Home Care Rockville Maryland (MD)

Here is a good article that I found and wanted to pass on to you, for more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.rightathomemd.net. 

Elders Abusing Their Adult Children Who Are Taking Care of Them

Carol Bradley Bursack

Why do elderly parents turn on the child that is trying so hard to take care of them?

It’s not really news that people tend to be their worst with the people they love. Generally, this is thought to be the case because people feel safe enough with family to just “let it all hang out.” Their anger at their circumstances, which may or may not have to do with these family members, is the real cause.

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Here is an article that I found and wanted to pass on to you.  For more information and assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at www.rightathomemd.net.

Senior Housing: The Emotional Side of Moving Your Elderly Parent

Carol Bradley Bursack

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home. Our home is our castle – a shelter from the storm. These old sayings and many more indicate how most of us emotionally view our home.

For most of us, the feeling is less about how large or how fancy a home is than about it being a place where we belong. Many of us, after getting out of the house we were so anxious to leave as young adults, still find ourselves lovingly attached to the humble dwelling of our childhood.

Now, place yourself in the shoes of your aging mother who has lived in that home since you were a child.

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Here is a great article that I found and wanted to share with you to help you with planning for retirement.  For more great information and assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit us at www.rightathomemd.net. 

Smart Tips for Baby Boomer Retirement Planning

(ARA) – If you are one of America’s 78.2 million baby boomers, you are likely considering what ideal retirement will look like, and the steps required achieving it. With the current economic downturn, many boomers are finding it necessary to revisit their initial retirement goals.

According to the Social Security Administration, today’s retirees count on corporate pensions and Social Security for 56 percent of their retirement income. With a few minor adjustments, some careful planning and a positive attitude, the other 44 percent is attainable.

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5 Ways to Make Your Aging Parents’ Bathroom Safer

By Kevin J Campbell

One of the most dangerous areas of seniors’ homes are their bathrooms. Seniors can get trapped in the bathtub, slip and fall on the wet floor and can even have difficulty getting off the toilet! Do not let this happen to your loved ones.

5 ways to make your aging parents’ bathroom safer include:

1) Remove scatter rugs – They are a major falls risk. Older adults cannot easily recover from a slip as they have decreased balance and strength. If your mother (or father) insists on keeping them, replace them with ones that have rubber bottoms (anti slip) and are rigid so that they cannot roll up. This prevents people from getting the scatter rug caught under their feet and causing them to fall.

2) Raised Toilet Seats – Older adults typically have difficulty sitting down and getting back up from regular toilets. An easy fix is to install a raised toilet seat. There are a variety of different styles so have a general idea as to what their toilet looks like when you go purchase one. Believe it or not, but seniors do get stuck on the toilet (sometimes for hours if they live alone) because they cannot get up from off the toilet.

3) Tub Bench – If your aging parents have a standard bathtub, it might be time to consider using a tub bench. This provides a place to sit down as well as makes getting into and out of the tub safer. Instead of having to lift their feet over the tub edge they sit down first and then bring their feet into the tub. Combined with a hand held shower head and they have one of the safest ways to shower (without having to renovate!).

4) Hand held shower – Since older adults may have poor balance, it is often a good idea to have a shower head that they can move around their body, instead of the other way around. Turning around in a slippery bath tub has caused many falls and there is no easy landing in a bathtub. It is also excellent for seniors who use tub benches or shower chairs.

5) Grab bars – An excellent way to prevent falls is to install a few grab bars. One by the toilet to help in sitting/standing, and another two in the bathtub/shower area. For the bathtub/shower area, have one the senior can hold onto when getting in/out and then another for when they are in the shower/bath tub.

All it takes is an afternoon and some money well invested to prevent falls and make your parents safer in their own home.

For more information: http://www.caring-for-aging-parents.com/

Kevin Campbell http://www.caring-for-aging-parents.com/ – Articles about a wide variety of topics including: home design for seniors, equipment for seniors and home safety for seniors.

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Visit us at www.rightathomemd.net if you need help for an aging loved one in the area this winter season.

Elderly Home Care Service Can Help Your Loved One Maintain Independence

By Thao Nguyen

Elderly home care services are growing at an accelerated rate, and this particular industry is only poised to continue to grow as the population of the United States ages. The number of people of retirement age and older is expected to double by the year 2030, and by the middle of this century, there will be more elderly people in this country than any other age group.

