Caring for a loved one with Alzheimers often leads to such symptoms as denial, anger, social withdrawal, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, and irritability.  It can be an all-consuming 24-hour-a-day, seven-day a week grind.

What can you do?  At Expert Home Care, we suggest the following:

• Manage your stress level. Use various relaxation techniques to ease the stress and consult your doctor.

• Take care of yourself. Don’t ignore your own health, or you’ll suffer burn out.   Watch your diet, exercise and get plenty of sleep.

• Join a support group. There are many others out there like you and there is support in numbers.

• Do legal and financial planning. There are issues that need to be discussed – make sure you take care of these sooner rather than later.

• Give yourself a break. Bring in a home health aide to assist with the activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, toileting and feeding) or to help around the house.  This can help you recharge your batteries several hours during the day or, by choosing respite care, for a long weekend.

• Don’t be a martyr. You are not expected to do it all alone.  Seek the support of family, friends and community resources.

New Jersey’s Expert Home Care for Elders and Seniors has been providing senior care, home care & live-in care for your aging loved ones since 1984. Please call us when you need help at 800-848-2336. Click for a Free Home Care Consumer Guide for selecting the most appropriate home care agency for your loved one.

Posted By: Frank

Adverse reactions to Medications- Side effects mimicking dementia are most commonly caused by antiarthritic medications, anihypertensizes, neuroleptics, hypnotics, and sedatives. Make sure your doctor is monitoring all your medications, including over-the-counter.

Emotional Distress- Seniors face a tremendous amount of changes in their lives, sometimes abrupt. Retirement, loss of a loved one or pet, divorce, change in location; all of these can cause depression, anxiety, and can damage physical and mental health. Make sure your physician is informed of these stressors in your life.

Metabolic Disturbances- Electrolyte imbalances, hypoglycemia, hypercalcemia, hepatic diseases, pancreatic disorders, renal failure, or liver failure can also cause confusion and effect sleep, appetite, and emotional balance.

Read the full story.

Exercising the body helps the brain. That’s the conclusion of a new study that reviewed the effects of exercise on brain functioning in humans and animals.

Based on a wide-ranging review of existing studies, researchers found a significant relationship between physical activity and later cognitive function and decreased occurrence of dementia. Better yet, the evidence suggests that the benefits may last several decades.

Studies of persons over age 65 found that those who exercised for at least 15-30 minutes at a time three times a week were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease, even if they were genetically predisposed to the disease.

The exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous. One study of 62- to 70-year-olds who continued to work and retirees who moderately exercised, showed they had higher sustained levels of cerebral blood flow and superior performance on general measures of cognition as compared to the group of inactive retirees.

The review covered 40 years of research.

Are you reluctant to talk about your memory loss? 

Seniors in New Jersey fear Alzheimer’s disease more than heart disease, stroke and diabetes. They fear it so much that elders and seniors with memory loss stay in a state of denial. They will conceal their memory loss from physician, family and friends. 

During screenings, 73 percent of seniors said they had concerns about memory, but only 30 percent said they had shared that with anyone. Of those who did, most told their spouse. Only about 25% shared that memory loss concern with their doctor. Men are almost three times more likely than women to keep quiet about memory loss.

Although Alzheimer’s disease is by no means the only cause of memory loss, an estimated 4.5 million now have the disease – a number that is expected to grow to more than 11 million by the year 2050. While memory screening is relatively new, it will likely grow in usage as one way for individuals to begin to assess concerns about such memory changes, said researcher Sandra Timmerman, Ed.D.

Awareness of memory loss needs to increase in New Jersey and all across America. We also need more education about memory loss and the importance of evaluation to determine whether one may or not have a problem that requires intervention. The earlier the intervention, the better one’s quality of life can be.

To make sure that both you and your elder loved one are safe, here are some important tips:

• Keep a glass of water in every room for quick access.  Drink plenty of fluids, even if you don’t feel thirsty.
• Dress in light-weight clothing.  Remove all heavy materials, long sleeves and dark colors from closets. 
• Stay out of the sun during the hottest times of the day.  Sunburn makes heat dissipation more difficult.
• Take a nap during high heat times or find a good television program or movie to watch.
• Keep shades down and blinds pulled. 

Most people know that extreme heat can make us sick. But we may think of heat-related illness as something that only affects people who are overdoing it like overheated marathon runners, professional athletes, or new recruits doing drills on military bases.

