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February is American Heart Month -- Here's What American In-Home Care Wants You to Know About Heart Disease

Chronic Disease Care,

February is American Heart Month -- Here's What American In-Home Care Wants You to Know About Heart Disease

February has been recognized as American Heart Month in the United States since 1963, urging Americans to learn more about heart disease and protect themselves and others against it. Since 2004, February has also been associated with Go Red For Women, showing that heart disease affects women too and is not just a man’s problem. During American Heart Month hospitals, schools, businesses, health departments and more encourage heart health awareness and heart attack prevention tactics for women and men. Heart Health Month also encourages people to get active on social media to spread heart health statistics, facts about preventing heart disease and heart attacks, and much more. Spreading factual awareness is the main goal of the month.

What is Heart Disease

Heart disease kills over 630,000 Americans each year; 366,000 of those from coronary artery disease. It is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States with over 11% of Americans having been diagnosed with the disease. The most common type of heart disease is called coronary artery disease and this is what can commonly lead to a heart attack. “Heart disease” is a catch all phrase for many types of cardiovascular issues and coronary artery disease is the most common. This is usually what people are referring to when they use the term heart disease. Thankfully, you can reduce your risk for heart disease through lifestyle changes and medication. Heart disease is the term for all types of diseases that affect the heart, arteries or blood vessels that can lead to heart attacks, stroke or heart failure. Coronary heart disease occurs when plaque builds up in the arteries, called atherosclerosis. Plaque is formed of cholesterol, calcium and some other substances found in the blood. Plaque reduces the amount of oxygenated blood that is able to reach the heart and cause blood clots, which block blood flow entirely.

Heart Attack and Symptoms

Over 800,000 Americans have a heart attack each year, with 13% dying as a result. Because early interaction is so critical in reacting to heart attacks, health organizations have spent decades trying to improve public knowledge of heart attack symptoms and appropriate emergency responses. If people can recognize the symptoms of heart attack early, they can greatly reduce their risk of developing further complications and progressing into heart disease. That is one of the major goals of Heart Health Month - to raise awareness to people around the world of how to recognize and react to a heart attack and how to reduce their risks for developing heart disease. According to a study by Shiwani Mahajan, 6% of individuals – which represents over 13.5 million adults in the U.S. – were not aware of a single symptom of a heart attack. The study found men, blacks, Hispanics, people born outside the U.S., and those with high school or lower education were significantly more likely to not be aware of any symptoms.

Your Risk for Developing Heart Disease

Your risk of developing heart disease is higher if you have high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, are overweight, have diabetes, smoke, don’t get regular exercise, have unhealthy eating habits, or have a family history of heart disease. Each risk factor increases your chance of developing heart disease, so the more risks you have the greater your chance for developing the disease. Many of these are not modifiable - like age, gender and family history. But a lot of these can be helped with lifestyle changes - like eating better and exercising more.

How to Manage Your Risks

Managing your risk for heart disease involves managing your risk for each of the factors that contribute to the disease. Many of these factors you can’t change, like genetics and age, but fortunately most of them you can change with small lifestyle changes. The first is getting physical exercise. To reduce your risk, you should be getting at least two and half hours of vigorous physical activity per week - that’s only 30 minutes per day for five days of the week. In addition, you should do 2 days a week of muscle and strength training. Even if this seems like a big barrier to overcome, start smaller with 5, 10, 15 minutes per day. Some exercise is better than none. Correlated with exercising, is achieving and maintaining an appropriate weight. Obesity is known to increase your risk for heart failure so maintaining a healthy weight will greatly reduce your risk. Being overweight is hard on your heart, and it increases your risk of having heart disease, stroke, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. It is also important to stay active and reduce your sedentary time, or the amount of time you spend sitting or laying down. The CDC says that 31 million “senior” adults are considered inactive. Since risk for heart failure increases with age, it is important that older adults stay active through exercise and also limit their amount of sedentary time. In a recent study that looked at women with different activity levels, the most active group were 35% less likely to develop heart failure than the group with no activity. Women who walked regularly also had a 28% lower risk of developing heart failure than those who did not walk at all.