While a few people are lucky and stay healthy enough to be able to take care of themselves without help for their entire lives, others are not so fortunate. With advances in preventive medicine and anti-aging technologies, the number of elderly who live alone will rise, but there will always be a need for help for those who have difficulties maintaining their independence. Family members are not always able to attend to every need of the aging parent or grandparent, especially if that person needs frequent assistance. No one wants to go the nursing home route if other alternatives are available, and that is the reason why elderly home care companies provide such an essential service.

The elderly home care agency you choose can usually help with a variety of personal care services and chores around the house. Depending on the needs and wants of your elderly relative, you can find elderly home care services that can send people out to check on him or her once a day, once a week, round the clock or however often is required. These elderly care assistants can do minor household chores, help with bathing and dressing, and administer medications. Having such a service available and on call can make the difference between your relative remaining in his or her own home and having to go into an assisted living or nursing facility.

If you decide to use elderly home care services, help your loved one interview and select the paid caregiver. Have the agency send someone over to spend some time with your relative, so they can see if the match is a good one. Not every match is right and you might have to through many different elderly care assistants before finding the right person. The whole experience of using an elderly home care service will be much more successful for everyone if you determine the needs and wants of your loved one and involve him or her in the process of finding the most suitable elderly care assistant.

Article Source: click here

For more great information and assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit us at www.rightathomemd.net.

Seventy-nine million boomers will change the world – again

(ARA) – Changing the world is not an easy assignment – but baby boomers did it once and they’ll do it again.

They tackled civil rights and women’s rights and ushered the country into the digital age of communication and entertainment media. They demanded better health care and more efficient automobiles. They worked alone and worked together to influence both their neighbors and their political leaders. Their list of achievements over the past 60-plus years is undeniably remarkable.

The boomer generation has “never just migrated through stages of life,” says Ken Dychtwald, a specialist on aging. “They always transformed them as they went . . . boomers are not going to grow old like any generations we’ve ever seen.”

And now this cohort of baby boomers – this largest of all generations, born between 1946 and 1964 inclusively – is redefining what retirement means and is on the verge of changing the world again through active volunteerism. Sometimes referred to as the “Senior Tsunami,” this 79 million-member group will begin turning 65 in 2011 and while many now must work longer than expected, large numbers are still likely to commence rolling in waves out of the work force. This powerful tsunami will continue through 2029 and beyond.

Not content to sit on their laurels
Thankfully, the boomer generation is a generation with heart, a generation that is already stepping up, recognizing that they can leave the world a better place for their children and grandchildren. It’s a strong and healthy group with a passion for helping others. Demographers predict the boomers will live longer lives and remain in better physical condition than any predecessor generation.

So, for many, knitting afghans and raising roses will not suffice. Volunteering will become the pathway of choice for many boomers. It will provide a way for them to maintain a social network with people who express their values in similar ways. Some volunteer experiences will also offer an element of adventure – something many boomers desire – without being unsafe or disorganized.

Boomer-rich companies taking note
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a Fortune 500 financial services organization based in Minneapolis, Minn., has 2.6 million members of which approximately 40 percent are baby boomers. When Thrivent reached out to those members to determine what sorts of charitable activities the organization should support, the resounding reply was Habitat for Humanity. Many of these 45- to 60-something Thrivent members were already pounding nails on Habitat construction sites across the nation. They wanted Thrivent Financial to support those efforts.

Based on that information, the company formed a four-year $125 million alliance with Habitat for Humanity International, called Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity. The alliance supported not only the work of the popular home-building nonprofit, it also provided an enhanced means for Thrivent members to become involved or stay involved in an active and meaningful way. Members were offered opportunities to help build homes in their own communities or they could travel in teams with like-minded people to help build homes in specific U.S. locations or abroad.

Thrivent’s approach to connecting with their own boomer members through this alliance was highly successful. They were correct in anticipating that hundreds of thousands of them would be attracted to such an action-packed opportunity. The tangible result is that in just four years a combined total of more than 2,000 homes were built in the United States and in over 30 other countries.

