Almost everyone has attended a family reunion. But what about hosting a family get-together to share important health information? It’s a novel idea that could help families get up-to-date on aging parent’s critical medical information.

A family health history makes sense because:

• Family members share genes,

• Behaviors,

• Lifestyles,

• Environments, which all together may affect their risk of developing health problems.

Most people have a family health history of common chronic diseases (e.g., cancer, heart disease, or diabetes) and other health conditions (e.g., high blood pressure and high cholesterol). A person with a close relative affected by a chronic disease may have a higher risk of developing that disease than a person who does not have an affected relative.

The Surgeon General’s My Family Health Portrait tool could help families collect and organize family health history information they can easily share with their doctor. This information can help a doctor caring for other family members decide which tests and screenings are recommended to assess risks.

Our local Mississauga Home Instead CAREGivers can help keep seniors healthy in spite of their family tree. For more information on our services call 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

A stroke is a type of brain injury. Symptoms depend on the part of the brain that is affected. People who survive a stroke often have weakness on one side of the body or trouble with moving, talking, or thinking.

Most strokes are ischemic (is-KEE-mic) strokes. These are caused by reduced blood flow to the brain when blood vessels are blocked by a clot or become too narrow for blood to get through. Brain cells in the area die from lack of oxygen. In another type of stroke, called hemorrhagic (hem-or-AJ-ic) stroke, the blood vessel isn’t blocked; it bursts, and blood leaks into the brain, causing damage.

Strokes are more common in older people. Almost three-fourths of all strokes occur in people 65 years of age or over. However, a person of any age can have a stroke.

Recovering From Stroke

The process of recovering from a stroke usually includes treatment, spontaneous recovery, rehabilitation, and the return to community living. Because stroke survivors often have complex rehabilitation needs, progress and recovery are different for each person.

Treatment for stroke begins in a hospital with “acute care.” This first step includes helping the patient survive, preventing another stroke, and taking care of any other medical problems.

Spontaneous recovery happens naturally to most people. Soon after the stroke, some
abilities that have been lost usually start to come back. This process is quickest during the first few weeks, but it sometimes continues for a long time.

Rehabilitation is another part of treatment. It helps the person keep abilities and gain back lost abilities to become more independent. It usually begins while the patient is still in acute care. For many patients, it continues afterward, either as a formal rehabilitation program or as individual rehabilitation services. Many decisions about rehabilitation are made by the patient,
family, and hospital staff before discharge from acute care.

The last stage in stroke recovery begins with the person’s return to community living after acute care or rehabilitation. This stage can last for a lifetime as the stroke survivor and family learn to live with the effects of the stroke. This may include doing common tasks in new ways or making up for damage to or limits of one part of the body by greater activity of another.

Read more on Strokes: How Stroke Affects People

Get a Free Copy of Recovering After a Stroke: A Patient and Family Guide – courtesy of The StrokeCenter.org.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Holidays are a great time to encourage family caregivers to check their senior loved ones for the signs of poor nutrition. Consider the top signs:

Loss of appetite: If a senior has always been a hearty eater but no longer eats as he or she used to, it’s time to find out why. Underlying illness could be the root cause.

Little to no interest in eating out: If a loved one has always enjoyed a favorite restaurant, but no longer shows interest, dig deeper to determine the problem.

Sudden weight fluctuation: A weight change – losing or gaining 10 pounds in six months – is another sign that something could be amiss.

You’ll learn more about nutrition from the educational video series on CaregiverStress.com. And remember, holiday meals don’t need to be boring.

To learn about other challenges senior loved ones could be facing, go to CaregiverStress.com website.

Many of the issues of aging can be solved by providing parents with the support they need to continue to maintain their independence. For more information and additional resources, please contact our office at 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Being a care coordinator is a huge responsibility. This role is very important to many seniors who are receiving additional services at home. When a senior has a caregiver and still has the need for outside resources, a care coordinator will ensure that all needs are met. There are many other responsibilities that go along with this role, some of which are provided in the list below.

1. The gathering of information from all healthcare providers. This means collecting important medical information from each doctor that treats the senior.

2. The care coordinator must be able to effectively assess the home environment as well as the needs of the person receiving care.

3. Coordinators must be able to find private services and resources that will meet the needs of the senior.

4. There must always be ongoing communication between all of the parties involved. This includes the individual receiving care, the caregivers, doctors and family members. It is important to keep all those involved up to date.

5. The care coordinator should also be able to assess daily situations to make sure the senior is in fact receiving all of the services they need to function. If there is something that changes with the senior’s health, changes to the type of care and services they receive may be required.

Source: NFCACares.org

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Symptoms of Improper Medication Dosage

It can be nerve wracking to be a caregiver when you are worrying about your parents’ health issues. There are a number of symptoms that arise if something is wrong and one of the most common health issues is improper medication dosage. If your loved one is getting the wrong dosage they may experience the following symptoms:

•    Falls
•    Dizziness
•    Depression
•    Incontinence
•    Psychiatric problems
•    Sleep issues / Insomnia
•    Memory loss
•    Confusion
•    Depression
•    Loss of coordination
•    Delirium / Hallucinations
•    Malnutrition / Dehydration

Then Issues This Can Lead To

Medication related problems can lead to numerous health and life altering consequences. Staying on top of medication dosage is vital. If your loved one has experienced any of the symptoms above they could be at risk of:

•     Hip fractures.
•    Death.
•    Hospitalizations.
•    Loss of independence.
•    Decreased quality of life.
•    Doctor / Emergency Room visits.