Besides exercise, eating a heart healthy diet is critical for reducing risk of heart disease. A heart healthy diet needs to be low in sodium and saturated fats. The DASH diet is a great option for any adult trying to reduce their risk for heart disease, or neurodegenerative diseases for that matter. The DASH diet consists of eating mostly vegetables, fruits and whole grains, with small amounts of dairy, eggs, fish, beans, nuts and vegetable oils. Red meats and foods high in saturated fats or sugars should be severely limited. Learn more about the DASH diet in our Alzheimer’s management post (https://americaninhomecare.com/blog/2019/09/09/7802/). Stress and lack of sleep can also contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease. Most adults need a solid 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

Since there is no cure for heart disease, it is important to maintain healthy behaviors after being diagnosed with heart disease as well. Maintaining the same healthy behaviors after diagnosis can prevent the disease from progressing. Since there’s no cure for heart failure, improving quality of life and outcomes are key goals of treatment. Once diagnosed, the best steps for controlling heart disease are following a heart healthy diet, increasing daily physical activity levels, reducing sedentary behavior, avoiding tobacco products, restricting sodium intake, restricting fluid intake, and starting on medication to control the heart disease (including beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and statins). With proper lifestyle changes, heart failure can be monitored and hopefully managed for a long portion of time before any changes occur. Heart disease is a scary term, but with proper lifestyle habits you can significantly reduce your chance of heart attack or developing heart disease, as well as slowly down the rate of the disease after being diagnosed.

If you or someone you know is suffering from high blood pressure, heart disease or other age specific diseases, American In-Home Care and its subsidiaries, Whitsyms In-Home Care, Advocate In-Home Care and Douglas In-Home Care can help. Visit our website to learn more about the in home health services we offer for you and your loved ones.

Compassionate Home Health Care Florida Deserves

Home Health Care and Nursing Services in Florida

Home Health Care and Nursing Services in Florida

Home Health Care and Nursing Services in Florida

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month

Family Caregiver Tips, All Posts, Health and Wellness

January is a month designated to cervical health awareness, specifically focusing on HPV (human papillomavirus) and HPV vaccination awareness. More than 13,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and more than 4,000 of women will die. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer for women worldwide, but because it develops over time, it is also one of the most preventable types of cancer. Cervical cancer is a cancer that forms in the cervix, the narrow passageway between the uterus and the vagina. The most common are squamous cell cancers (80-90%), which are the type of thin endothelial cells that line the top layer of the cervix. The remaining 10-20% of cervical cancer cases are adenocarcinomas, which develops in the glands that produce mucus. Deaths from cervical cancers are on the decline because of the increase in use of the Pap test. If suspicious cells are detected using a Pap smear, then there is an almost 100% likelihood of beating the disease. Most women that fully progress to cervical cancer have never had a Pap test, or have not had one recently (within 5 years). Cervical cancer, like most cancers, tends to occur during midlife, between the ages of 35 to 44. It rarely affects women under 25 or over 65.
What causes cervical cancer?
The most common cause of all cervical cancers is HPV - a common sexually transmitted disease that usually has no other symptoms. HPV has been found to be the cause of 99% of cervical cancer. There are over 150 different types of the virus, most of them being relatively low risk. Most sexually active people will acquire at least some of the 150 different strains of the virus. Some have been linked to genital warts and a few of the strains have been directly related to cancer. HPV triggers abnormal cell growth that can lead to genital and anal warts, precancerous cell changes known as dysplasia or neoplasia and, if left undetected and untreated, invasive cancer of the cervix, anus, vulva, vagina, penis or mouth and throat.
More than 70% of the cervical cancer cases can be linked to just two of the strains - HPV-16 and HPV-18. HPV is actually the most common STD in the United States and 80% of women have been infected with at least one strain of HPV. 90% of HPV infections resolve on their own in less than 2 years and the majority of women will never develop cervical cancer from an HPV infection. Women who can’t clear an HPV infection are most likely to develop cancer, but only if not detected or treated for many years. Development of cancer from HPV happens gradually over many years through a number of pre-cancerous stages, called cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN). Large CIN changes have a 1 in 3 chance of developing into cancer, but most CIN lesions regress on their own.
How do you prevent cervical cancer?
The five year survival rate of cervical cancer is around 70%. If detected early, this number jumps up to 92%. This is a drastically large survival rate compared to other types of cancer. Cervical cancer is highly preventable in countries where testing, screening and HPV vaccines are readily available. In countries with limited access to these, the survival rate greatly decreases. In the United States the HPV vaccine has been available since 2006. The two surefire ways to prevent cervical cancer are to be vaccinated with the HPV vaccine at a young age and to also obtain regular screenings throughout adulthood - both Pap smears and HPV testing. Regular screenings can help catch precancerous cells early and prevent almost all cases from developing into cancer. The Pap smear is directly looking for precancerous cells, or any cells with abnormal features or warning signs. HPV tests are testing to see if you have any strains of HPV that might lead to cancer.

