Life can become increasingly difficult for those seniors who suffer from a hearing problem.  This can be particularly distressing if it impinges on your communicating with your physician.  Here are some things to consider:

• Bring an interpreter. If you prefer to have an interpreter, have a friend or relative accompany you. You should ask someone that you are comfortable with because your doctor may need to ask you personal questions.
• Don’t be shy. You may feel awkward saying that you didn’t understand what was said. Sometimes you might pretend to hear something you didn’t. You may feel that it isn’t right to interrupt your doctor. But to get good medical care, make sure you fully understand what is being said, even if it means asking the doctor to repeat him or herself.
• Ask for a well-lit room, without glare. It will also help if the room has curtains and carpets. Ask the doctor to speak clearly, to face you, to keep his or her mouth visible, and to repeat and rephrase as needed.
• Ask for quiet. If you need a procedure or exam, complete your conversation in a quieter room before moving to the exam room.
• Ask for details. If your doctor will be wearing a face mask for a procedure, ask to be told what you need to know ahead of time.
• If your speech is difficult for others to understand, ask the doctor to be patient. Take your time. Feel free to write or type on a computer or other keyboard if you prefer.
• If your doctor uses a word that you don’t know, ask for the word to be written down and explained clearly. If you need it, ask for a drawing or a model.
• Don’t be afraid that you’re bothering the doctor with these questions. If it would help you, ask for written information about your condition, your medicines or your treatment choices.

Posted by: Frank Esposito, VP Expert Home Care.  New Jersey’s Expert Home Care provides professional, dependable home health care and companion care for NJ elderly, helping them with their daily living activities since 1984. Please call us toll free at 800-848-2336 when you have home care related questions or need assistance for a loved one. Get a Free Home Care Assessment (a $375 value!) when you mention this post.

The body faces an endless list of problems in old age.  One of these problems is brittle bones that tend to break easily and often.

There are more than 323,000 hospitalizations for hip fractures a year in the U.S., or more than 850 fractures a day. Most hip fractures occur in older women.  White, post-menopausal women have a 1 in 7 chance of sustaining a hip fracture during their lifetime.

Here are some tips on how to help your senior recover from a broken hip:

• Talk with a physical or occupational therapist about assistive devices that can make your senior’s life easier and help him or her to be as independent as possible. These may include extra long shoehorns and devices that can help the  person who is unable to bend dress themselves.
• With the assistance of devices, such as a long-handled sponge your senior will be able to do a lot to care for him or herself. A bath bench should also be helpful, as well as grab bars for getting in and out of the shower.
• Purchasing a raised toilet seat and installing grab bars next to the toilet should help your senior go to the bathroom unassisted.
• Slip-on shoes that are easy to get into and that have nonslip soles will be very helpful. Also, loose clothing that doesn’t go over the head and that can be tied in front can make dressing easier.

• You can hire trained and certified aging-in-place specialists who can come to your parent’s home and offer advice on how to make the home as safe and fall-proof as possible. These specialists can then make the necessary adjustments to the home.
• Other options are geriatric care managers and home care agencies whose employees have been trained to assess a senior’s home for falling risks – although your parent will then be left to make the necessary changes on his or her own.
• Encourage your senior to improve the function of their hip by exercising daily.

Here are some general suggestions that may help to prevent a fall:

• Rearrange the furniture to create an unobstructed passageway into and around all rooms
• Make sure no rugs or carpets bunch up or have frayed edges that could be tripped on, and that all rugs and carpets are securely anchored to the floor.
• Install grab bars in the bathroom and railings in all stairwells.
• Add lighting so that all stairs, exits and entrances are well lit and pose no hazard.
• Tape all cords to the wall.
• Warn your senior to only carry very small loads, as larger ones could cause a loss of balance.
• Check to see that the soles of any shoes your senior wears in the home don’t stick to the carpet and are not likely to cause falls.
• If possible, reduce the number of medications your senior takes, as taking four or more can affect one’s sense of balance

Posted by: Frank Esposito, Vice President of Expert Home Care.  New Jersey’s Expert Home Care provides professional and reliable home health care and companion care for NJ elderly, helping them with their daily living activities since 1984. Please call us toll free at 800-848-2336 when you have home care related questions or need assistance for a loved one. Get a Free Home Care Assessment (a $375 value!) when you mention this post.

NJ Senior Care Planning

Talking to your elder parents about end of life care

No one looks forward to discussing end of life issues with aging parents, but this is something that needs to and should be done.

Having the conversation is necessary so that your senior’s preferences may be honored, if at all possible, and so that your contribution to the decision-making can be based on an understanding of those wishes.

The conversation should be ongoing, rather than just occurring one time, and hopefully each time the topic is revisited it will become more comfortable, as you and your elderly loved one become more used to discussing the range of future possibilities together.

Here are some tips to help you through the discussion:

How to begin a conversation about future wishes with your senior

One way to begin is by asking your senior what their biggest concerns are for the future. This topic may evoke thoughts on the past, regrets, or a life assessment. Listen uncritically, with empathy.  Having your senior share these thoughts with you can bring you closer.

Discuss your senior’s preferences regarding housing options

While most people prefer to remain in their current home, ask your senior what they would like to do if that were no longer possible. Sometimes this conversation will bring forth your senior’s expectations about moving in with one of their children, which can be helpful to know.

Ask your senior if they feel financially secure

It is important for you to have a record of your senior’s insurance policies, such as Medicare, Medigap, prescription coverage plan, and any long term care insurance.  If your senior doesn’t already have a will, durable power of attorney and health care proxy, now is a good time to see an elder care attorney so that they can have their wishes resolved as to asset distribution and care.

Discuss your senior’s feelings about their medical care and whether or not they are satisfied with their physicians

Does your senior have any concerns about their medical care? Do they have any concerns about their doctors? Do you need to help them find better ones? What are your senior’s wishes as to medical interventions and end-of-life care?

Discuss your senior’s wishes as to death, dying and funerals

Do your parents have any preferences as to funeral and burial? These conversations are difficult, but you need to resolve them sooner rather than later. Researching and selecting specific services isn’t morbid, and can help when the time comes.  Seniors to be assured their wishes will be followed even when their adult child is feeling sad and possibly overwhelmed when arranging a funeral.

Posted by: Frank Esposito, Vice President of Expert Home Care.  New Jersey’s Expert Home Care provides professional and reliable home health care and companion care for NJ elderly, helping them with their daily living activities since 1984. Please call us toll free at 800-848-2336 when you have home care related questions or need assistance for a loved one. Get a Free Home Care Assessment (a $375 value!) when you mention this post.

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.