Falls can be painful, but for seniors, a fall can cause catastrophic effects, such as a fractured hip, something that can lead to even more health concerns. As many as one in four seniors who experience a fractured hip lose their lives within six months of the injury – a terribly disturbing, yet preventable fact. For these reasons, it is crucial to take measures in the home to help prevent senior falls.
Senior Safety
Is It a TIA or Stroke?
Numbness on one side of the body. Slurred speech. Confusion. Appears to be a stroke, right? Then again, if those stroke-like signs subside rather rapidly and seem minor, they may be caused by a TIA (transient ischemic attack). But prior to breathing that sigh of relief and getting back to life as usual, it’s important … Read more
Caring for a Loved One with Dysphagia
On a hot summer day, there is nothing more satisfying than a tall, cold drink, but for someone with dysphagia, this simple pleasure can be downright dangerous. Dysphagia – or difficulty with swallowing – affects millions of older adults, because of weakened mouth and/or throat muscles. Alzheimer’s, MS, cancer, and stroke are typical root causes … Read more
Tips for Reducing Family Caregiver Stress
Family caregiver stress is inescapable, and in reality, not necessarily always a bad thing. Basically, as they say, “A diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled stress exceptionally well.” Yet especially for family caregivers, the level of stress can rapidly escalate and become overwhelming, and if not handled effectively, result in serious health concerns.
Investigating Incontinence Myths and Facts
Urinary incontinence is an awkward issue for those who experience it. The stigma behind the condition commonly contributes to people having either a lack of facts or a belief in some common misconceptions about incontinence. The following are just a few incontinence myths and the facts to be aware of instead: Myth: Urinary incontinence is … Read more
You’re Doing Your Best: Tips for Managing Caregiver Guilt
A lot of us are trying to juggle numerous assorted responsibilities, and for family caregivers, it can feel similar to juggling flaming swords and knives. It’s natural for family members to become overloaded and to experience feelings of caregiver guilt when wanting to provide the best care for a member of the family. Guilt … Read more
Technology for Seniors: Tools That Help Promote Independence
When our parents were younger, telephones were affixed to walls, mail was only the paper variety, and if adult children lived far away from their parents, checking in on them was as simple as asking someone nearby to stop by to visit. If someone were unable to leave home as a result of sickness or frailty, isolation could rapidly set in. Social circles were smaller, and long-distance family members frequently felt powerless if they weren’t able to be there in person to help. But life has drastically changed since those times, and technology has evolved how we communicate and manage the everyday activities of living.
The Importance of Maintaining Senior Independence
Throughout the course of life’s stages, our yearning for independence is fulfilled in a variety of ways. There are significant events, such as moving out of our parents’ home or getting married, and less significant occasions, like accomplishing a difficult task on our own. Later, as we age, preserving independence becomes the focus – the capacity to stay in our own home safely and securely. This wish to age in place at home is frequently the greatest desire for older adults, regardless of their state of health or ability to function independently, even in the midst of injury, sickness, or chronic health conditions.
‘Tis the Season to Celebrate: Holiday Tips for Seniors
Even though the holiday season is usually viewed as a time that is joyful, abundant with visiting loved ones who are near and dear to us and selecting the perfect gifts, for older people, it can be far from merry and bright. A combination of lost loved ones, memories of holidays past, health problems, and more can hit older adults with emotions of lonesomeness and sorrow.
Tips for Safe and Enjoyable Holiday Outings for Seniors
The holiday season is loaded with get-togethers, celebrations, and parties. However, holiday outings for seniors may necessitate a little additional planning. Try these recommendations from the Austin senior home care specialists at CareFor to enjoy fun and relaxed outings with loved ones of all ages this season.
Fall Safety Tips for Prevention and Injury Reduction
Senior falls happen all too frequently and many times lead to serious consequences. If you’re taking care of aging parents at home, fall prevention is key and can be helped by fall safety measures. This includes assessing the home for fall risks, such as throw rugs or other tripping hazards, insufficient lighting, and a lack … Read more
Senior Health Tips: The Dangers of Pill Organizers
The average senior takes as many as 15-18 different prescriptions every day, so it’s no wonder that so many older adults end up missing doses or taking incorrect doses of their medications. And there are serious health problems that can result from these medication errors. A common senior health tip is the recommendation of a pill … Read more
Seniors Can Age at Home Safely with These Tips
The great majority of seniors are set on staying at home throughout aging, rather than relocating to an assisted living facility or nursing home – close to 9 out of 10 of them, according to research done by AARP. And who can blame them? The comfort of familiar surroundings, the freedom to go wherever, whenever … Read more
Safety Tips for Seniors Who Use Wheelchairs
Home is where we’re most comfortable, and it’s for that reason so many older adults make the choice to remain at home through their golden years. But oftentimes wheelchairs come to be a part of life when seniors or those with specific disabilities experience decreased mobility. This can be a unique challenge when it comes … Read more
When Caring for Someone with Dementia Becomes Stressful for Family Caregivers
Picture how it would feel to awaken in an unfamiliar location, not able to remember how you arrived there or even what your name is. Progressing into complete disorientation, then quickly leading to anger and fear, you might find yourself lashing out at the unknown person positioned beside your bed, talking to you in a quiet voice.
