Senior Safety
Struggling to Let Someone Lighten Your Caregiving Load? This Might Be Why.
Learn why it’s so important to allow someone to help lighten your caregiving load, and why you may be feeling so resistant to the idea.
The moment Mom is discharged from the hospital, you exhale, believing the toughest part is finally behind you. But instead of bouncing back, she seems drained, anxious, or even weaker than before. She’s struggling with simple tasks, isn’t sleeping well, and feels overwhelmed.
This wasn’t how you pictured recovery. Instead of a turning point, it feels like she’s slipping backward.
What’s going on?
The Unexpected Challenge of Post-Hospital Recovery
Leaving the hospital doesn’t always mean the body is ready to heal. Many older adults experience post-hospital syndrome—a state of extreme stress and vulnerability that can slow recovery, lead to new health complications, and even increase the risk of readmission.
Stress plays a bigger … Read More »
Why Won’t Mom Eat? It Might Just Be an Eating Disorder.
If you’ve been wondering, “Why won’t Mom eat?” it’s important to know the signs of an eating disorder.
Changes in appetite and weight are often considered a normal part of aging. But if you find yourself asking, “Why won’t Mom eat?” it’s important to consider all possible reasons. While factors like medication side effects, dental concerns, or reduced mobility can certainly play a role, there’s another potential cause that often goes unnoticed: eating disorders in seniors.
Six Rs to Improve Dementia Care
Use these six essential tips to improve dementia care for someone you love.
Caring for someone with dementia is one of the most meaningful yet challenging roles you can take on. It’s important to remind yourself regularly: You are doing your best. You are making a difference. A little self-affirmation goes a long way, but there’s more to consider when caregiving gets tough. Enter the Six Rs of dementia care—a framework designed to help improve dementia care and better manage the complexities of the disease.
What Are the Six Rs of Dementia Care?
The Six Rs offer a practical, compassionate approach to navigating difficult dementia-related behaviors. By following these steps, you can create a more peaceful, supportive environment:
Reassure
Dementia can make familiar routines and environments suddenly feel intimidating or strange. Loud noises, changes in lighting, unfamiliar visitors, or even … Read More »
How to Be There for a Senior During a Temporary Assisted Living Stay
A temporary assisted living stay can be less overwhelming and more comfortable with these tips.
After a hospitalization or surgical procedure, the doctor may recommend a temporary assisted living stay before the person returns home. This is typically a short-term time of intensive therapy to promote healing and recovery. However, the thought of moving into a nursing home or assisted living facility even for a matter of weeks or months can be extremely difficult to accept.
Parkinson’s Communication Tips to Help You Stay Connected
Try these Parkinson’s communication tips to enhance your ability to connect with someone you love.
Imagine trying to share your thoughts, feelings, or even a simple idea with someone you love, only to feel as though your words are getting lost. Now, consider how isolating it must be if this were an everyday struggle. For someone living with Parkinson’s disease, this is often the reality. Communication becomes increasingly difficult as the disease progresses, creating frustration and emotional strain for both the person with Parkinson’s and their loved ones, making it crucial to know effective Parkinson’s communication tips. It begins with understanding how communication can be affected by the disease.
The Creative Dementia Care Strategy You Need to Try
Improv is one creative dementia care strategy that can be both effective and fun.
Creativity, adaptability, and a healthy dose of lighthearted fun are some of the top ingredients to healthy and effective dementia care. It stands to reason then that a spontaneous activity like improvisation is a great way to connect and engage with someone struggling with cognitive challenges. Not only does it allow you to pivot and embrace unexpected plot twists, but this creative dementia care tactic helps you to learn more about the person in your care.
Is Daily Bathing for Seniors Helpful or Harmful?
Learn the pros and cons of daily bathing for seniors.
Sinking into a warm, soothing, bubble bath at the end of a stressful day, and stepping into a hot, invigorating shower first thing in the morning are daily pleasures for a great many of us. However, it is possible to have too much of a good thing in regards to bathing habits for older adults. You might want to rethink daily bathing for seniors, for a number of reasons:
Know What to Avoid During Chemotherapy for the Best Treatment Outcome
The benefits of chemotherapy are indisputable and can save someone’s life. However, in the process of destroying harmful cancer cells, noncancerous cells may also be in the crossfire, causing challenging side effects. The physician will offer recommendations on what cancer patients should do to minimize these effects, but it is just as important to know what to avoid during chemotherapy.
How to Overcome Family Denial of Home Care Needs
If you’re encountering family denial of home care needs for an older loved one, these tips will help everyone come to a place of agreement.
When you begin to notice the red flags that care in the home is required for someone you love, it’s very common for that individual to resist the idea. After all, acknowledging the need for assistance is not easy, especially for somebody who prizes their privacy and independence. Yet what do you do when you encounter family denial of home care needs for an older loved one? When you’ve reached an impasse within your family in regards to the need for senior care, there is one potential culprit to consider: denial.
Why Would a Family Member Deny the Need for Care in the Home?
Denial is a coping mechanism employed to protect against … Read More »
The Emotional Journey of End-of-Life Eating Changes
When a loved one is approaching the end of life, every moment becomes even more meaningful, but it can also be a time of great emotional difficulty. One of the changes you may notice is their decreasing interest in food and drink, which can be especially distressing. Watching someone you care about stop eating can leave you feeling worried, helpless, and unsure of how to help. However, understanding why these end-of-life eating changes happen and focusing on providing comfort rather than nourishment can ease this challenging time for both you and the person you love. The goal shifts from ensuring they eat to making sure they are comfortable and at peace.
Why Eating Changes Occur at the End of Life
As a person’s body prepares for the end of life, their need for food and drink diminishes. Metabolism slows, … Read More »
