often provide answers to questions and offer a sense of peace as your loved one seeks comfort in the unknown. Praying or reading religious texts may offer a great deal of comfort as well.

Observing your loved one move through the stages of death can be a very difficult experience. It’s natural for you to desire to relieve their pain and discomfort in any way possible. Knowing the stages of death and how to respond to them can be the best way of offering support.

View Original Article Here: Why Greenhouse Nursing Homes are Rising in Popularity

No one relishes the thought of putting a loved one in a nursing home. However, often comes the point when the appropriate care cannot be provided at home and a difficult decision must be made. Traditionally, feelings of guilt and despair would accompany the choice. No one wants to put a parent or elderly relative into a place they don’t want to be. Enter the Greenhouse Project.

What is The Green House Project?

There is an alternative to the traditional nursing home model. It’s beginning to take hold all over the country. It’s called the Green House Project, and it provides nursing home care in facilities that are homelier and more comforting for its residents.

Green House Project homes look like actual homes, with 10 to 12 residents in each. These elders are cared for by compassionate staff who focus on the quality of life for each elder.

The Greenhouse Project is a new way of looking at care for the elderly. It is an evidence-based model for senior living. The project builds on the most natural way to do three things: care, live, and thrive.

Caring in greenhouse nursing homes involves nurturing the residents in a circle of care. There is a deep relationship between elders and caregivers. The model for green house homes reverses the typical institutional, organizational chart.

Caregivers in Greenhouse Homes

Caregivers determine the best way to provide care and work in teams to the benefit of each resident. There are very few layers of management. Care providers work as a team to provide activities that elders want to participate in. The elders have input into the activities that are available.

Living in green house homes is more like living in your own home. Between ten and twelve people live in each Green House Project home. Each person has a private bedroom and bath. There is an open kitchen and a great room.

Greenhouse project homes are designed to harmonize with the surrounding community. They have ample access to the outdoors. Each home meets the state and federal licensing requirements for nursing care facilities.

Thriving in a greenhouse project home is important. It is the result of respect for personal preferences and flexible routines. The homes feature a common dining area. The dining area is where residents gather for meals and socialize. Friends and family of residents are always welcome. The staff encourages the residents to pursue their own interests and passions. In this way, they encourage their personal growth. There is a focus on living, learning, and growing, in contrast to the traditional nursing home.

Green House Project History

The Green House Project began in 2001 by Dr. Bill Thomas and Steve McAlilly. Thomas is a geriatric physician. McAlilly was CEO of Mississippi Methodist Senior Services. The men approached the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They had the idea that elders should live in real homes, not in institutions.

They wanted to provide long term care in smaller, more personal setting. The buildings would look and function like a home. The foundation agreed to fund their vision. The Green House Project built its first home in 2003 in Tupelo, Mississippi. Since that time, the organization has built for veterans and low-income seniors. They have also built homes for residents who require short-term rehab services.

Before founding the Green House Project, Dr. Thomas was a co-founder of the Eden Alternative. The Eden Alternative has a similar mission but implements in a different way. Like the Green House Project, the Eden Alternative focuses on person-directed care. It focuses on changing the way care is provided in existing facilities. The Green House Project creates new facilities designed to offer care in this way.

This video explains the history and concept of the Green House project:

How are the Homes Staffed?

Homes that are part of the Green House Project use a new staffing model. This model is different from that of most long-term care facilities. The basis of the staff is the Shahbaz. A Shahbaz is a direct care provider. They manage the home, work in a team that manages itself, and partner with clinical team members. The Green House Project boasts lower staff turnover and four times more engagement of staff with elders.

The word Shahbaz is ancient Persian word. It means the king’s falcons. The word represents the philosophy of the Green House Project. The philosophy is valuing and empowering the staff. After all, it is the staff who provide the all-important daily care and nurturing to residents. The role of the Shahbaz is to help the elders negotiate old age and find the joy and goodness in their advanced age.

There are several roles occupied by Greenhouse Project staffs, including:

Guide – Responsible for supervising the Shabazim

Sage – Elder who lives locally and mentors the work teams

Clinical Support Team – Comprised of nurses, therapists, and dietitians

The Green House Project Difference

The concept of Green House Project was developed to effect a change in the culture of elder care. Some new approaches include:

Taking a proactive approach. This is to align with the natural rhythms, preferences, and patterns of each elder. The elders are encouraged to keep to their own schedules. They can participate in things they enjoy doing. They do not have to stick to a schedule set by the staff.

A daily community meeting. This engages elders in making decisions that affect the house and the way it is managed.

Care planning is a collaborative practice. It takes place between the Shahbazim, the elder, and their family. The planning focuses on forming deep and knowledgeable relationships.

There is a focus on attaining the highest practicable level of wellness of each elder in the home. This includes physical, social, and mental wellness.