Cervical cancer is hard to detect if you are relying solely on exhibition of symptoms, as most symptoms don’t present themselves until late stages of the disease. Precancerous changes almost never cause pain or any other symptoms. The most common symptom is abnormal bleeding, usually between menstrual periods or during sexual intercourse. Bleeding after menopause may also be a sign of cervical cancer.
How can the HPV vaccine help?
The HPV vaccine protects against most strains of HPV that cause cervical cancer, as well as other types of cancers. Because it is given to children before they are sexually active, it will prevent them from contracting any of the strains of HPV from sexual contact. The vaccination is recommended for both boys and girls from the ages of 11-15, but can be started as early as the age of 9. It is strongly recommended for everyone through the age of 25, even if you haven’t been vaccinated as a child. The WHO recommends vaccinating with a two dose schedule, one vaccine followed 6 months after the first. A three dose schedule is recommended for people over the age of 15 or for people with weakened immune systems, like those with HIV. However, as of 2018, only about half of teens in the United States have had the HPV vaccine. “The HPV vaccine continues to be the best way to protect our young boys and girls from developing certain cancers, including cervical cancer,” CDC director Robert Redfield, MD, said in a press release. “The HPV vaccine is safe, and we encourage parents to get their pre-teens vaccinated and take the next step to prevent their children from developing HPV-related cancer later in life.”

The Guardasil vaccine protects against the two main cancer causing strains of HPV, HPV-16 and HPV-18, and also against five more high risk strains and two strains that cause genital and anal warts. Multiple studies have found that girls that received the HPV vaccine in grade 6 had a 57% reduction in the amount of cervical pre-cancer cells than unvaccinated women. “Every year in the United States, HPV causes cancer in men and women, but we have the power to change this,” said Lisa Richardson, MD, MPH, director of CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. “Cervical cancer was once the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the U.S. The HPV vaccine and cervical cancer screening have made it one of the most preventable cancers. HPV vaccination is cancer prevention.”

So what can you do to check your cervical health? The most foolproof way to make sure you don’t have cervical cancer is to maintain a regular testing schedule. You should be meeting with your OBGYN once a year for a normal visit and also getting a Pap smear at least every 3 years. If you follow this, then there is almost no chance that you will find precancerous cells that are too late to treat or have already progressed into full blown cancer. You can also help decrease the amount of the disease by spreading knowledge to others. Help educate others on their own cervical health and encourage them to get regular Pap smears and to also vaccinate their children or grandchildren with the HPV vaccine.
If you or someone you know is suffering from cervical cancer or other diseases, American In-Home Care and its subsidiaries, Whitsyms In-Home Care, Advocate In-Home Care and Douglas In-Home Care can help. Visit our website to learn more about the in home health services we offer for you and your loved ones.

Compassionate Home Health Care Florida Deserves

High Blood Pressure: How to Treat, Monitor and Medicate This Common Condition

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An Introduction to High Blood Pressure

Everyone has heard of the term “high blood pressure” and everyone over the age of 45 fears the day when they might have it. But what really is high blood pressure? Where does it stem from? And are there better or worse ways to monitor and treat it?

When blood cells and plasma are pumping through your veins and arteries, they are exerting pressure onto the walls, and the walls are therefore exerting a pressure back. The amount of pressure can fluctuate, with the vessel walls expanding or contracting depending on which pressure is stronger. Your blood pressure is the measure of the force of your blood pushing against these vessel walls. When high blood pressure comes into play, there is too much pressure coming from the inside of the vessel walls and it starts to damage the body. If left untreated, it will cause permanent damage to the heart and veins/arteries of the body.