Is Senior Socialization the Key to Healthy Wellbeing in Older Adults?
It’s intuitive to most of us that interacting with others improves health and wellbeing. It keeps us connected to other people’s experiences, beliefs, struggles, humor, points of views, and various other human occurrences. However, now scientific studies are determining that socializing with others, and most notably seniors socializing with others, actually may boost the wellness of both mind and body.
If You’re a Caregiver for an Older Adult, Consider Adding Music to Your Routine
These days, music is more available than ever before. For those who bring smartphones or tablets with them everywhere they go, hundreds of thousands – if not tens of millions of tunes – are just a few taps or finger swipes away. If you are a caregiver for an older adult, your smartphone may become one of the most helpful tools in your possession in helping tap into the benefits of music. This widely circulated video clip from the Alive Inside documentary demonstrates just how incredibly effective music can be for seniors with limited capabilities and dementia.
Benefits of a Heart Healthy Diet for Seniors
Our senior care professionals in Austin understand that it’s tough to make the right dietary choices when guidelines appear to constantly change. We had been told that saturated fats from options like butter, red meat and fried food were harmful and could potentially impact a person’s odds of developing heart problems, but later research revealed there isn’t enough evidence that people who gave up these delicacies improved their heart health – and so, we went back to our old ways due to the go-ahead to opt for butter over margarine.
Elder Care Technology Trends in 2021
Throughout the pandemic, our Georgetown and surrounding area home care experts witnessed firsthand the crucial role of elder care technology in the lives of aging adults. As we move into 2021 and encounter the challenges of the new year, health and well-being are at the forefront of how we think about technology for older adults. In 2021, it’s expected that these technology trends will be the ones to look out for.
Overcoming the Hurdles of Elderly Care Technology
Today’s older adults are overrun with a plethora of hi-tech products directed at improving their independence and safety and providing life enhancement. At the touch of a button or two, we can automatically pay a visit “in person” with friends and relatives through Skype, wear a pendant that responds with emergency help and support when necessary, and even remain safe from wandering with specialized sensors attached to clothes or shoes.
Home Care Assistance Following a Hospital Stay
A priority for hospitals currently is decreasing readmissions for patients who are at high risk. Healthcare Financial Management Association’s article “Two Ways Hospitals Can Reduce Avoidable Readmissions” explains that effective initiatives from several hospitals with minimal 30-day rehospitalizations are, to a certain extent, the result of working together with inpatient and outpatient care providers, such as CareFor, which offers trusted home care assistance.
Holidays With Seniors May Highlight Warning Signs That Home Care Is Needed
While of course we’d like to imagine enjoying a Norman Rockwell-worthy holiday celebration, with all of our family members spending quality time together and Grandma’s traditional holiday feast, the reality for some families instead consists of something unexpected: an E/R visit. As a matter of fact, studies show that emergency room visits for older adults jump about 10 – 20% over the holidays.
What to Do When Seniors Experience Dementia Confusion
Dementia confusion, a typical occurrence in Alzheimer’s, can lead to recent memories being forgotten about or distorted, while memories from the more distant past usually remain unimpaired. This can cause prior periods of time to be more realistic to an older adult with dementia than the present. A person’s alternate reality can be his or her way of making sense of the present through past experiences.
Simplifying The Complexities of Long-Term Care Insurance
Long-term care insurance can provide great peace of mind, but utilizing those benefits can wind up being a complex undertaking for seniors and their family members. To help lead families through the process, CareFor offers the following informative overview.