Elders are encouraged to bring personal effects and treasures. They should decorate their rooms as they would like. This helps provide a feeling that is more like home. It also helps the staff and other residents get to know one another.

For Green House Project adopters, the language used reflects the philosophy. Instead of the facility, they say “community” or “home.” Individual is a term used in place of “resident” or “patient.” What others call ‘activities’ are termed ‘meaningful engagement.’

All these ways challenge the existing paradigm of nursing home care. They are making the vision of the Green House Project a successful reality.

The Impact on Healthcare Costs

A 2012 study compared the differences in Medicare and Medicaid costs. It looked at the cost of care in traditional nursing homes and Green House homes. The study looked at 13 sites, 9 of which were Green House sites, and 4 of which were traditional nursing homes.

The study looked at 255 residents. 97 were from Green House homes and 158 from traditional nursing homes. When they were admitted, the residents had comparable conditions. They needed comparable amounts of care. The study collected data from June 2004 until September 2009.

The study looked at the 12-month hospitalization rate. It was seven percentage points higher for nursing home residents. Also, those in Green House homes had better functioning during the period of the study. This led to lower Medicaid expenditures. The total cost savings over 12 months for a Green House resident was estimated at $1,300 to $2,300. This was compared to the cost for a resident in a traditional nursing home.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, recently updated their regulations. The new regulations support the values of the Green House Project. These regulations are regarding the quality of life and care. In these new regulations, CMS changes some of their languages. It has made it more focused on the elder as opposed to their condition. This is like the language used by the Green House Project.

Medicare and Medicaid reimburse Green House Project homes. Reimbursement is the same as it is in a traditional nursing home. For private pay residents, the homes set their own rates. They do this in accordance with the supply and demand in the local market.

Level of Care

A Green House Project home can provide the same level of care as a traditional nursing home. Home regulations are just like all other skilled nursing facilities. They must meet all the requirements. The difference is that the Green House Project home looks like an actual home. It does not look like an institution.

Green House Project homes accept Medicare and Medicaid. Reimbursement works in the same manner as traditional nursing homes. Residents in Green House Project homes have lower costs due to the greater personal and social contact they receive.

Locations

As of May 2017, there are over 200 Green House Project homes in more than 30 states.

Many more homes are under development. There are Green House homes for low-income elders, veterans, and short-term rehab patients.

Green House Project homes appear in both suburban and urban areas. There are homes in low- moderate- and upper-income areas. The homes blend into the surrounding neighborhood. This makes residents feel as though they are part of the larger community.

The founders of the Green House Project feel that this model is the future of nursing care.

Conclusion

View Original Article Here: What Is CCRC and What You Should Know About Them

There comes a time in everyone’s life when he or she may not be able to take care of themselves the way they always have. It’s nothing to be ashamed of; it’s merely a fact of life. When this time comes, the best thing to do is acknowledge that it has arrived.

For people of a certain age, continuing care retirement communities, or CCRCs, become a viable option. However, moving anywhere at an advanced age is not something that you should take lightly. It could be the last time you move and the place where you spend your golden years. Before deciding on anything, you should be as informed as possible about your options.

What’s Different About A CCRC?

What is a CCRC? That is the $1 million question. Continuing care retirement communities combine features from various types of senior citizen communities. They combine aspects of an independent living facility, assisted living facility, and skilled nursing home all in one.

A CCRC will include various tiers where different residents may live. Where a resident will live within the CCRC will depend on well they can take care of themselves and how much assistance they need. At a CCRC, if your status were to change regarding how much help you need with daily activities, you simply move to a different part of the community.

Independent Living

In a CCRC, residents who can handle a certain level of independence are free to enjoy it. They are likely to live in apartments no different from what you would find in the outside world. The main difference is proximity to others your age with the opportunity to engage in social activities and enjoy the amenities of the CCRC.

Assisted Living

The assisted living corridors at a CCRC will have caregivers to help residents with daily activities. This may include walking, bathing, grooming, taking medication, and more. The caveat is that this typically involves moving out of your independent living apartment and into a different part of the campus.

Skilled Nursing Home

If you or your loved one deteriorates health wise to the point of needing to be in a nursing home, the CCRC can accommodate that. This can even be accomplished without having to move outside the campus. Not all assisted living facilities have skilled nurses working onsite. But a CCRC will have rooms dedicated to those who require nursing home level care.

4 Types of Contracts

Most Continuing Care Retirement Communities will offer residents four types of contracts. This allows them to choose one that fits them best. Typically, there will be an entrance fee in order to secure a spot within the community. There will also be monthly fees that vary based on the services you receive from the CCRC.

Life Care Contract (Type A)

This contract is for residents who to pay the same every month and pay upfront for all costs. Both the entry and monthly fees are likely to be high. However, those fees won’t change even if you move from independent to assisted living and eventually to the community’s nursing home. With this contract, it may be possible to receive tax benefits and part of your entrance fee refunded when your contract is terminated.

