Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Taking Care of Elderly Parents
Taking care of the elderly can be difficult on your own but there are home health agencies, assisted living facilities, and home care providers who provide non-medical services, available to assist in any way needed. Your mother is ill, but there is no way by which you can take care of her twenty four hours a day. Your father is longer to take care of himself at his own home but there is no time for you to go through his cupboard and refrigerator to determine what you need to buy for him from the grocery store. Your grandparents have become too weak to cook meals for themselves, but you find it difficult to cook for them during the week. You must not feel that you're the only one who has to make the hard decisions to rectify the situation with your parents. This is a familiar situation in America.
Monday, March 30, 2009
The Alzheimer's Foundation of America
The Alzheimer's Foundation of America offers information on dementia and Alzheimer's to families, caregivers, and health care professionals who work with people suffering from the symptoms of this terrible disease. Founded in February 2002, the mission of Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is “to provide optimal care and services to individuals confronting dementia, and to their caregivers and families—through member organizations dedicated to improving quality of life.”
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Home for the Elderly
Deciding on an assisted living facility or senior care at home for your loved ones can be a difficult decision, but medical needs should be considered before making the choice. Your uncle’s home that used to be so comfortable for him suddenly becomes too noisy. Your parents' apartment, where your mother has lived for many years without complaint, is not accessible to your mother’s nurses at certain times of the year. Your home, which used to meet all the requirements of your spouse, is now unsuitable due to her constant state of forgetfulness. Do you feel exasperated with these conditions lately? If you are faced with this situation, you are not the only one concerned. Many Americans are going through the same situation.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Home Care
Senior home care services can provide aid from daily living skills, to Alzheimer's care, to hospice care, while still living in the comfort and familiarity of the senior's own home. As the generation of the baby boomers comes to maturity, thoughts of how and where to spend retirement years begin to turn in their minds. Should we plan on nursing homes, retirement homes, assisted living, or stay in our own home? Baby boomers seem to do more research in the decision making process when it comes to home health care. There are many factors to consider when choosing help for themselves. Is there a chronic condition, such as Alzhiemer's or dementia, or someone with limited mobility? If so, do we need skilled nursing or a caregiver? Can we still live at home or do we need a facility or adult day care? More and more popular is the decision to stay in their home, a familiar and safe environment.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Living Assisted
Assisted living facilities offer senior home care for the elderly who are primarily independent but may need some help from a caregiver or home health service. As a baby and young child, we are taken care of and get the assistance of mom and dad while learning new things. Then we live life and finally come to the time when we need help again. As we become seniors, things that we could do before might not be as easy to do, so we need to have some living assistance. Could the assistance we need mean that we need to move to an assisted living facility or can we still live at home? The answer definitely depends on health related issues and what kind of health care we will need. Living assisted is a wonderful option for elderly care. An offering of a whole new lifestyle can be very appealing.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease
Knowing the difference between the normal age-related forgetfulness and the signs of Alzheimer's disease is needed to determine the treatment or care that the senior may need. There is help for the elderly when it comes to having Alzheimer's, a form of dementia, through home health services, assisted living facilities, residential care homes, and also nursing homes.Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, he discovered some brain abnormalities of a woman who had died of a mental disease. She had exhibited memory loss, personality change, and language problems. Dr. Alzheimer had discovered some plaques and tangles of protein in the spaces and nerves of her brain. Although, no one knows for sure what causes Alzheimer's or how to cure it, scientists have discovered a genetic link in families with Alzheimer's. Age is also a factor. So, knowing what the signs and symptoms of it can help you and your family members prepare for it.The Alzheimer's disease destroys the brain's ability to remember and to reason. Also, language and personality changes occur and eventually the ability to carry out simple everyday living skills is gone. Symptoms can start as early as age thirty, but usually don't begin until we're much older, after age sixty. The older a person is, along with other factors, the more likely he is to develop this disease.
Some symptoms of Alzheimer's are:
1. Alzheimer's usually can not be detected in the beginning stage. Forgetfulness can be just a normal part of aging, like losing keys or a wallet. But, forgetting something that happened an hour ago, our short-term memory, may be an indicator of Alzheimer's.
2. From there, memory lapses with family members names and time and place begin to occur.
3. The next stage may be forgetting how to do simple everyday tasks such as brushing teeth or using a telephone.
4. Language difficulty is a symptom of Alzheimer's. Difficulties include forgetting names of simple everyday things or replacing names of things with another word or phrase.
5. Changes in mood, behavior, and personality usually come in the latter stages. Someone with Alzheimer's may become irritable, confused, and fearful of surroundings that used to be familiar to him, which may cause him to start wandering.
6. Lastly, he may begin showing symptoms of being passive, just sitting and not wanting to do anything.
Right now, there is no cure for Alzheimer's. However, there are medications that are able to ease the symptoms. Be sure to see a doctor as soon as you suspect something, especially if Alzheimer's is in the family history. The doctor will ask questions and help determine if the symptoms are actually the beginning of Alzheimer's. The sooner you know what your dealing with, the sooner plans can be put in place to care for yourself or your loved one.
Some symptoms of Alzheimer's are:
1. Alzheimer's usually can not be detected in the beginning stage. Forgetfulness can be just a normal part of aging, like losing keys or a wallet. But, forgetting something that happened an hour ago, our short-term memory, may be an indicator of Alzheimer's.
2. From there, memory lapses with family members names and time and place begin to occur.
3. The next stage may be forgetting how to do simple everyday tasks such as brushing teeth or using a telephone.
4. Language difficulty is a symptom of Alzheimer's. Difficulties include forgetting names of simple everyday things or replacing names of things with another word or phrase.