Your blood pressure is measured in two different numbers: your systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. The systolic number is a measure of the force pushing against the vessel walls when the heart is contracting while the diastolic number is a measure of the pressure in the vessels when the heart is resting between beats. The systolic number is usually written on top with a line over the diastolic number; like 120/80. A normal blood pressure reading would be less than 120 mmHg for systolic and 80 mmHg for diastolic. An “at risk” reading, or a sign of pre-hypertension, would be between 120-139 mmHg for systolic and 80-89 mmHg for diastolic. A high reading would be 140 mmHg or higher for systolic and 90 mmHg or higher for diastolic, and this would technically be considered high blood pressure.

Untreated high blood pressure can increase your risk for many other diseases - including heart attack, stroke, chronic heart failure, and kidney disease. About 8 out of 10 people having their first stroke have high blood pressure, about 7 out of 10 people with heart failure have high blood pressure and about 7 out of 10 people having their first heart attack have high blood pressure.

So what can you do to lower your blood pressure in the first place? Thankfully there are some small lifestyle changes that can easily lower your blood pressure, and also make you a healthier individual overall. These include keeping your weight in a healthy range, eating a healthy diet high in nutrients and low in sugar, salt and fats, decreasing your alcohol intake, decreasing your salt intake, not smoking tobacco, exercising regularly and trying not to stress out! Hormones released when your body is stressed can make your blood vessels tighten and your blood pressure higher. This is one of the more silent causes of high blood pressure that people don’t often consider and is super relevant in the day and age that we are living in currently.

How to Monitor at Home

According to the American Heart Association, 70% of adults who have high blood pressure could get it under control by just monitoring it at home themselves. People whose blood pressures start to creep up over the normal level range, so higher than 120/80, should start to monitor their blood pressure at home. To make sure you’re getting the best results you should buy a good blood pressure cuff, make sure its accurate, prep beforehand, be consistent and take multiple readings in a row.

Purchase an automatic upper-arm style cuff and make sure the cuff fits. If it’s too large or too small for your arm then you will get inaccurate readings. Take the cuff you bought to your doctor and have them do a reading with it to make sure it is getting accurate results. Also have your doctor watch you taking your blood pressure to make sure you are doing it correctly. Don’t smoke tobacco, drink caffeine, or exercise 30 minutes before taking your blood pressure. Also make sure to use the bathroom before taking a reading, a full bladder can add 10-15 points to your reading. Another thing to consider is how you sit - slouching or sitting with your back or feet unsupported can raise your reading by 5-10 points, and crossed legs can increase your reading by anywhere from 2-8 points. Make sure to sit up straight in a chair with your back against something and your feet on the ground. Rest your arm on a surface, like a table, with a slight bend in the elbow. While taking the reading, remain still and silent. Also, always take the reading with the cuff directly on your bare skin.

Make sure to be consistent with when you are taking your blood pressure. Try to take it at the same time everyday so you are in a similar state of mind and place to give more accurate results. There is no need to take it more than once per day. The best time is probably first thing in the morning, before you’ve eaten or drank coffee. There’s no need to take multiple readings per day but make sure to take a few right after each other in a row, to confirm that there is not a random false reading. Take two or three in a row, about 1 minute apart. If you get an obscure reading, talk with your doctor about it at your next visit. If your blood pressure readings suddenly exceed 180/120 mm Hg, wait five minutes and test again. If the next reading is still unusually high, contact your doctor immediately.

How to Properly Treat Your High Blood Pressure

The most common treatments to treat high blood pressure are ACE inhibitors, beta blockers and thiazide diuretics. ACE inhibitors work by relaxing constricted blood vessels, beta blockers reduce heart rate and output of blood, and thiazide diuretics eliminate extra water and sodium in the blood. A study published in the Lancet showed that thiazide diuretics were the most effective of these treatments. It was found in the study that patients taking thiazide diuretics were 15% less likely to have heart attacks, strokes and hospitalizations from high blood pressure than patients who were on ACE inhibitors. Another interesting conclusion from this study was that ACE inhibitors caused more unwanted side effects - including rash, cough, diarrhea and kidney failure. A common side effect of thiazide diuretics is low potassium and low sodium. Fortunately, these are both easily combated with a daily supplement.