Modified Contract (Type B)

A modified contract is similar to Type A, although the CCRC may only provide services to the resident for a set period, typically a month or two. When that period of time is over, you will pay market value for any assisted living or nursing care services. So, unlike Type A, a Type B contract will have a monthly payment that fluctuates.

Fee-for-Service Contract (Type C)

A Type C contract is essentially a pay-as-you-go plan. Whatever assisted living and healthcare services you accrue is what you will pay each month, doing so at market value. If you remain healthy and don’t require much assistance, you can keep your monthly payments low. However, if your condition deteriorates, there is no chance for a discount or tax write-off.

Rental Agreement

Not every CCRC will offer a rental option, but most of them do. Typically, the entrance fee will be waived, but residents should expect to pay higher monthly fees because they don’t pre-pay for any services. The rental option is usually only available when a community has extra space that’s not currently occupied by a resident who’s signed to a contract.

CCRC Benefits

Regardless of what type of contract you choose, continuing care recreational communities offer many great benefits.

Can Adapt to Your Changing Health

This is one of the top benefits of a CCRC. Instead of waiting until your health goes into decline, you can plan ahead so you don’t have to move when it’ll be more difficult to do so. Once you’re at the CCRC, you can seamlessly move from independent to assisted living whenever you need to. Eventually, you’ll be able to receive nursing care when you need it.

Even if you have a temporary health setback, it’s easy to move between different levels of care while living in a CCRC. If you require extra care, you can receive it as needed, and once you have recovered, you can return to your previous level of care and independence.

Can Accommodate Couples

Continuing care retirement communities may be ideal for elderly couples. Instead of one being the caretaker for the other, each can receive the level of care their need. Even if one needs more care than the other, a CCRC makes it possible for the couple to continue living together. Otherwise, different care needs may force them to live in different facilities.

Move in Before Health Fades

A CCRC can be a great way to plan ahead. You can continue to live independently in your own apartment in a CCRC. But because of how they are set up, you know you’ll be covered as you age and require more living assistance. For a lot of people and their loved ones, this is preferable than having to move somewhere once your health has already started to decline.

Social Opportunities

Often, seniors can become isolated as they age, and that lack of human interaction usually isn’t good for their health. However, continuing care retirement communities are just that: communities. They offer you opportunities to socialize with others and engage in daily activities. This kind of lifestyle can help to keep you healthy and active for many years to come.

Healthcare Availability

When living in a CCRC, you never have to worry about having access to healthcare. Even in independent living, you can receive easy access to healthcare when you need it. Having this luxury can provide you with piece-of-mind. Having piece-of-mind can be invaluable as you age and begin to experience more frequent health issues, even minor ones.

Below is a video that discusses many of the basics of a continuing care retirement community.

Drawbacks

Of course, continued caring retirement communities are far from perfect. Like anything else in life, there will be drawbacks. So, what kind of tradeoffs can you expect to make if you decide to live in a CCRC?

Sacrifice Independence

This is the biggest thing you give up when you decide to move to a CCRC. In the independent living part of the community, you’ll have a large degree of freedom that’s akin to living on your own. However, it’s not quite the same, and coming to grips with that is not always easy and not always a sacrifice seniors are willing to make.

Financial Commitment

Continuing care retirement community cost will vary from one facility to another, but the price is substantial no matter where you go. The entrance at most places will be at least $100,000 and could exceed half a million dollars at some places. On top of that, the monthly fees should be at least a few thousand dollars, depending on the facility and your contract.

There’s also a great amount of risk if your particular CCRC gets into financial trouble. If the community isn’t in a good place financially, you could see the quality of care decline of your monthly fees increase. If for some reason your CCRC ends up going bankrupt, you could lose all the money you’ve invested into living there for the rest of your life.

Limited Oversight

One of the biggest concerns with continuing care retirement communities is the lack of federal regulations. Nursing homes are well regulated, but that’s not the case with CCRCs, so you never quite know what you’re going to get. The marketing pitch a CCRC gives can be quite different from the product they deliver, which is easy to do with such little government oversight.

Doing the Research

With a variety of both benefits and drawbacks to CCRCs, it’s imperative to do research on an individual community before you commit to moving there. Remember, this is a big decision, so take these steps before deciding.

Check Financial Records

You should be able to get a copy of a CCRC’s financial records simply by asking them. If you can’t decipher it yourself, have an accountant or financial specialist look at it. He or she will be able to find any signs of debt, mismanagement, or any other red flags. Moving to a CCRC is a huge commitment, and you don’t want to live in one that’s in financial trouble.

Take A Visit

Obviously, you’ll tour the community before deciding to live, but go one step further and spend at least a couple of nights there as a type of trial run. That’s the only way you’ll be able to determine if it’s a place you’d like to call home.