But most people who die from heat stroke in the U.S. about 400 every year, and possibly more don’t get it from overexerting themselves on a muggy day. In certain people during high temperatures, it’s all too easy to develop heat stroke while sitting perfectly still on the couch.

Heat stroke occurs when the body is unable to regulate its temperature. The body’s temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool down.

Read the full article: Hot Summer Days Can Make Sick People Sicker.

Call Expert Home Care NJ if your elder needs Home Health Care in New Jersey at 800-848-2336.

Today we continue our Alzheimer’s warning signs in New Jersey - this helps family members and caregivers understand if the memory loss of your aging senior is a serious health concern. If you notice any of these signs in yourself or someone you know, don’t ignore them. See your doctor for a check up.

5. Poor Judgment.
Not normal -  People with Alzheimer’s may dress inappropriately, i.e. put on layers of clothing on a warm day or very little in the cold. Demonstrate poor judgment about money, like giving away large sums to telemarketers.

Normal - Suggest a questionable or debatable decision from time to time.

6. Abstract thinking problems.
Not normal - Unusual difficulty performing complex mental tasks, like forgetting what numbers are and how they should be used.

Normal - Challenged when balancing a checkbook.

7. Misplacing things.
Not normal - Put things in unusual places: an iron in the freezer or a wristwatch in the sugar bowl.

Normal – Misplace keys or other important things temporarily.

8. Changes in behavior or mood.
Normal - Have rapid mood swings – from calm to tears to anger – and for no obvious reason.

Normal – From time to time feeling sad or moody.

More on the Alzheimer’s warning signs – also visit Alz.org for more information.

Expert Home Care in New Jersey wants adult children to pay close attention to the early signs of Alzheimer’s and take proper action if you see a parent displaying one or serveral. Consult with a neurologist who specializes in dementia. A neurologist or an medical doctor who specializes in geriatrics will do the proper testings and evaluations to uncover Alzheimer’s or dementia early on. They will prescribe the right medications that help delay the progression of the disease. Hopefully the medications will help your aging parents and potentially keep them in that early stage for a longer period of time.

Memory loss that disrupts everyday life is not a normal part of aging – It may be a sign of Alzheimer’s disease, a fatal brain disease that gets worse over time and causes changes in thinking, reasoning and behavior. Although the disease is more common in people 65 and older, it can also strike those in their 30s, 40s and 50s.  Alz.org.

Visit us in a day or two when we give more information of the signs of the disease.

Expert Home & Live-in Care for seniors and elders in New Jersey.

Call us for help at 800-848-2336.

We are your Live-In Home Care Specialist in New Jersey.  Since 1985 we’ve been providing Live-In Home Care in the Tri-State Area. Expert Home Care knows that it means everything to aging seniors to live independently at home. Most adult children understand this wish. That’s why Expert Home Care in NJ offers 24/7 care so we can be there when you cannot be.

Today our topic is memory loss. There’s a bit of confusion around memory loss – is it Alzheimer’s, or dementia? Most often, we are asked, “Is memory loss normal?”

Memory loss is not a normal part of the aging process. this is the message that seniors, spouses, children and loved ones need to remember. As research shows that the ability to pay attention and concentrate decreases with age, and senior moments or word finding difficulties are common, it is not normal for memory to worsen with age. This can, in fact, be a sign of a more serious problem.

Experts in memory loss says aging slows down the process of taking in new information. People don’t forget, but may begin to learn differently. Learning can be improved through such healthy living measures as:

• Proper exercise
• Eating a balanced meal
• Getting enough sleep
• Reducing stress

New Jersey’s Expert Home Care suggest that seniors become aware of what can adversely affect attention and concentration and find ways to eliminate these stressors from their lives.

This may mean getting treatment for:

• Depression
• Reducing alcohol consumption
• Recognizing medication misuse
• Using herbal supplements with caution

We suggest the following helpful hints: 

• Writing things down
• Organizing important things
• Planning ahead
• Exercising the brain - doing crossword puzzles or number games

Regular brain exercises can increase learning and help reduce senior moments. Just like our bodies, our brains require regular care and maintenance. This is particularly true when we get older.

Do you believe you’re experiencing memory loss as you age? What do you do to help diminish or control “forgeting things and dates”? Share with us your story and tips by leaving a comment below. Thank you. 

For help with caring for a loved one living with memory loss, call the Live-in Home Care Specialist at 800-848-2336. New Jersey Expert Senior & Elder Home Care.