ACE inhibitors always have been, and still are, the go-to prescription by doctors for high blood pressure. The results from this study show that maybe there will be a change in how doctors treat high blood pressure in the future. This could also potentially have long term ramifications on the amount of high blood pressure turning into something more serious, like a heart attack or stroke. However, make sure you talk to your doctor before self-justifying that thiazide diuretics are better for you than any current medication. Different people of different ethnic backgrounds and ages might respond differently to certain medications. If the medication your own now is working for you, then it’s still probably a good choice.

Besides what type of medication you are on, the time you take your medication can also have a large impact on the amount that your blood pressure is lowered. Taking blood pressure medication at night, instead of in the morning, could significantly lower your risk for heart-related disease and death. Another recent study has found that people who take their medication at night, instead of in the morning, cut their risk of heart attack or stroke by nearly half. How could that possibly be? Well blood pressure has a daily pattern, just like humans do. It normally is the lowest at night and increase a large amount in the morning when you wake up. By the afternoon it starts to go down again, with it being its lowest point again by night. "It better targets the morning rise in blood pressure,” says Osborne, a researcher from the study. “If you take your blood pressure medicine in the morning, it may already be after the peak, and then the peak concentration of the drug is hitting a few hours later, well after the peak of blood pressure.” Overall, people in the study who took their medication at night lowered their risk of heart attack by 34%, their risk of stroke by 49%, their risk of heart failure by 42%, and their risk of death by heart related problems by 50%.

High blood pressure is a serious condition that affects a huge portion of the population. Specifically people over the age of 45. Thankfully there are ways to mitigate your risk for high blood pressure, including changes in your lifestyle, monitoring your own blood pressure at home, what medication you take and when you take your medication.

If you or someone you know is suffering from high blood pressure, heart disease or other age specific diseases, American In-Home Care and its subsidiaries, Whitsyms In-Home Care, Advocate In-Home Care and Douglas In-Home Care can help. Visit our website to learn more about the in home health services we offer for you and your loved ones.

Compassionate Home Health Care Florida Deserves

Can The Terms Dementia and Alzheimer's Be Used Interchangeably? What's the Real Difference?

Alzheimer’s and Dementia

We often use the terms Alzheimer’s and dementia interchangeably when talking about the progression of the disease, lifestyle habits, and memory loss in general. However, this has led to people not knowing the true difference between the terms and inappropriate use of the word dementia when talking about Alzheimer’s and aging.

So what is dementia actually?

Dementia is a catch-all phrase that is talking about cognitive decline because of damage to the brain. It is a symptom of disease, not a disease itself. Dementia can be caused by many diseases, including Alzheimer’s. Dementia is the chronic memory loss, personality changes and impaired reasoning caused by many diseases. What distinguishes dementia from just normal memory loss associated with aging is that it is a nonreversible significant decline in mental function and it must be severe enough to interfere with your daily life. So how is dementia diagnosed? A doctor must determine that you have multiple areas of cognitive decline including disorientation, disorganization, memory loss and language impairment.

An analogy that helps people understand dementia is comparing dementia to a sore throat. A sore throat is a side effect of many diseases, including allergies, a cold, strep throat, bronchitis, etc. You need to figure out exactly what is causing your sore throat to be able to effectively manage it. Dementia is the sore throat, the symptom of the disease. Alzheimer’s (or other causes) are the common cold - the disease that is causing the dementia.

Many people think that dementia is a normal part of aging, but it is not. Some memory loss is typical in adults as they age but dementia is caused by damage to the brain cells that affects your brain’s ability to communicate across cells. Dementia is progressive, meaning it starts off slowly but gradually gets worse with time. Currently, there are over 50 million people in the world living with dementia.

Where does Alzheimer’s fit into this?

Alzheimer’s is a specific disease, caused by inappropriate protein aggregation of the tau protein in the brain. It is a specific disease that slowly destroys memory, thinking skills and brain function. It is a degenerative disease that causes complex brain cell changes after cell damage from the tau protein misaggregates. A symptom of Alzheimer’s is dementia. Alzheimer’s starts off with the inability to remember new information, as it primarily affects the part of the brain associated with learning. It slowly leads into dementia and complete cognitive decline. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, representing about 80% of the cases but there are also other diseases that cause dementia.

What else causes dementia?