While you’re visiting, take the time to talk to the other residents there and get feedback from them on their experience. If the current residents don’t seem happy to be there it may not be a place you’ll want to live. Taking an extended visit is also a great opportunity to observe and speak with the staff. This will help give you an idea on whether they genuinely care about the residents there.

Ask Questions

You can never ask too many questions when deciding whether or not to move into a CCRC. You’ll need to learn about the contract options, the services offered, and how the monthly fees are calculated. You will also want to ask what services aren’t included and whether part of the entrance fee is refundable.

Aside from the obvious questions about services and finances, you’ll want to ask questions about who owns and operates the community. Obviously, there will be questions that pertain specifically to yourself and your situation. Just remember, there’s no wrong question when deciding on a CCRC.

Conclusion

Continuing care retirement communities offer great perks for seniors. Of course, there are tradeoffs to moving into one of these communities. Thus, extensive research is necessary before choosing the community where you want to live.

View Original Article Here: What is the Difference Between Delirium and Dementia?

Both delirium and dementia have similar symptoms, but the two medical conditions are not the same. Delirium usually comes on suddenly, and there are ways to prevent it from developing. The onset of dementia is slower, usually taking months or years to develop with minor symptoms sometimes being dismissed as normal forgetfulness or ignored. With this information, you should be able to tell the differences between delirium vs dementia and understand why awareness of delirium and its causes is important.

Some memory lapses are a natural part of aging, but when it is combined with confusion, disorientation, difficulty concentrating, or speech problems, then there is a reason for concern. Since these symptoms can indicate more than one medical condition, an appointment with a doctor should be made to diagnose the condition.

What is Delirium?

Delirium is a state of abnormal mental confusion caused by the stress of the body or mind. The onset of delirium is usually quick, sometimes developing within a few hours or a few days. There are ways to prevent delirium, which is also known as “acute confusional state” due to its quick onset.

There are several symptoms which indicate a state of delirium, but they can be confused with dementia symptoms due to their similarities. The main symptoms of delirium include:

Confusion

Disorientation

Language Problems

Memory Issues

Difficulty Paying Attention

Poor Concentration

For the most part, delirium affects a person’s attention span, but dementia mainly affects their memory. While delirium is treatable and often preventable, it is incorrectly misdiagnosed in approximately half of all cases. Its diagnosis is also complicated because many dementia patients can also develop delirium.

Causes of Delirium

Delirium has many causes, some of which are avoidable. The causes include:

Infections

Dementia

Low electrolyte levels

Prescription medications

Injuries

Pain

Stress

Metabolic disorders

Untreated urinary tract infections, pneumonia, or encephalitis can trigger delirium. Since these infections can be caused by bacteria, although it is rare in the cause of encephalitis, treating the infections with antibiotics will usually resolve the infection and the delirium.

Delirium caused by low electrolyte levels is usually due to severe dehydration or malnutrition, which is why it is important senior citizens, especially those in frail health, need to drink plenty of water. It is important to seek help if loved ones start showing signs of delirium because the dehydration can be fatal.

Along with low electrolyte levels, low levels of the vitamins thiamine and B12 can also cause delirium. People who are alcoholics may have low thiamine levels, and many seniors get regular B12 injections because they cannot absorb the vitamin from the foods they eat. A vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause confusion, memory issues, and dementia.

Delirium is also a side effect of taking certain medications by themselves, in combination with other drugs, or it may appear as a withdrawal symptom after they stop taking certain drugs. Some of the medications associated with delirium include:

Pain relievers

Antihistamines

Medications to help people sleep.

Drugs to treat mood disorders like anxiety or depression.

Parkinson’s medications

Asthma drugs

Unpreventable Delirium Causes

Many patients may enter a state of delirium after head traumas, stress, or if they have dementia. If someone is in an accident and has a head injury, they may wake up confused, disoriented and stressed to the point they become delirious. Fortunately, delirium resulting from a trauma will usually resolve itself by resting and relaxing as the injury heals.

Stress-induced delirium is very common for senior citizens who require hospitalization due to sickness or injuries. Nearly one-quarter of senior citizens will develop delirium while in the hospital, but that figure jumps to almost 70% when they are admitted to an Intensive Care Unit. Delirium is often missed in patients because the only way to diagnose it is by clinical observation and, in busy hospitals, nurses may not have time to carefully observe patients, except in specialty units like an ICU where careful observation is critical.

Since people with dementia are easily confused and disoriented, many of them will develop delirium during a stressful situation, like being in a nursing home. Some dementia patients may suffer from dehydration or malnutrition because due to complications of the disease. In fact, when assessing the risk factors of delirium vs dementia, dementia is on the list. Some of the other risk factors include:

Strokes

Parkinson’s Disease

Being elderly

Vision or hearing problems

Multiple medical problems

History of delirium

Understanding the consequences of delirium, especially as related to dementia, is important because of the complications patients can develop. In some cases, the cause of the delirium can be fatal, such as the case with untreated infections. However, for other patients, the development of delirium can lead to a general decline in their overall health.

