Making a decision on future care for a parent is a very emotional & difficult decision.  Janelle’s article can give you some help.

By Janelle Jacobs

Independence is something every human being values, no matter how young or how old. As people age, they often lose some of their independence, forcing them to depend on others for personal care, medical treatment, daily activities, personal hygiene, and routine day-to-day tasks. This can take a toll on a senior’s emotional stability and mentality, especially if the senior’s memory and thoughts are of a sound mind.

No one wants to have someone else care for them; no one wants to be a burden. However, if a senior enters a nursing home, as opposed to remaining in their own home, it can often be a more lonely experience, a more difficult adjustment, and an additional strain on the individual’s health, as well as the family’s stress level.

Fortunately, there are alternatives to nursing homes which can enable you or your loved one to remain at home and maintain dignity and independence while still receiving personal care. In-home senior care is one such alternative. Care givers or nurse aides can visit the home and provide daily assistance, and at-home care-giving services are often less costly, or comparable, than nursing home care.

If you or your aging parent or loved one wants to remain at-home, no matter if you need assistance for four hours a day, eight hours a day, or 24-hours a day, you can find caring nurse aides to give you the geriatric care and senior companionship you need, where and when you need it.

Nursing homes can be quite costly. The average annual cost of a private room in a nursing home in the United States is $70,080. Often senior home care can be much less costly than nursing homes, charging average rates of $13-$20/hour. Some home care providers put their hourly rates of home care services directly on their website, and it is easy to see the savings.

Home care relieves family members not only from a possible financial burden, but also an emotional burden. It is always comforting to know that your loved ones are living in their own home and enjoying familiar surroundings. Home care gives people peace of mind, whether you are the person receiving care, or the adult child responsible for an aging parent.

Nurse aides and care givers provide varied types of services, ranging from doing the laundry and dishes, to running errands and shopping. They can give personal care and assist with bathing and dressing, as well as assist with cognitive difficulties and prompting and supervising daily activities. Not only that, but nurse aides provide one-on-one attention and interaction, fostering a caring relationship. Nurse aides can make house visits one day a week for only a few hours or they can provide live-in assistance around the clock.

If you are planning you or your loved one’s health care future, keep in mind that nursing homes are not the only option. Nurse aides and senior care companions provide quality in-home senior care services and non-medical home health care and companion services to senior citizens and adults. Senior care consultants can work with you and your family to help you maintain your independent lifestyle.

Independence is very important to a healthy state of mind and everyone should receive the best senior home care possible while maintaining their dignity and autonomy.

Janelle Jacobs is a writer in Pittsburgh, PA with interests in senior care and healthy living.

ComForcare Home Care Services-San Francisco & Lisa Marie Blaskie RN, CCM, CSA provides home care & elder care in-home services in the San Francisco Bay area. In addition Lisa is a Case Manager and works with seniors & their families To get help in selecting other care options for an aging loved one call @ 800.993.2945

As August comes to a close, I wanted to share one more article about the importance of eye care for Cataract Awareness Month. Vision is something we should not take for granted! If you or a loved one need care and assistance for someone who is losing their vision in the San Francisco area, please visit www.sanfrancisco.comforcare.com.

Eye Care Advice for Aging Eyes

(ARA) – Growing older and getting reading glasses seem to go hand in hand, just like getting gray hair or wrinkles as you age.

But that doesn’t have to be the case if you take steps to care for your eyes as you age. Presbyopia, a natural effect of aging, happens to just about everyone around the age of 40, even if you have had laser eye surgery. As you age, the lens in each of your eyes begins to lose its ability to change focus quickly on an object or page of text, causing blurred vision at reading distance. Chances are that you know several people who have this condition, and you may develop it yourself, now or in the future. Some simple, yet often overlooked steps can help you take care of your eyesight as you age:

• During prolonged intervals in front of a TV, computer or other electronic device, try blinking more often than you might normally. Every so often, look away from the device and focus on a distant object.
• Be sure to have adequate light while reading; a simple lamp may not do the trick, causing you to strain your eyes.
• Maintain a healthy diet. Contrary to popular belief, carrots are not the best vegetable for your eyes: spinach and other dark, leafy greens contain high amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin, beneficial antioxidants for vision.
• Visit your eye care professional regularly.

Beyond a healthy lifestyle, there are solutions to common age-related vision problems. With presbyopia, bifocals or reading glasses (for contact lens wearers) are a common solution. However, reading glasses can be cumbersome and easily misplaced, and bifocals require you to use a magnification lens intended for reading anytime you look down, which can make mundane tasks as simple as walking down stairs unnecessarily difficult. Bausch + Lomb’s Multi-Focal contact lenses are designed with All-Distance Optics, a technology that delivers sharp, clear vision wherever you choose to focus. By using a gradual power shift across the entire lens, your eyes effortlessly adjust from up-close reading to mid-range computer work to distance vision while driving. There’s no need to reach for glasses to accommodate a quick change in distance. Multi-Focal contact lenses mean you don’t have to sacrifice convenience for clear, crisp vision. Ask your eye care professional about how Multi-Focal contact lenses can help you say goodbye to your readers today, or log on to www.goodbyereaders.com to learn more.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Here is an OCD aricle on a subject that may be near and not so dear to us…..