The most common causes of dementia are neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s. Other neurodegenerative diseases include Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. Neurodegeneration kills brain cells and neurons over time causing a permanent decrease in mental and physical function, and often dementia. The second most common cause of dementia is cerebrovascular reasons, creating something called vascular dementia. When stroke, high blood pressure, heart disease or hardening of the blood vessels happens, the vascular damage from the hemorrhaging or blocking of the vessels causes dementia. When blood vessels are blocked it stops oxygen supply to areas of the brain causing irreversible damage and therefore dementia.

Infections also cause dementia. In late stages of severe infection there can be brain damage as the virus/bacteria destroys brain cells. This brain damage can cause dementia on occasion. Some common infections that cause dementia are HIV/AIDS and Creutzfeldt-Jackob disease (or other prion diseases). Dementia can also be caused by toxic and metabolic reasons, like a chemical imbalance in the body, drug overdose, or malnutrition. The last cause of dementia is traumatic brain injury. When there is a serious injury or concussion to the head it can cause brain damage, and may eventually lead to dementia. One final source of dementia is genetic. Although extremely rare, some types of dementia can be inherited. However, it is more likely for dementia to form because of aging complications. Once a person has reached 65, the chance of developing dementia doubles every 5 years.

It’s also not uncommon for people to have more than one factor causing their dementia. Usually a person will have just one form of dementia but you could also have dementia stemming from Alzheimer’s and vascular issues at the same time. This is called mixed dementia. Thirty percent of the time patients who have Alzheimer’s also have a vascular disease that makes dementia symptoms worse. So does this mean some types of dementia are more serious than others? Ultimately, no. All dementia is serious in it’s own way even if it may seem less aggressive or like it progresses at a different speed. All types of dementia need to be taken seriously and need medical attention.

How can you decrease your risk for dementia?

Although dementia is not treatable or reversible once you have it, there are steps you can take to try to decrease your chances of developing dementia in the first place.
1. Not Smoking - Smoking decreases blood circulation and decreased circulation to the brain causes less oxygenation and therefore brain damage. This can lead to dementia and Alzheimer’s. Besides the decreased circulation, smoking also causes heart disease which could lead to vascular dementia in certain cases.
2. Eating Healthy - Eating a healthy diet full of brain healthy foods can greatly reduce your risk for dementia. Some particularly brain healthy foods include green leafy vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish and olive oil. Foods you should definitely avoid include red meat, butter, cheese, sweets, fried foods and processed foods. Even small changes in your diet can have significant benefit, so don’t be afraid to start small.
3. Exercising - Working out regularly is hugely important in protecting your brain health as you age. It also staves off many other diseases and complications that can happen with aging. Even just a brisk walk outside for 10 minutes a day can elevate your heart rate and increase blood flow to the brain. Vigorous exercise includes anything aerobic like spinning, swimming or running. Try to aim for 80 minutes a week of vigorous exercise.
4. Mind Stimulation - Regularly challenging your brain can increase your cognitive function and decrease your risk for dementia. Some mind stimulating activities include crossword puzzles, sudoku, cards, reading, learning a new language, playing an instrument, taking a class on anything, or even just talking with other people regularly.

Do you or your loved ones have dementia? If you are looking for a provider for live-in care in Florida with experience caring for individuals with Alzheimer's, American In-Home Care and our subsidiary brands Whitsyms In-Home Care and Advocate In-Home Care, and Douglas In-Home Care can help. We refer qualified and compassionate care providers that are matched directly with your loved one's personality and needs. We can refer care providers that specialize in Alzheimer's and dementia care, and who have training and continuing education in this area to ensure they provide the highest quality of care to your loved one, and that you and your loved one are in the best hands.

If you are looking for a care provider in Florida with experience caring for individuals who show signs of Dementia or Alzheimer's Disease, American In-Home Care and our family of caring companies, Whitsyms In-Home Care, Advocate In-Home Care and Douglas In-Home Care can help. We refer qualified and compassionate care providers that are matched directly with your loved one's personality and needs. We can refer care providers that have training and continuing education in this area to ensure they provide the highest quality of care to your loved one, and that you and your loved one are in the best hands.
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What is Chronic Inflammation and How Do We Stop It?

