Tag Archives: NJ seniors

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Senior Meal Planning: What’s for Dinner?

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New Jersey Senior Health & Lifestyles

Nutrition and proper eating becomes more important as we age. As a result, menu planning becomes an important consideration. Here are some things to consider:

Easy to chew and swallow: Digestive processes changes with age and seniors tend to produce 30% less saliva then they did while younger. Foods that are dry can be difficult to chew and swallow. Many senior citizens wear dentures, so tough meats and raw vegetables can be difficult to chew. When planning a meal, select softer foods that are easy to eat.

Lower in salt: Most seniors have salt restrictions to reduce the risk of water retention and high blood pressure. Cooking with low or no salt is best, while processed foods and salted meats should also be avoided.

Make it tasty: Prescription medications can affect the flavor of foods and as we age our sense of smell and taste also changes. Foods that once were tasty may suddenly taste bland. When preparing a meal for a senior adding savory (but not spicy) seasonings will make a meal taste more flavorful.

Use recipes with lots of nutrition: Most seniors tend to have smaller appetites which can contribute to weight loss. Instead of preparing light & lean meals, meals that are high in nutrition and calories can help a senior maintain a healthy weight.

Effects of Aging on Hearing, Vision and Other Senses

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NJ Senior Health

What to expect when the senses go

One of the realities of aging is a progressive loss of the five senses.  Consider the following:

Vision
To see clearly, a 70-year-old eye needs three times more light than someone half that age. The first sign of a problem is usually trouble seeing at night. If this happens, you may have to stop driving after dark. The eye muscles used for focusing begin to lose some tone. You may have to start using reading glasses. Glaucoma and macular degeneration are the leading causes of blindness in the elderly. Both diseases can be treated to some degree. This is why it’s important to get regular eye exams beginning at age 40.

Hearing
About one third of Americans over age 65 and half of those over 85 have some degree of hearing loss. Most hearing loss happens when tiny hairs in the ear that send signals to the brain are damaged. Loud noises, repeated ear infections and high fevers speed up this process. The first thing to go is usually the ability to hear high-pitched sounds. It may also be hard to follow a conversation when there is too much background noise. Another reason for hearing loss is the buildup of hard ear wax. As we age, we lose some of the sweat glands that keep ear wax soft. Hard ear wax may block some sound waves, making things sound muffled. Tinnitus – or “ringing in the ears” – occurs when damaged hairs in the ear send electrical signals to the brain that are interpreted as noise.

Taste and smell
Very often, we confuse taste with smell. About 80 percent of the problems that we think are related to taste really involve smell. Taste is our strongest sense. We are born with about 10,000 taste buds. After age 50, we start to lose some of them. When we are young, we can recognize five different tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory. As we age, the sweet taste may be a little stronger and the sour taste a little weaker. Your sense of smell helps you recognize flavors. About 30 percent of people aged 70 to 80 have problems with smell. This can be partial or total, or can involve perceiving smells differently. You may smell a foul odor when there is none. Strawberries may suddenly lose their flavor. This can sometimes lead to depression. In many cases, nothing can be done about the loss of smell and taste. Cigarette smoking or poor dental habits can add to the problem. Polyps in the nose can block aromas. Medication, head injury or illness can also be factors.

Touch
As skin ages, it becomes drier, thinner and less elastic. The nerves in your skin become less sensitive. Your sensitivity to temperature can also change. Health problems may also lead to changes in your sense of touch. These include poor circulation and nerve damage from diabetes.

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.

Help Seniors Enjoy the Holidays – 10 Tips

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NJ Senior Living & Lifestyle

The end of the year holidays are approaching.  What can you do to make the holidays particularly pleasant for your aging parents or loved ones?  Here are some thoughts:

  1. Stroll down memory lane. Holidays provoke memories, which can be especially powerful in the later years of life. “Leading authorities have observed that memory and ‘life review’ are important parts of the aging process,” says Barry Lebowitz, Ph.D., deputy director of the University of California San Diego’s Stein Institute for Research on Aging. “Older people whose memories are impaired may have difficulty remembering recent events, but they are often able to share stories and observations from the past. These shared memories are important for the young as well—children enjoy hearing about how it was ‘when your parents were your age…’.” He suggests using picture albums, family videos and music, even theme songs from old radio or TV programs to help stimulate memories and encourage older seniors to share their stories and experiences.
  2. Plan ahead. If older family members tire easily or are vulnerable to over-stimulation, limit the number of activities they are involved in or the length of time they are included. The noise and confusion of a large family gathering can lead to irritability or exhaustion, so schedule time for a nap, if necessary, and consider designating a “quiet room” where an older person can take a break. “Assign someone to be the day’s companion to the older person, to make sure the individual is comfortable,” says Daniel Sewell, M.D., director of the Senior Behavior Health Unit at the UCSD Medical Center, who adds that these guidelines work well for young children as well as adults with mental, emotional and physical health issues.
  3. Eliminate obstacles. If a holiday get-together is held in the home of an older person with memory impairment or behavioral problems, don’t rearrange the furniture. This could be a source of confusion and anxiety. If the gathering is in a place unfamiliar to an older person, remove slippery throw rugs and other items that could present barriers to someone with balance problems or who has difficulty walking.
  4. Avoid embarrassing moments. Try to avoid making comments that could inadvertently embarrass an older friend or family member who may be experiencing short-term memory problems. If an older person forgets a recent conversation, for example, don’t make it worse by saying, “Don’t you remember?”
  5. Create new memories. In addition to memories, seniors need new things to anticipate. Add something new to the holiday celebration, or volunteer for your family to help others. Enjoy activities that are free, such as taking a drive to look at holiday decorations, or window-shopping at the mall or along a festive downtown street.
  6. Be inclusive. Involve everyone in holiday meal preparation, breaking down tasks to include the youngest and oldest family members. “Older adults with physical limitations can still be included in kitchen activities by asking them to do a simple, helpful task, like greasing cooking pans, peeling vegetables, folding napkins or arranging flowers,” Sewell says.
  7. Reach out. Social connectedness is especially important at holiday times. “Reaching out to older relatives and friends who are alone is something all of us should do,” Lebowitz says. “Loneliness is a difficult emotion for anyone. Recent research with older people has documented that loneliness is associated with major depression and with suicidal thoughts and impulses.”
  8. Beat the blues. “Holiday blues” are feelings of profound sadness that can be provoked by all the activities of the holiday season. Seasonal blues can have a particular impact in the lives of older people, according to Lebowitz. “In some people, the ‘holiday blues’ represent the exacerbation of an ongoing depressive illness,” he says. “Depression is a dangerous and life-threatening illness in older people. Tragically, suicide rates increase with age, specifically for older men. Depression is not a normal part of aging and should never be ignored or written off.”
  9. Stay on the sunny side. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or winter depression is an illness that can be provoked by reductions in sunlight during the short days of winter. It is important for people confined indoors, especially those at risk for winter depression, to make time for activities that will increase exposure to daylight.
  10. Monitor medications and alcohol. If you have senior family members, be sure to help them adhere to their regular schedule of medications during the frenzy of the holidays. Also, pay attention to their alcohol consumption during holiday parties and family gatherings. Alcohol can provoke inappropriate behavior or interfere with medications.