Charlotte is worried about Mom’s safety at home. Mom has always been a bit of a “pack rat.” But during Charlotte’s last visit to Mom’s town, Charlotte realized that Mom had not thrown out a newspaper in five years! Out-of-date food filled the refrigerator, and boxes of odds and ends were piled precariously on countertops so Mom couldn’t even use the stove. Charlotte reports, “I offered to help Mom clean up and get rid of some of the junk, but she became very upset. I know I should step in and help, but if Mom won’t cooperate, what can I do?”

Collecting things is a human trait, and there is an old saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. But accumulating items can sometimes grow out of hand. “Hoarding” is the excessive collecting of possessions, including those with no use or value, in a person’s home, office, or even their car.

Americans have become more aware of this psychological disorder recently, due in part to several TV reality series on the subject. But hoarding is not a new phenomenon. In most communities, social service agencies have struggled for years to deal with cluttered homes that pose a danger to both the occupant and the community, due to insects and other pests, unsanitary conditions that promote infection, and an increased risk of fire and falls.

Seniors are at greater risk. The first signs of hoarding usually appear in early adolescence, but the problem often becomes progressively worse with age. It is most common, and most dangerous, for older adults.

When does “saving” become “hoarding”?

Almost all of us have a pile of magazines somewhere that we intend to read someday but probably never will. And we might joke about Aunt Laura’s huge collection of Hummel figurines. According to the International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Foundation, “Simply collecting or owning lots of things does not qualify as hoarding.” The association points out, “Collectors typically keep their possessions well-organized, and each item differs from others. An important purpose of collecting is to display these items to others who appreciate them.” But hoarding goes beyond collecting. Signs of hoarding include:

Bringing more and more items home, even when there is no space;

Saving junk mail, package materials and obsolete, useless items;

Compulsive shopping, sometimes purchasing several of the same item;

Items unopened in their original packaging;

Difficulty choosing which items to keep and which to discard; and,

Lack of organization that makes it impossible to reach or locate items the person really needs.

The home may be so full of possessions that the person is unable to reach the bedroom, kitchen or bathroom. The home becomes dangerous and unsanitary, and the person may be unable to bathe, perform other personal care tasks, or prepare nutritious meals. Relationships may suffer when the person is embarrassed to have visitors or has conflict with friends and family about the condition of their home. This can lead to further social isolation, and a cycle where the person perceives possessions as “friends” that provide comfort and security. Extreme hoarding somtimes even leads to eviction and homelessness.

What causes hoarding?

Mental health professionals tell us that patients give these reasons for hoarding:

They don’t want to be wasteful.
They, or someone else, might need the items “someday.”
Publications and other printed materials contain information they might need.
Their possessions have emotional and symbolic value to them.

Psychologists don’t completely understand the origins of hoarding. Some experts classify it as a form of OCD, while others believe it is a separate condition. Stress, depression and dementia can be involved, and hoarding also seems to run in families, both through heredity and environment.

Who can help?

People who are experiencing compulsive hoarding usually find it difficult to control the behavior without help. Yet intervention is often difficult and complicated, especially if the person doesn’t see the squalor they live in as a problem. Help might come from:

Family and friends. Sometimes supportive loved ones can be helpful. But often, a family member’s tidying up is seen as intrusive interference. In trying to induce their loved one to discard items, family may trigger an even greater emotional attachment to possessions. Social workers suggest that family focus on their loved one’s safety. Rather than saying, “Mom, you should throw away all those old shoes,” you can say, “Let’s stack these shoe boxes up so you can get into the closet.” Deal with immediate safety issues first, such as items placed too close to the stove or space heater, or the presence of insects.

Social service agencies. Many communities now have multi-agency “hoarding task forces,” through the local health department, adult protective services agency, or housing department. Check with your city or county government for available resources. In some cases, an agency will step in and order a forcible cleanup, but this is generally not the best solution: the results are often only temporary and the emotional distress may cause the person to resume collecting with increased vigor.

Mental health professionals. For most people experiencing this problem, progress is difficult without the assistance of a therapist or other provider. Family members often begin the process, and the specialist who is trained in this problem can help open the conversation with their loved one. Therapists help the person understand the problem and the underlying causes. The goal is for the person to become self-motivated, understanding that the clutter of possessions is a barrier against leading a more satisfying life.

Organization “coaches” and specialized cleaning services. These professionals specialize in home clutter, and will come to the home to help the person develop a strategy for sorting, organizing and discarding possessions. Some cleaning services also specialize in hazardous and extremely cluttered home conditions.

Support groups. In-person and online groups, some facilitated by professionals, provide a safe place for compulsive hoarders to receive encouragement, advice and understanding as they work to bring organization and control to their own lives. Support groups are also available for family members.

Learn More

The International OCD Foundation recently created the online Hoarding Center, where those who suffer from this disorder, as well as their families, can learn more about causes and treatment. The Center includes online tests to distinguish clutter from actual hoarding, a support group list, and a searchable directory of mental health specialists experienced in treating this problem.

ComForcare Home Care Services-San Francisco & Lisa Marie Blaskie RN, CCM, CSA provides home care & elder care in-home services in the San Francisco Bay area. In addition Lisa is a Case Manager and works with seniors & their families To get help in selecting other care options for an aging loved one call @ 800.993.2945