Chronic Disease Care
Care provider and healthy eating options

Inflammation is the body’s response to stress, infection, or foreign substances and is a normal, healthy part of your everyday life. In a normal situation, inflammation is our friend. When your immune system senses foreign pathogens or particles, it sends in the SWAT team - proteins that protect the body and cause inflammation. However, if inflammation goes on for too long or
your body is inappropriately getting inflamed, it can have some long term and serious effects for our health.

 

 

So, what is inflammation?

Inflammation is your body’s first line of defense against toxins, infections and injuries. When your cells are in distress, they release chemicals to alert your immune system that something is wrong. Your immune system responds by sending in inflammatory cells to trap the foreign substances and heal the tissues. One of the side effects of this inflammatory response is that blood vessels leak fluid into the site of injury, causing the swelling and redness that we so typically see. This swelling is a critical part of the healing process and is actually a good thing. The swelling, redness, and warmth are signs that your immune system is sending white blood cells, immune cell-stimulating growth factors, and nutrients to the affected areas. Even though it is healthy, this inflammation should only be temporary. When the toxin or infection goes away, the inflammation should subside.

Another type of inflammation is stress-induced. Instead of inflammatory cells rushing to one site on the body, they instead are released in the bloodstream and travel throughout the entire body. This is called your “fight or flight” response and is the feeling of adrenaline coursing through
your body when you are in a scary or dangerous situation. However, constant stress over a long period of time causes the inflammatory protein levels in our blood to be constantly elevated - leading to many chronic health conditions. When immune cells start to overreact, our bodies
stay in a state of inflammation for too long and that inflammation can be directed against us. This is known as chronic inflammation and it can be caused from many things like a virus or bacteria, an autoimmune disorder, an improper diet, or the way you handle stress.

What is the difference between acute and chronic inflammation?

Acute inflammation is the healthy inflammation that is the response to trauma, bacteria, or foreign compounds. It starts rapidly, becomes severe in a short amount of time, and goes away in a couple of days. When it lasts longer than a couple of days, it turns into chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is the slow, long-term inflammation lasting for prolonged
periods of several months to years. The extent and effects of chronic inflammation vary with the cause of the injury and the ability of the body to repair and overcome the damage.

What causes chronic inflammation?

1. An infection that’s hard to kill - a chronic infection like Lyme’s disease stays in your body forever so your body is constantly responding with inflammation. The chronic inflammation is actually the cause of many of the symptoms of the disease, not the disease itself.
2. Recurrent episodes of acute inflammation - for some reason you are constantly responding with inflammation (i.e. you get sick or injured a lot, you are constantly stressed).
3. An autoimmune disorder - you have a disease like Crohn’s where your body is constantly responding to your own body as a foreign pathogen so you are in a constant state of inflammation.
4. Failure to eliminate the cause of inflammation - You have an infection or parasite that can resist host defenses and remain in the tissue for a long time.
5. Environment - pollution, air and water quality, environmental allergies and a host of other environmental factors can trigger and sustain inflammation.
6. Lifestyle - obesity, unregulated stress, tobacco use, drinking too much, lack of physical activity, lousy sleep and, of course, poor diet are all linked to chronic inflammation.
7. Genetics - diabetes and cancer are two genetically related diseases that can be triggered by inflammation.

Why is chronic inflammation so bad?

Over time, inflammation actually starts to damage our healthy cells. If the damage is too great for normal inflammatory proteins like white blood cells to handle, then they call in for back up. The back up, neutrophils, come in and blow up everything in sight, healthy or not. Each neutrophil only has a short lifespan but in chronic inflammation, neutrophils continue to be sent in long after the source of inflammation is gone. This means that the inflammation starts to damage the linings of your arteries and intestines, the tissues of your muscles and joints, the cells in your brain, and much more. This cellular damage can trigger diseases like cancer, diabetes, dementia, depression, and heart disease. This prolonged state of emergency can cause lasting damage to your organs. For example, if inflammatory cells are in your blood
vessels for too long they start the buildup of dangerous plaque (which your body sees as foreign and sends more inflammatory cells). As plaque builds, the arteries thicken, making it much more likely for you to have a stroke or heart attack.