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.

Gas Saving Tips for New Jersey Seniors to Reduce Costs

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NJ Senior Money Management

Here are some things to consider to help New Jersey seniors reduce the cost of gas.  Also, remember to ask your mechanic if they have a senior discount.

Maintenance:

  • Keep your car properly tuned up to improve gas mileage by about 4 percent.
  • Improve mileage by up to 40 percent by replacing a faulty oxygen sensor.
  • Keep tires properly inflated to improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent – which will also extend the life and ensure the safety of your tires.
  • Use the manufacturer’s recommended grade of motor oil to improve your gas mileage by another 1-2 percent.  Select motor oil with “Energy Conserving” on the API performance symbol to be sure it contains friction-reducing additives.
  • Check and replace air filters regularly.  Replacing a clogged or dirty air filter can improve your car’s gas mileage by as much as 10 percent, and a clean filter keeps impurities from damaging the inside of your engine.
  • Purchase less expensive regular unleaded gas if your vehicle does not require premium or midgrade fuel. Check your vehicle owner’s manual.
  • Shop for low gasoline prices locally, but don’t waste gas driving to a distant filling station to save a few cents.
  • Don’t race a cold engine to warm it up and avoid extended idling to warm up the engine.
  • Spark plugs must be in good condition. Some will last for 100,000 miles, but many need to be replaced more often.

Driving

  • Curtail aggressive driving.  Speeding, rapid acceleration, and rapid braking all waste gas – and curb mileage by as much as 33 percent at highway speeds, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).  Use slow acceleration from a dead stop.
  • In addition, speeding cuts fuel economy 7 to 23 percent, as gas mileage decreases rapidly above 60 mph. Each five mph you drive over 60 is like paying an extra 15 cents per gallon.
  • Avoid idling, which gets 0 mph.  Cars with larger engines typically waste even more gas at idling than cars with smaller engines.
  • Combine your errands into one trip and plan your routes carefully to drive fewer miles and use less fuel.
  • Use overdrive if available. Use your vehicle’s overdrive gear when appropriate to reduce engine speed, save gas, and decrease engine wear.
  • Use cruise control to help cut fuel consumption by maintaining a steady speed during highway driving.
  • Don’t use air conditioning, if it is not really needed. Maybe just the blower will keep you cool. Air conditioning dramatically reduces fuel economy. Most air conditioners have an “economy” setting that allows the circulation of unchilled air – just a fan, which does not affect fuel economy. Many also have a “maximum” or “recirculation” setting that reduces the amount of hot outside air that must be chilled. Both settings can reduce the air conditioning load — and save gas. Fan speed does not affect fuel economy.

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.

How to Talk to Your Elderly Loved One

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NJ Senior Living & Lifestyle

In general, there is a difference between seniors in their 80s and older, and those who are now in their 70s.  For example:

Seniors in Their 80s

Seniors in their 80s, who lived through the Depression, have often spent frugally and saved as much as possible. They focus on wanting to leave a legacy to their children, are less willing to spend money on themselves, and less inclined to talk about future plans.

Seniors in Their 70s

Seniors now in their 70s are more questioning, more discerning and less amenable to institutional, assisted living alternatives. This new wave of “young” seniors is beginning to ponder difficult questions that do not have easy answers, such as, “Where do I want to live if I’m no longer able to stay at home? Who do I want to take care of me in the event I become ill? What are my wishes regarding end of life care?”

Align the Conversation to Your Senior’s Values

Knowing the seniors’ priorities can help their loved ones know what to say to convince them to get the help they need. For someone in his 80s, who doesn’t want to spend money on services for himself, having his children (and grandchildren) tell him they prefer that he spend it on his own needs and not gift it to the kids, might really free the parent up to take care of his own needs.

For someone in his 70s, having the children (and grandchildren) talk with him about his different options and help him identify the ones that best fit his needs and financial situation, might be helpful. This can be complicated due to the fact that seniors are often reluctant to discuss their finances with their children. Nevertheless, having an outline of your senior’s assets so you can know which options are available, is important.

When children have conversations with their parents about the future, they must first reassure the senior that they will be in control and have the final say and that the children just want to help them think about future possibilities and understand their preferences.

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.