Retiring “to,” not “from”
Along with the sheer size of the boomer generation, its vision of an active retirement is what will spur the group on to changing the world once again. In essence, boomers imagine themselves retiring to a new life, rather than retiring from an old one. They want to be part of something larger than themselves, something they can believe in. The opportunity to contribute something valuable and lasting, to engage their interests, skills and resources, to make a difference in a modicum of time and to slot in a bit of adventure will become paramount.

One of the ways they will meet all those criteria is through volunteerism. The legacy of millions of learned, talented, self-sacrificing people stepping forward to help those less fortunate is thrilling to consider. Imagine a more compassionate world where millions are volunteering and benevolence is the new norm. Those boomers just might pull it off – based on sheer numbers, if nothing else.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

For more information and assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit us at www.rightathomemd.net.

No one could guess my papa’s age when they first saw him. He had such a personality that my mom had a hard time keeping him from flattering young ladies. My mom’s annoyance gave him real pleasure. He was really fit with regular walks and pranayam and his group of friends envied his fitness. Just 2 weeks before his 70th birthday, I got a call from my mother saying, that Papa had slipped and fallen outside the bathroom and then I had to rush home. A hip fracture and surgery later, dad is a different person altogether, with little mobility and loss of independence he has become very cranky and depressed.

Elderly people slipping and falling is common story we all hear. Growing age, weak bones and lack of balance often leads to slips and falls. As the bones are brittle they are more likely to break and fracture which brings pain and loss of independence. Most of these slips and falls could have been prevented if proper care would have been taken.

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Elderly Care – Why You Need a Nurse Advocate

By Sharon Petty

What can happen to a person in pain without an Advocate?
 
I got a call from a gentleman who has been fighting with myeloma. He told me that he had started to have some severe pain and that his oncologist told him that, that was not unusual for the disease. His oncologist recommended that he purchase some over the counter drugs. The gentleman purchased aspirin with no relief then later tried Tylenol still with no relief. He called his doctor back to inform him that he was getting no relief from the over the counter and that the pain was interfering with his normal routine.

The oncologist then gave him a prescription for morphine. Here is where he called me stating that the morphine put him into a state of inebriation and although it took away the pain he could not safely walk to the bath room let alone function on a daily bases. The gentleman went on to say that the morphine was so debilitating that he could not function at all with it not even to care for himself. When I ask if any other medication had been offer between the morphine and the over the counter drugs his answer was “No.”

I gave him a list of 4 other medication that could be used that were not as potent as Morphine and could manage his pain without putting him in a state of inebriation. I had him write them down to be better prepared to share them with his oncologist. I told him that it is very important that his doctor understand that he is looking to control his pain while being able to function within his home and community

I have studied and practices Holistic and Alternative medicine with an emphases on nutrition since my teens. Today I consult and lecture at workshops to a variety of audience from adults to grade school age to empower the public to reach their ultimate level of 4HealthyLiving.

Mission Statement

My organization 4HealthyLiving desires to empower the community from the age of 5-105 with knowledge and understanding about the miraculous way the body functions With this knowledge we will all make better life style choices 4HealthyLiving.

You may contact Ms Petty at JustAskaNurse@yahoo.com

Article Source: click here

Visit us at www.rightathomemd.net if you need help for an aging loved one in the area this winter season.

Is it a cold or the flu? Here’s how to tell

(ARA) – “My body aches and my head is throbbing. Do I have the flu or is it just because I’m stressed or tired? Do I need a flu shot? Do I need the H1N1 vaccine, too?”

Millions of Americans will be asking themselves these and more questions this fall and winter as news reports and health care providers continue to warn about seasonal influenza and novel H1N1 influenza, otherwise known as swine flu.

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An active life begins with healthy joints

(ARA) – The new year often means resolutions like being healthier or exercising more often. What many people don’t know is that our joints are the critical part of the body that allows us to be active and do the activities we most enjoy.

Approximately one-third of Americans 35 and older say their joints prevent them from doing their favorite sport or activity in the last year and more than 50 percent of them just accepted that as part of the aging process, according to a recent study. The good news is there are simple and effective steps you can take to strengthen and protect these “forgotten soldiers” – ensuring your joints a healthy kick-off to an active year.

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