If you require more information about caregiving there are a number of resources available on the web. To learn about medication mismanagement and its warning signs, read this article on CaregiverStress.com.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

We all know that losing a few pounds can be a huge challenge. It may be even more difficult for seniors because of their nutritional needs. However, it is important for seniors to realize there are safe and effective ways to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight. The following tips can help seniors get on the right track to healthy weight management.

1.    There is not a single diet that is right for every senior. When going on a diet, make sure to discuss this with a doctor and a nutritionist to make sure that diet is right for you.

2.    Be reasonable about weight loss. Many seniors will try to lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time. This is not safe and most seniors who do this do not successfully keep the weight off.

3.    Keep a journal of foods that are eaten and when they are eaten. This will help seniors decide if there are any waysthey can cut back on calorie intakes and make healthier eating choices.

4.    Never skip meals to lose weight. This can change the body’s metabolism and end up working against you.

5.    Read labels before buying foods and choose those with low amounts of calories and fat.

6.    Stay as physically active as possible on a daily basis.

EatRightOntario.ca

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Even though caregivers are providing care to elders, their own healthcare benefits are far from adequate. When a patient has an impairment, the doctors will focus on that patient, paying little mind to the caregiver. Caregivers often experience increased depression and stress as a result of the added burdens of being a caregiver. The following information depicts how caregivers are ignored by providers.

1.    A recent study has shown that there is in fact a link between being a caregiver and heightened levels of depression.

2.    The study focused on caregivers who had an impairment, such as blindness, deafness or both. Caregivers between the ages of 65-93 were involved in the study and 6 had vision loss, 8 with hearing loss and 5 with loss of both senses. Six were control participants who had no impairments.

3.    21% of seniors in Canada with a disability have vision loss and more than 50% have hearing loss.

4.    Spouses who have a partner with a sensory loss have higher levels of depression.

5.    Those with no sensory loss feel a greater burden that those with hearing loss.

ThirdAge.com

Using ClinicBook to Locate Clinics

As a senior, if you become sick and have to go for medical help, one of the worst things is having to wait at a walk-in clinic. ClinicBook is a new tool that is available to seniors and their caregivers that will help locate the closest clinic with the shortest waiting time. In many cases, seniors have no choice but to go to a clinic, so being able to find one that will quickly attend to the medical issues at hand is very important. Below is some additional information on ClinicBook and some other benefits it can offer.

1.    In addition to helping locate the closest clinic in a time of need, ClinicBook can be helpful in booking appointments with other medical professionals. This is a great thing for caregivers, allowing them to have a fast and organized way to make necessary appointments.

2.    ClinicBook will also help caregivers find the earliest appointment for emergencies, such as a dental emergency. Instead of having to be on the phone with multiple offices, ClinicBook takes away that hassle and provides the information quickly.

3.    One of the great things about ClinicBook is that doctors and other medical professionals do not have to change how they do things. ClinicBook taps into the clinic management software that is already being used, making this one of the recommended options for caregivers.

TheNextWeb.com/ca

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Holiday Gift Baskets Ideal for Senior Health

They say it’s the “thought that counts” when it comes to gift-giving over the holidays, and that statement really does go along way. However, you do want the gifts you choose for the important seniors in your life to be something that is useful and appreciated, and those items are easier to come across than you might think! Setup a gift basket with some of the following, which will help their financial situation and even help to improve their health!

1. Purchase items that will aid in dental health – it might not sound like a glamorous holiday gift idea, but a senior’s dental health can really change their quality of life, especially over the holidays when they’d rather enjoy. In a gift basket, include a favorite toothpaste or denture cleaner, mouthwash, floss and a new toothbrush (buy electric, or one in their favorite color – something they might not splurge on!).

2. Stock up on other personal items – splurge a little bit and include personal items that are more than just the basics. If you know that they prefer a certain kind of scented soap or body wash, but typically stick to a cheaper bar soap, pick some up! Bubble bath, body lotion and other items they wouldn’t necessarily buy for themselves would also be appreciated

3. Include nutritious snacks – crackers, preserves, tea and coffee are all great things to include in a senior’s gift basket. Try to buy the items you know they love, but won’t get for themselves!

Well Sphere

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Halloween Tips for Diabetic Seniors

Seniors control their diabetes by regulating their diet. However, some seniors have severe cases of diabetes that require insulin injections. These seniors have to be extremely careful when it comes to ingesting sugar. Halloween is known to be a time for sweet treats, treats that could tempt seniors. It is important for all diabetic seniors to find the will power during Halloween to avoid these temptations.

1. Instead of eating candy and other foods with high amounts of sugar, seniors with diabetes should find foods with a sugar substitute. This will provide them with the sweet taste they are craving without the negative effects of ingesting sugar.

2. Many refined foods contain high amounts of sugar. Most seniors believe that eating fruit is a way to satisfy a sweet craving. However, there are some fruits that diabetic seniors should always avoid. These include bananas, plums, strawberries, papaya, oranges and grapefruit. These fruits contain high amounts of sugar.

3. Many vegetables will also have large amounts of sugar. Seniors should avoid beets, peas, beans, carrots and anything with high amounts of starch.

4. Be careful when drinking certain beverages. Soda, tea and coffee should be avoided by seniors who have diabetes.

Source: Lifestyle.iloveindia.com http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/foods-to-avoid-in-diabetes-6310.html

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.