Delirium Complications

It isn’t unusual for patients with chronic or terminal illnesses to develop delirium, including dementia patients. The ability to recover from episodes of delirium depends on a person’s mental and physical health before its onset. While people in good health are more likely to make a full recovery, when comparing patients with delirium vs dementia, those with dementia may experience declines in their memory and thinking ability.

Those who have chronic or terminal illnesses may not be able to regain their levels of physical functioning or thinking abilities they had before delirium. Along with a decline in their overall health, some of the other complications patients can develop includes:

An increase in injuries due to falls.

Weakness

Impaired functioning

Mobility declines

Combative behavior

Pressure ulcers

Wandering

Some of these complications also occur in patients with dementia whether delirium is present. To better understand the difference between delirium and dementia, it is important to get an overview of what dementia is and what role it plays in the development of delirium.

Defining Dementia

Dementia is the general term for decreases in mental abilities which are so severe that they affect a person’s daily life. Memory loss is a type of dementia, as is Alzheimer’s, which is the most prevalent form as seen on the pie chart. There are several other types of dementia, including:

Alzheimer’s

Parkinson’s Disease

Huntington’s Disease

Vascular Dementia

Mixed Dementia

Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB)

Although these, and other types of dementia, may have similar symptoms and causes, they also have unique symptoms and affect the brain in different ways. For instance, the brain of someone with Alzheimer’s will have protein plaque deposits, twisted strands of protein and the brain will also display signs of death. However, the brain of someone with Vascular Dementia will show signs of blood vessel damage, which can appear on brain imaging scans and eliminate an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

When considering dementia vs delirium, it is important to note three of the main differences: their onset, methods of diagnosis, and their treatments.

The following video sheds some more light on the topic:

Dementia Onset

As stated earlier in the article, delirium rapidly develops within hours or days, but dementia usually develops over time, and it can take several months or years before symptoms are obvious. However, there are cases of acute dementia, which is a rapid onset of the disease. A study from the United Kingdom revealed dementia in some elderly patients was triggered by delirium they developed due to the stress of being in the hospital.

Methods of Diagnosis

When comparing delirium vs dementia diagnostic methods, no diagnostic tests exist to diagnose delirium, thus, clinical observation is the only method. However, there are several diagnostic and cognitive tests which can help diagnose dementia and its type. Some of the diagnostic tests for dementia include blood tests and diagnostic scans like CT, MRI, and PET scans.

The main cognitive test is the mini mental state examination or MMSE. While this test doesn’t diagnose the disease, it helps to discover a dementia patient’s level of impairment. This test assesses the mental skills like:

Long- and short-term memory

Attention span

Ability to Concentrate

Language use and communication abilities

Understanding of instructions

Planning abilities

It also includes exercises like memorizing a short list and repeating, writing a grammatically correct short sentence and answering time-oriented questions.

Dementia Treatments

While delirium will sometimes resolve itself as the patient heals from the initial cause or they are prescribed rest and relaxation to reduce stress, the treatment of dementia depends on the type a patient has. There are cognitive medications and therapies which can help manage the disease as some forms are irreversible. However, some causes of dementia are resolved with treatments, and the patient’s abilities may slowly return.

In Conclusion

Since senior citizens are susceptible to delirium due to several of its causes, it is important to focus on the preventable ones, so it doesn’t develop. Along with preventing delirium, eliminating some causes many also prevent some forms of dementia.

View Original Article Here: Detecting and Treating Weight Loss in Seniors

Most of us tend to recognize that elderly people tend to become smaller the older they get. As people age, they lose weight and perhaps even become a couple of inches shorter. Most people believe that weight loss in elderly people is a natural part of aging. But losing a significant amount of weight without trying to do so can indicate a potentially serious health issue for seniors.

Unintentional weight loss is defined as a loss of 5% of your body weight within a six to 12-month period. Recent data suggests that close to 30% of people over the age of 65 experience involuntary weight loss. Weight loss can interfere with day-to-day functionality, causing a decline in quality of life. It can also lead to a higher mortality rate among the elderly.

Studies show that between 9% and 38% of elderly people die within one to two and a half year of experiencing involuntary weight loss. It also increases the odds of being hospitalized or suffering a fall, while causing a decline in recovering from an illness or injury. Thus, the issue must be identified and handled properly before it leads to dire consequences.

Causes

The causes and risk factors for unintentional weight loss in the elderly can be quite varied. It can be a by-product of a more serious medical ailment. A disease or medication taken to treat that disease can be the cause of weight loss in elderly people. However, the issue can also be brought about by psychological factors or even as a result of lifestyle.

There is a clever mnemonic for unintentional weight loss in elderly people, “Meals on Wheels.” This helps medical personnel and others recognize most of the possible causes of unintentional weight loss.

Medication Effects

Many medications have common side effects like dry mouth or changes in appetite that can lead to weight loss.