A Senior’s Sense of Purpose: Feeling Useful Makes All the Difference
Look online for the phrase “activities for seniors” and you’ll likely find a number of memory stimulation puzzles, crafts, games, and of course, the requisite bingo. What you won’t find, unless you really search much longer, are the meaningful, philanthropic activities that provide meaning and purpose to our lives. Yet, if you ask older individuals … Read more
Stay Active with the Best Exercises for Seniors
The benefits of physical fitness for seniors do not decrease as we become older, and it’s extremely critical for older adults to retain as active a lifestyle as possible. Even individuals who are confined to a bed or who are wheelchair-bound have a variety of possibilities available to strengthen and improve resistance and flexibility.
Tips for Caring for Someone with Alzheimer’s During COVID-19
Providing homecare assistance for your family member with dementia is very difficult under the best of conditions; mix in a worldwide pandemic, one that calls for social distancing, masks and gloves, and thorough sterilization of both ourselves and the environment, and the challenge of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s may seem insurmountable.
Top COVID-19 Resources and Family Caregivers for Seniors
Understanding the best place to turn with regard to the most current and dependable information about COVID-19, particularly as it relates to the elderly and those who take care of them, is very important – and complicated. Due to so many resources and various viewpoints on this serious subject, we wanted to help make it easy to locate what you need by putting together the subsequent list of trusted resources and caregivers for seniors.
Keeping the Elderly Safe at Home
Most elderly want to remain home, to age in place. Now, amid Covid-19, staying home has become imperative. Untold seniors have survived this pandemic as a result of remaining sheltered in their own homes. The safest place. With the world highlighting the focus on safety for our most vulnerable population, it’s an ideal time … Read more
How to Pay for Different Types of Assistive Devices
Do you think your aging loved one could benefit from enhanced safeguards in the shower or tub? Does he/she need a walker or rollator to move around? If so, it’s quite possible that you’ll soon be looking to buy the in-home assistive devices that so many families rely on to keep senior loved ones safe. It’s also likely that you’re asking yourself how to cover the expense for these types of assistive devices, and if any of them could possibly be covered through Medicare or insurance.
3 Types of Assisted Living Devices to Investigate for Your Senior Loved Ones
During the course of growing older, assisted living devices can make everyday life around the home simpler and less hazardous. There’s a wide selection of adaptive equipment solutions for home care on the market today that can improve senior safety and help older adults remain much more comfortable at home. At CareFor, the leaders in senior care in San Marcos and the surrounding areas, we want to provide you with some insider advice for buying and utilizing some of the most widely used types of home care equipment.
COVID-19 Silver Linings of Dementia
COVID-19 Silver Linings of Dementia And the frustration of the “no visitor” policies in effect at facilities We are all grasping for “sweet spots” in the redesign of our lives during the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Hunkering down, isolating, stocking up as never before. What will be the outcome and how long will it last? The … Read more
An Overview of Dietary Guidelines for Seniors and Why This Is Important
It’s clearly no secret that a healthy diet is essential for a healthy body. What many people misunderstand, however, is that the nutritional needs for adults adjust as we age. Nutritional professionals at Tufts University have introduced the MyPlate system, which is a more advanced version of the former food pyramid, providing up-to-date dietary guidelines for seniors in particular.
Have Nutrition Concerns for Aging Parents? This Simple Evaluation Is a Good Place to Start
A mother’s love for her children has no limitations. And above all else, parents of all ages wish to safeguard their children from concerns, which in some cases may mean masking their own worries. In addition to that, when family members are separated by distance, it can be difficult to really know for certain how healthy older parents are.
Post-Holiday Senior Loneliness – What To Do When The Family Leaves
The holidays can be packed with a whirlwind of activities for the seniors we love, with family gatherings, holiday parties, religious services and events, picking out the perfect gifts for those they love. Yet after the holiday ornaments are packed away and family members have gotten back to the daily busyness of life, many older adults are impacted by a frequent but little-discussed condition: post-holiday senior loneliness.
While older adults who live alone are most at risk of feelings of seclusion and sadness when the holiday activities are complete, all older individuals are in danger of a case of the post-holiday blues, as they look to the approaching year while reminiscing over years past. It’s crucial for family members to formulate a plan to help their older loved ones experience a positive transition. Take into consideration the following recommendations:
Diabetic Diet During the Holidays – Enjoy a Healthy Indulgence
The holiday season is a perfect time to reconnect with friends and family, but let’s be realistic: it can also be a time for overindulgence in unhealthy meal choices. With a multitude of rich, fatty, and sugary delicacies to choose from at every turn, it’s difficult to adhere to a healthy diabetic diet, which can result in significant health concerns for individuals with diabetes.