Senior Health
Four Tips for Helping Someone With Dementia Change Clothes
It’s a typical morning, and you’re helping someone with dementia change clothes. You’ve picked out several options of outfits for him to choose from, but he balks and refuses to wear any of them. In fact, he’s been wearing the same outfit for several days now, despite your gentle requests each day to change. Sound familiar? Many family caregivers face this daily struggle, as dementia can make even simple tasks like changing clothes feel overwhelming. The good news is that with a few helpful strategies and plenty of patience, you can make this process smoother.
Here are four tips to encourage a loved one with dementia to change clothes without frustration.
1. Create a calm and positive environment. Your parent’s resistance to changing clothes may stem from feelings of anxiety or confusion. Approach the situation calmly and patiently. … Read More »
How to Make Staying Connected With Aging Parents Easier
Perhaps you’ve watched someone struggle with a phone and said something like, “Just tap the little icon at the top.” Which little icon? The square one? The camera? The arrow? The three dots whose purpose changes depending on which screen you’re looking at? Instructions that seem obvious when you use technology every day can sound like directions to a hidden treasure when you don’t, which can have a profound effect on staying connected to aging parents digitally.
If an older loved one has trouble texting or video calling, more detailed explanations aren’t always the solution. Often, the best thing you can do is make the entire process require less remembering, searching, and troubleshooting.
A few simple changes, like these recommendations from our home care team, can make staying connected much easier.
Instead of explaining where to find people, put people … Read More »
Are You Monitoring Elderly Parents More Than You Need To?
Privacy is easy to take for granted because so much of it consists of completely ordinary choices. You sleep later than usual, leave the house without announcing where you’re going, ignore your phone for an hour, eat lunch at 2:00, or spend the afternoon doing something nobody else knows about.
Most of us would hardly describe those things as acts of independence. Yet when someone else suddenly has access to a record of them, they can take on a different significance. That’s one of the complications of monitoring elderly parents with tech tools. Cameras, motion sensors, GPS trackers, medication devices, and door alerts can provide valuable reassurance, but they can also reveal details that once belonged only to the person living them.
The challenge isn’t choosing between safety and privacy. It’s deciding how much information you truly need to … Read More »
Could You Be Missing These Lesser-Known Symptoms of Parkinson’s?
When most people think of Parkinson’s disease, tremors or difficulty moving likely come to mind first. But if you’re caring for a loved one with Parkinson’s, you may have noticed they’re dealing with so much more than just movement issues. Lesser-known symptoms of Parkinson’s, such as depression, sleep problems, and cognitive changes, can have just as much of an impact on daily life, but often go unnoticed or untreated. Understanding these symptoms is crucial to providing the best possible care for someone you love with Parkinson’s disease.
Mental Health and Cognitive Changes: Parkinson’s disease can affect the brain in ways that go far beyond movement, often causing mental health and cognitive issues. The person diagnosed may experience depression, anxiety, or apathy, which can make it hard for them to find joy in daily activities or even get motivated to move … Read More »
Steps You Can Take Today to Overcome Senior Nutrition Barriers
With the holidays approaching, you might be thinking about festive meals and family gatherings centered around favorite foods and traditions. But what about the rest of the year? Is everyone in your family—particularly older loved ones—getting proper nutrition on a regular basis? While holiday feasts might be an exception, many older adults quietly struggle with senior nutrition problems for a variety of reasons. The first step to helping older loved ones stay nourished and healthy year-round is learning about the challenges they may be facing.
Health Conditions and Medications
For many older adults, chronic health conditions and the medications used to treat them play a significant role in their struggle with malnutrition. Conditions such as heart disease, cancer, or digestive disorders can limit food intake or reduce the body’s ability to absorb essential nutrients. Additionally, medications commonly prescribed for … Read More »
What Is Word Salad in Seniors, and Why Does It Happen?
Have you ever eaten a bowl of alphabet soup? As you’d expect, the letters float around in a chaotic mix. What’s not expected, and can be quite alarming, is when someone you love speaks in a similarly chaotic manner, using a jumble of random words and phrases. This disorganized speech, known as word salad in seniors, can arise from a variety of causes. Understanding this condition is the first step toward helping the person you love and bringing yourself peace of mind.
What Is Word Salad?
Word salad refers to a pattern of speech where words are mixed together in a way that is incoherent and nonsensical. This disorganized speech often lacks clear connections between ideas, making it difficult for listeners to understand the speaker’s intended message. People experiencing word salad might string together unrelated words or phrases, use … Read More »
The Hidden Signs of Pain You May Be Overlooking
Recognizing pain isn’t always as simple as asking, “Where does it hurt?” Some older adults have difficulty describing what they’re feeling because of dementia or another cognitive condition. Others have spent years minimizing aches and pains because they don’t want to worry anyone or be seen as complaining. As a result, physical discomfort often goes unnoticed unless you know how to detect the hidden signs of pain.
Instead of talking about pain, an older loved one may begin acting differently. They may seem less interested in favorite activities, become more withdrawn, grow impatient over small frustrations, or experience changes in appetite or sleep. Although these behaviors are often blamed on aging, they may actually be clues that something is physically wrong.
Knowing how to recognize those clues can help your loved one get the attention they need sooner.
Notice … Read More »
Want to Reduce Chronic Pain? It Begins at Home.
Living with pain means accepting that some days will be better than others…and that finding ways to reduce chronic pain becomes paramount. While arthritis and other chronic conditions naturally have their ups and downs, everyday routines may also influence how much discomfort an older adult experiences.
The surprising part is that these pain triggers often have nothing to do with medication or medical treatment. Instead, they come from ordinary parts of daily life, including the furniture someone uses, the temperature inside the home, how well they sleep, and the way they move throughout the day.
Taking a closer look at these often-overlooked factors may help make each day a little more comfortable.
1. The chair you always choose.
It’s easy to understand why someone returns to the same favorite chair every day. It’s familiar, comfortable, and part of the … Read More »
Watch for These Common Comorbidities of COPD
Watching a loved one manage the daily challenges of COPD isn’t easy. You see them struggle with breathlessness and fatigue, and you want to do everything you can to help. What you might not realize is that COPD often brings along other health issues, known as comorbidities, which need to be addressed and managed in tandem with COPD. The best way to help someone with COPD is by learning about these potential comorbidities, and then supporting and advocating for the person to receive screenings and treatment as needed.
Here are some of the most common COPD comorbidities:
Cardiovascular Diseases. One of the most common comorbidities your family member might face is cardiovascular disease. People with COPD are at a higher risk of developing conditions such as heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and hypertension. The reasons for this increased risk include … Read More »
The Art of Decluttering Your Parents’ Home While They Can Still Join In
You’ve finally decided to bite the bullet and start working on downsizing and decluttering your parents’ home. As you begin sorting through the attic, you come across a box of old family photos, a stack of forgotten love letters, a collection of vintage toys. Each item holds a story, a piece of history, and a flood of memories.
Decluttering is so much more than just a housekeeping chore. It can be a memorable, emotionally charged occasion. It’s a task that should include your parents so that together, you can reminisce, rediscover treasures, and take a journey through time.
Why Declutter?
Aside from the sentimental, decluttering your parents’ home is important for several reasons:
Safety: Reducing clutter minimizes the risk of falls and injuries, making the home safer for your parents.
Organization: A decluttered space is easier to navigate and maintain, which … Read More »