Emotional Problems

Conditions like anxiety or depression may take away the desire to eat.

Anorexia or Alcoholism.

Both conditions are associated with malnutrition, which can directly lead to weight loss.

Late-Life Paranoia

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia can increase the risk of weight loss.

Swallowing Disorders

Diets to treat swallowing disorders may be undesirable and over time cause weight loss.

Oral Health

Painful dentures or missing teeth can make eating unpleasant and lead to weight loss.

No Money

Poverty and lack of access to food can cause malnutrition and subsequent weight loss.

Wandering

Not paying attention during meals due to issues related to dementia can reduce food intake.

Hyperthyroidism

There are several thyroid-related conditions that can alter metabolism and cause weight loss. The medications to treat these conditions can also change appetite.

Enteric (Intestinal) Issues

Gastrointestinal distress can signal nutritional deficiencies or lead to a lack of appetite.

Eating Problems

The loss of ability to feed one’s self can lead to poor nutrition and weight loss.

Low-Salt or Low-Cholesterol Diet

Diets designed to improve heart health in the elderly can cause weight loss. They are also less appealing, leading to lower food intake.

Social Problems and Stones

Lack of social interaction can diminish eating habits and prevent access to preferred foods. Also, gallstones can be painful and cause a lack of appetite, leading to weight loss.

To further simplify, weight loss in seniors tends to come down to disease, psychiatry, or life circumstances. Diseases, most notably cancer, as well as the medications used to treat those diseases are a common cause. Psychiatric issues like depression are a common cause of weight loss in elderly people. Any life circumstances that prevent proper nutrition may also be the catalyst for sudden weight loss in the elderly.

Symptoms to Look For

Obviously, noticing a sudden loss in weight over the span of a few months is an obvious symptom, but noticing that kind weight loss is not always easy. Clothes becoming baggy, rings falling off fingers, or the need to tighten your belt can all be signs that you’ve lost a significant amount of weight.

Of course, these are not the only ways to identify weight loss or predict that significant weight loss may be coming in the immediate future. For instance, loss of appetite or a general lack of interest in food or eating is one of the most common predictors of sudden weight loss. As indicated earlier, there are several reasons for a lack of appetite.

Even a change in diet could lead to sudden weight loss. Being forced into a new diet can take away the desire to eat, lowering your overall intake of food. Meanwhile, unintentionally altering your diet could result in malnutrition and ultimately weight loss. Chronic constipation is one way to detect a lack of proper nutrition even before significant weight loss can begin.

Signs of Aging

Unfortunately, many of the symptoms of involuntary weight loss are common parts of the aging process. Changes in your sense of taste and smell are common as you age and can make food less appealing. It’s also common for seniors to feel full sooner, which can also reduce the amount they eat and deprive them of proper nutrition.

Seniors also get sick more often and may struggle to take care of themselves and function on a day-to-day basis. This can play a role in suffering sudden weight loss. Thus, it’s important to recognize when these symptoms begin to set in and start to have an impact on your life.

Treatment

The links between the elderly and weight loss are so diverse that treatment for it is not always simple. Once the issue is discovered along with the root cause of the problem, then the underlying cause can be treated. Of course, it’s likely that treatment for sudden weight loss in the elderly will take place on multiple fronts.

Dietary Restrictions

One of the first actions that can be taken is removing any dietary restrictions. This can sometimes be complicated for patients with a specific diet to treat diabetes or other conditions. However, relinquishing harsh diet restrictions can encourage someone to eat more. This, in turn, will help to stabilize their weight.

For seniors who struggle with the process of eating, changes in food intake may be necessary. If chewing or swallowing food is an issue, diets consisting of soft foods and liquids can be arranged to help increase food intake. Flavor enhancers can also be useful for elderly people when their sense of taste and smell become diminished.

In other instances, smaller portions and more frequent meals can be effective. This can help to compensate for many seniors feeling full faster. When possible, it’s also possible to increase exercise and activity to increase appetite. Of course, this isn’t always possible with elderly people who struggle with their mobility.

The video below discusses proper nutrition for seniors, which is important in preventing or treating sudden weight loss.

  Medications

Unfortunately, there are no medications specifically for unintentional weight loss in the elderly. Certain medications can improve appetite and lead to weight gain. But many of those drugs have not been tested on the elderly for this reason. Such medications are also designed for other conditions and come with possible side effects that may not be ideal for elderly people.

However, nutritional supplements can be effective for increasing calorie intake. They are often found in liquid form or other forms that should be easy for seniors to consume. It’s easy to keep in mind that nutritional supplements should not be viewed as meal replacements. They should be taken in between meals to help maintain a healthy weight.

Lifestyle Changes

Of course, some of the possible treatments for unintentional weight loss in the elderly go beyond medicine. A lack of access to desirable foods can lead to a reduced appetite. The same is true if a person is isolated and uninterested in eating. These issues may need to be addressed by a caregiver. A caregiver can help make the proper lifestyle adjustments.

