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Safety
When you come right down to it, much of what we do for our seniors on a daily basis is because we want them to remain safe. While no one can guarantee someone's safety, there are certainly things we can do to help improve the odds.
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Getting Out of the Car With Less Pain and Effort
Helping someone with limited body strength out of the car can be daunting. It requires a good bit of lower body strength to stand up from a low-slung car seat without additional support. You can try to help by tugging on an arm - with the potential of falls, bruises and skin tears for your elder, or injury to your own back to show for your efforts. The stress and strain of getting someone out of the car can reduce outings for pleasure, which is a shame . . . keep reading
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Power Cord Safety
When you're afraid to go to sleep because you worry that your mother will be in the kitchen burning toast at 3 a.m. (and sticking a knife into the slot to remove the blackened remnants), or that your father will wander into his old workroom and turn on the band saw, or that someone might turn on the electric heater and set it near the sink in the bathroom, here's a safe, inexpensive and easy solution . . . keep reading
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MRI and Pacemaker: A Possibly Dangerous Combo
It's something else for seniors and caregivers to remember: If someone has a pacemaker, newly released research indicates that an MRI might not be a safe procedure. With potentially one of every four people receiving an MRI also having an implanted pacemaker, this raises some serious concerns . . . keep reading
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The Census is Coming: Keeping Our Seniors Safe From Scammers
Beginning in March, 2010 the Census Bureau will mail a 10-question form to every household in the United States. Because all residents in the country are required to answer these questions, and the public is being reminded over and over that they should participate, scammers see this as a great opportunity to collect personal information. Our seniors tend to be trusting, and they will be targets . . . keep reading
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Should I Make My Parent Move When Home Isn't Safe?
Does worry about your parents living alone keep you up nights? Do you want them to move to a "safer" place with more help now that they are getting older? Do you feel guilty all the time that they still live at home and you can't do enough to be sure they're safe? . . . keep reading
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Medications and Conditions That Increase the Risk of Frostbite
When the body is exposed to cold, the blood vessels close to the skin begin to narrow in order to preserve core body temperature. While this is perfectly normal, people with the following medical conditions, or who are taking the following medications, have a much higher risk of frostbite. You should be particularly alert to the signs of frostbite in seniors who . . . keep reading
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Traveling With Dementia
Every year when the holidy season approaches families wonder whether they will be able to travel one more year with their loved one who has Alzheimer's Disease or another dementia . . . keep reading
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A Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) For Your Senior
A personal emergency response system (PERS) is often the first "monitoring" device a family chooses for a senior who spends time alone, either in their own home or while caregiving families are away at work. With hundreds of personal emergency response systems now available, what exactly are they, who will benefit most from having one, what should you look for, and what should you avoid? . . . keep reading
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Combative Dementia
What can you do when someone with dementia becomes dangerously aggressive and combative? Home workers aren't trained to manage aggression, and care facilities will refuse to expose their other residents and their caregivers to potential danger . . . keep reading
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Self-Neglect: The Most Common Form of "Abuse"
When we read in the news about adult abuse or neglect it is usually a horrific story about a vulnerable senior who has been physically or financially injured by someone. Yet considerably more than half the cases investigated by state adult protective agencies involve elder self neglect with no involvement of another abusing person . . . keep reading
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Guiding a Person With Impaired Vision
Many seniors experience vision changes that can leave them with serious disabilities. Learning to walk and navigate in unfamiliar territory can take time. Some learn quite quickly, others need help longer. These are proven techniques to guiding and assisting someone with low or no vision (with video) . . . keep reading
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Age in Place: With Forethought It Can Be Done
The US Census says that 78.5% of seniors over the age of 75 were homeowners in the second quarter of 2009. We would bet our bottom dollar that most of these homeowners, and all their younger counterparts, have every intention of "aging in place" at home for the remainder of their lives. With assisted living and nursing home facilities costing between $2,500 and $10,00 per month, a senior can make a lot of home adaptations for the cost of just a few months' facility care . . . keep reading
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DOWNLOAD: Save A Life With A Plastic Bag, A Piece of Paper, And A Strip of Tape
What if emergency personnel need to help your loved one right now and you aren't there? They don't have time to look through purses and wallets for I.D. and emergency contact information, and in some communities they aren't permitted to. They don't know what medical problems your loved one might have. By the time someone in an emergency room gets around to calling you, assuming they know you exist, critical time can be lost. . . . keep reading
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Senior Home Safety Assessment
Home accidents are some of the most common reasons why seniors make trips to the hospital or need to move to an alternative living facility like assisted living or a nursing home. One of the first steps to good long-term eldercare planning is a thorough safety assessment of the older person's home. . . . keep reading
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Sunbirds and Snowbirds: Seasonal Senior Relocation
Every year in the spring, and again in the fall, thousands of seniors who live in the south move north for the summer, and seniors who live in the north move south for the winter. Many have done this for several years and believe they have it down to a science. Yet too many have missed some important planning . . . keep reading
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Alzheimers Disease