5. Changes in mood, behavior, and personality usually come in the latter stages. Someone with Alzheimer's may become irritable, confused, and fearful of surroundings that used to be familiar to him, which may cause him to start wandering.
6. Lastly, he may begin showing symptoms of being passive, just sitting and not wanting to do anything.
Right now, there is no cure for Alzheimer's. However, there are medications that are able to ease the symptoms. Be sure to see a doctor as soon as you suspect something, especially if Alzheimer's is in the family history. The doctor will ask questions and help determine if the symptoms are actually the beginning of Alzheimer's. The sooner you know what your dealing with, the sooner plans can be put in place to care for yourself or your loved one.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Selecting a Caregiver
Having the right caregiver for your family can make all the difference in the world when it comes to home care for a senior family member. With increasing age, the dependence on the young family members by the aging family members also increases to meet certain physical and psychological requirements. Unfortunately, not every family can extend the desired support to the elderly due to certain other commitments in life. Therefore, the outside support is desirable in most of the cases where family members seek the expert care provided by caretakers or old age homes. Home health service provided by professional caretakers is a wonderful solution for the elderly in the home.
As a care taker provides desired support and non medical senior care to the elderly in their own homes, it is often preferable over the old age homes. A caretaker of a company is an expert in his field who provides assistance to elderly in the conformity of their homes. But, you should never select a caretaker in a hurry. There are certain points that you should remember while choosing a caretaker for an elderly in the home, such as:
As a care taker provides desired support and non medical senior care to the elderly in their own homes, it is often preferable over the old age homes. A caretaker of a company is an expert in his field who provides assistance to elderly in the conformity of their homes. But, you should never select a caretaker in a hurry. There are certain points that you should remember while choosing a caretaker for an elderly in the home, such as:
Nursing Homes
Nursing homes,or skilled nursing facilities, offer such services as senior care, rehabilitation, and Alzheimer's care, much like elderly home care. Mom's medical condition has gradually gotten worse over the past couple of years. The hours of care are getting longer and longer. She's probably going to start needing twenty-four hour care pretty soon. Her ability to do things on her own has certainly declined. I don't feel like I can take care of her anymore. What should I do? Can we stay here at home or do we find a place that can take care of her?
Home care can be an option, but your mother's medical condition should be considered. A nursing home is another option. Nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities are not like they used to be. The quality and education of the staff has certainly increased to become more specialized. This facility houses patients short-term or long-term. Nursing homes are generally for seniors who have a complicated medical history, need extensive assistance with daily living skills such as bathing, toileting, and grooming, or need rehabilitation for any length of time.
Nursing homes have a licensed nurse on staff twenty-four hours a day and have specialized care for such needs as dementia, medications, wound care, hospice, and IV's. So, these facilities are well equipped and trained to work with seniors who need minimal care to extensive care around the clock. Along with fulfilling medical needs, social needs are considered. Most nursing homes have a daily activity schedule and also scheduled outings to various places. When looking at a nursing home, consider in your search how happy the residents look and if they seem happy where they are.
Happy residents of a skilled care facility are usually the result of a happy staff. The staff should be smiling and have an understanding attitude when working with the residents. One way to really tell if a facility has caring staff and a happy, working attitude is if they greet and welcome you into their home when you come to them for a tour of the place. Nurses, aides, and caregivers should all be working diligently to care for the elderly. Do the residents look clean? Smell clean? This is another way to tell if a facility has a caring staff. How about the dining room? Does the food look appetizing? Is there a variety of foods to choose from? Are snacks available for residents? These are just a few more questions you might think about when looking for a nursing home for your loved one.
Really, when it comes down to it, finding a place to take care of your mom is going to be a tough decision. Not just any place will do. Make a list of nursing homes in the area you are looking in, narrow down choices to which ones accept insurance, medicare, or medicaid, write down a list of questions, and start touring some facilities. You and your mom should feel safe and comfortable wherever you choose to stay. Happy and cared for elderly should be what all nursing homes attain for. So happy hunting!
Home care can be an option, but your mother's medical condition should be considered. A nursing home is another option. Nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities are not like they used to be. The quality and education of the staff has certainly increased to become more specialized. This facility houses patients short-term or long-term. Nursing homes are generally for seniors who have a complicated medical history, need extensive assistance with daily living skills such as bathing, toileting, and grooming, or need rehabilitation for any length of time.
Nursing homes have a licensed nurse on staff twenty-four hours a day and have specialized care for such needs as dementia, medications, wound care, hospice, and IV's. So, these facilities are well equipped and trained to work with seniors who need minimal care to extensive care around the clock. Along with fulfilling medical needs, social needs are considered. Most nursing homes have a daily activity schedule and also scheduled outings to various places. When looking at a nursing home, consider in your search how happy the residents look and if they seem happy where they are.
Happy residents of a skilled care facility are usually the result of a happy staff. The staff should be smiling and have an understanding attitude when working with the residents. One way to really tell if a facility has caring staff and a happy, working attitude is if they greet and welcome you into their home when you come to them for a tour of the place. Nurses, aides, and caregivers should all be working diligently to care for the elderly. Do the residents look clean? Smell clean? This is another way to tell if a facility has a caring staff. How about the dining room? Does the food look appetizing? Is there a variety of foods to choose from? Are snacks available for residents? These are just a few more questions you might think about when looking for a nursing home for your loved one.
Really, when it comes down to it, finding a place to take care of your mom is going to be a tough decision. Not just any place will do. Make a list of nursing homes in the area you are looking in, narrow down choices to which ones accept insurance, medicare, or medicaid, write down a list of questions, and start touring some facilities. You and your mom should feel safe and comfortable wherever you choose to stay. Happy and cared for elderly should be what all nursing homes attain for. So happy hunting!
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