Prevention

With most medical conditions, the best treatment is prevention. Unintentional weight loss in the elderly is no exception. Once an elderly person loses a significant amount of weight, it can be difficult to regain the lost weight. This makes it imperative to pay close attention to the possible symptoms of unintentional weight loss and treat it before it becomes an issue.

In addition to being aware of the causes, it may be wise for seniors to undergo nutrition screening on a regular basis. Undergoing a nutritional assessment with a professional can help to identify risk factors. This includes many of the “Meals on Wheels” risk factors discussed earlier. Knowing if you’re susceptible to any of these risk factors is a great first step in preventing sudden weight loss.

Conclusion

While many people may believe that losing body mass is a natural part of the aging process, it can be a rather serious issue. Dealing with weight loss in the elderly in a timely manner is crucial. Otherwise, weight loss can lead to other health issues or even death.

View Original Article Here: Senior Citizen Center Activities to Keep You Feeling Young

When you are considering a senior living facility or community for your loved one, you want to make sure that all their needs will be met. This doesn’t end with providing for their basic care; you will also want them to engage in the types of activities that lead to a happy, healthy, and productive life. Senior activities are essential for both physical and mental well-being. Here we will discuss various activities for older people at home or in assisted living.

Exercise and Fitness for Seniors

Staying active and getting appropriate exercise is key to your senior loved one’s health and happiness. While not all activities are well-suited for all older adults, yoga, biking, swimming, and dancing are three of the best senior activities. Each of these activities has benefits that exceed physical exercise, elevating the mind, body, and spirit.

Yoga

We know that yoga is excellent for the mind and body. It is a low-impact method of stretching muscles and connective tissue while strengthening joints and improving range of motion. However, the best part of yoga for older adults is perhaps the practice of discipline and mindfulness.

The Yoga Empowers Seniors Study found that yoga was one of the best ways to improve physical function in seniors while impacting mood and positive thoughts. Yoga and similar practices like Tai Chi have been utilized by older people in Eastern cultures to achieve longevity and health for thousands of years.

Biking

Cycling is a relatively low-impact activity that can be done indoors for exercise or outdoors for added relaxation and enjoyment. Many assisted living centers to take their most active seniors on group bike tours of nearby towns and parks.

This is a wonderful way to encourage your loved one to enjoy some fresh air and fellowship while seeing the local sights. Biking is also a great way to spend family time with your senior. Bring your kid’s bikes and let your loved one lead the way.

Autumn is the best time to go for a ride. Not only will your senior see the lovely seasonal colors, but the pollen count is lower during the cooler months. Older riders tend to average between 8 and 12 miles per hour. However, speed or skill may vary rider to rider. Remember to encourage your senior to ride at their own pace.

Swimming

Swimming is a terrific activity for seniors. Whether indoors or outside, swimming provides a low-impact exercise that gets the heart pumping, stretches the muscles, and improves range of motion, without causing a painful impact on knees, elbows, and hips. This makes swimming the perfect activity for seniors who have arthritis, those who have had joint replacement surgery, and is even used as therapy for those recovering from a stroke.

For some quick tips and helpful advice on the best way to use the pool as an exercise tool for seniors check out this informative video.

The following video shows a few water workouts to try:

Dancing

A recent study looked at the effects regular dancing had on a group of Latinos, aged 55 and over. The study, conducted by the University of Illinois Departments of Kinesiology and Nutrition found that participants taking dance classes improved their physical conditioning including, agility, speed, and range of motion, in ways their peers —not taking dance, did not experience.

There is also research that indicates dancing releases certain hormones like dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline, which make us naturally feel more happy and energetic. If dancing is something that interests your senior, encourage them to find their groove. Dancing is certainly one of the most fun and healthful senior citizen center activities.

Enjoy the Outdoors

The great American essayist John Burroughs once wrote, “I go to nature to be soothed and healed. And to have my senses put right once more.” Whether you are looking for a senior living center that will encourage outdoor activities or you are just planning an outdoor activity with an older adult, boating, fishing, and hiking are all excellent options to consider.

Boating

Older adults with limited mobility may think boating isn’t an option. However, if you want to set out on a boating adventure, the main challenge will be finding an appropriate vessel. After that, it’s smooth sailing. If your senior is wheelchair bound but able to make the transfer to a boat, they may sit in a regular seat with a lap belt for support.

Many newer boats have flat front decks which may help with the transition. Wheelchair users, though, may feel most comfortable aboard a pontoon boat where they can stay in their wheelchair while on the water.

If you don’t have access to an appropriate boat and just want a few hours of fishing, consider taking your senior to a public access pier. These are required by law to be ADA compliant. Be sure to have appropriate safety equipment such as life vests and floatation devices.

Fishing

Fishing is a favorite pastime for many seniors. It is the perfect activity for quiet reflexion and even encourages a competitive spirit. Recent studies have found that fishing releases hormones called endorphins into the body which may help seniors cope with chronic pain, anxiety, and depression. Many senior living centers have ponds located onsite that allow fishing. Fishing trips can also be a fun family excursion.

When you are shopping for fishing gear for your senior, make sure to keep any physical limitations in mind. Pick a fishing spot with lots of room for sideways casting techniques to reduce the likelihood of shoulder pain or injury. If your senior is disabled, choose a rod and reel that is easy to cast. According to DisabledSportUsa.org, there are many ways to make fishing accessible to everyone, no matter their capabilities.

Walking and Hiking

Many seniors enjoy walking and hiking. In fact, many senior living communities offer hiking clubs featuring regular excursions to local trails. We know that walking is one of the best senior activities. Studies have found that walking briskly can lower your risk for several chronic health conditions such as:

high blood pressure

high cholesterol

diabetes

stroke

heart disease

The best part of hiking and walking is that it requires no special skills or abilities. It can be accomplished at any pace. It is important that your senior find an approach that they enjoy, whether your senior is hiking in a group, with a club, or simply taking a stroll each evening for some alone time.

Walking is a terrific activity that your entire family can enjoy alongside older adults. Plan a regularly scheduled hike each afternoon, and everyone will reap the well-known benefits of walking.

Leisure Activities for Senior Centers

Not all activities for seniors need to be a form of exercise. There are many enjoyable recreational activities suited for seniors as well. Games that encourage strategy, skill, and recall are the most helpful.

Card Games

Card games like Bridge, or even Poker, keep the mind sharp and provide opportunities for social interaction, which is important for seniors who often struggle with feelings of isolation. Many senior living centers offer daily card games and weekly tournaments for their residents. Card games like solitaire can also be enjoyed alone. Many older adults find the familiarity of these games comforting and calming.

Chess

Chess is the game for masters of strategy. Many seniors have played since they were young children and probably have developed a “habit.” Many agree that chess can be addictive. This perhaps proves once and for all that all addictions need not be harmful. Encourage your chess loving senior to get his daily dose of gameplay.

The love of Chess is also something valuable that your senior can pass along to the younger generations. Plan a time for your children or grandchildren can visit and learn a bit about the game. Chess sharpens and teaches valuable life lessons like strategy, sportsmanship, ethics and critical thinking, impacting the mind of adults and children alike.

Music

Whether playing an instrument or listening to their favorite tunes, music is the perfect leisure activity for many seniors. Studies have shown that older persons who engage in musical pursuits are happier and more fulfilled. Psychology Today reports that music also impacts the cognitive ability of older adults. Researchers found that music positively affected the following abilities in seniors:

Cognitive processing speed (recall and response)

General and short-term memory performance

Semantic or long-term memory

To reap these benefits, encourage participation in senior center activities centered around music. Consider providing technology that will help your senior enjoy music and other entertainment.

Tech Activities for Seniors

Technology can be intimidating to some older adults. However, reports indicate that modern aging adults love their devices just as much as the younger population. Technology offers seniors the ability to keep in touch with friends and family who are unable to visit. It can offer entertainment with a simple swipe of the screen.

Finally, technology offers seniors the tools they need to stay healthy and independent longer. Check to see if there are any classes available for your senior available to help bridge any technology gaps. Many senior living facilities offer these, as well.

Staying Connected

A tablet or laptop can be a lifeline for a senior who is unable to travel or is unable to stay connected with their family due to distance. We know that making international or long-distance calls can add up fast.

For those living on a fixed income, this is an expense they just can’t afford. Apps like Skype, allows seniors to easily make calls anywhere, send text and voice messages at a touch of a button, and enjoy interaction through video conferencing.

Not only will this engaging activity help your senior save money, but they will also feel more connected to family members.

Adaptive Technology

Many apps are designed primarily for seniors that offer easy to use and intuitive displays and interfaces. One app called Silver Surf was listed by the AARP is one of the most innovative apps for seniors in 2017.

Silver Surf creates a smooth browsing experience for seniors by amplifying the sound and screen size, intuitively. Also, most tablets and laptops come equipped with various accessibility settings designed to make the device easier to use for senior activities.

Some seniors have even turned technology into a hobby. This video from the “world’s oldest blogger” is inspiring. At 103 years old, Dagny Carlsson is an inspiration to us all.

Check out this video for a few “life hacks” from a tech-savvy senior:

Health Technology for Seniors

If your senior is living in a full-care facility, you won’t need to worry about their medication. However, at many assisted living and retirement communities, seniors are responsible for their own medication regimen. This is one area where having a tech-savvy senior is a huge blessing. Apps like PillBoxie are designed to help seniors remember to take their medication.

Helping your senior have a better quality of life is a primary concern when you are evaluating senior care facilities. These are just a few of the senior activities that may help improve their health and well-being.