When chronic inflammation occurs in the joints, it can cause rheumatoid arthritis. Chronic inflammation has also been linked to many types of cancer, including lung, esophagus, digestive tract and cervix. When immune cells begin to produce inflammation, immune
regulation becomes deteriorated and it creates an optimal environment for cancer cells to grow. When inflammation occurs in the lungs, it can cause fluid accumulation and narrowing of the airways, making it difficult to breathe. Inflammation in the lungs, from smoking, air pollution, or
being overweight, can lead to asthma or COPD. Inflammation can occur in your mouth in the form of periodontitis, or chronic inflammation from bacteria accumulation in the gums. This causes your gums to recede and the skeletal structure around your teeth to become weakened. It also is linked to heart disease and dementia, since increased bacteria in the mouth also triggers inflammation elsewhere in the body. Chronic inflammation can even cause bone loss as inflammatory markers in the blood stop bone remodeling - the process of replacing old damaged bone with new bone.

How do we stop chronic inflammation?

We know chronic inflammation can cause serious long-term health effects. So what can we do in our everyday lives to lower our risk for chronic inflammation?

1. Eat an anti-inflammatory diet - The most important way to decrease your chronic inflammation is to stop eating inflammatory foods. Pro-inflammatory foods include simple sugars, processed foods, sugar, and anything high in fat. Try to eat as many
anti-inflammatory foods and foods high in fiber as you can. Anti-inflammatory foods have antioxidants that help mitigate the cellular damage caused by inflammation. Fibrous foods feed the good microbes in your gut and can help create a balanced gut
microbiome environment, therefore downregulating inflammation. Other things to consider are a low-glycemic diet, reduction of saturated and trans fats, taking
anti-inflammatory micronutrients like magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc and selenium, eating more fruits and vegetables, fish oil, fiber, nuts, and green and black tea polyphenols.

You can learn more about eating an anti-inflammatory diet here.

2. Reduce stress- Chronic psychological stress is linked to greater risk for depression, heart disease and the body losing its ability to regulate the inflammatory response and normal defense. Yoga and meditation are helpful in alleviating stress-induced inflammation and its harmful effects on the body.
3. Reduce weight - It is largely known that adipose tissue, also known as fat, in obese or overweight individuals induces low-grade systemic inflammation. Decreasing the amount you weight will decrease your amount of chronic inflammation.
4. Exercise - Just 20 minutes of moderate exercise per day can suppress the inflammatory response. One reason is that exercise can positively affect your gut health. Energy expenditure through exercise lowers multiple inflammatory molecules and cytokines independently of weight loss. Regular exercise is helpful not only in controlling weight
but also decreasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and strengthening the heart, muscles, and bones.
5. Sleep more - Overnight sleep (ideally at least 7 to 8 hours) helps stimulating human growth hormones and testosterone in the body to rebuild itself.
Chronic inflammation can cause serious health problems, like heart disease and cancer, but thankfully, it is easier to decrease our chronic inflammation. Changing these five simple lifestyle factors can greatly decrease the amount of inflammation in your body and decrease your chance for getting cancer, diabetes, dementia and even Alzheimer’s disease. Not only does eating an anti-inflammatory diet decrease chronic inflammation, it also will you help you lose weight and stay healthy in other ways. Food is the most important thing we put in our bodies and what we eat can so drastically change our health.

If you are looking for a care provider in Florida with experience caring for individuals who can use support for healthy living & exercise,  American In-Home Care and our family of caring companies,  Whitsyms In-Home Care,  Advocate In-Home Care and Douglas In-Home Care can help. We refer qualified and compassionate care providers that are matched directly with your loved one's personality and needs. We can refer care providers that have training and continuing education in this area to ensure they provide the highest quality of care to your loved one, and that you and your loved one are in the best hands.
Interested in our Senior Care Services ? Click here to see our locations and service areas.
Interested in Care Provider opportunities? Click here to start registration.

https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2019/lowering-inflammation-to-improve-health.html
http://www.thecantos.org/cantos-summary.html
https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2019/diets-for-lowering-inflammation.html https://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-2019/chronic-inflammation-memory-loss.html https://www.healthline.com/health/chronic-inflammation#antiinflammatory-diets https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493173/
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-you-should-pay-attention-to-chronic-inflammation/
https://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20898778,00.html

6 Ways That Strength Training Can Help You Age Healthier

Health and Wellness, Family Caregiver Tips
american in home care -- strength exercise to age healthier

Most people think strength training is for serious athletes. But working out to increase your muscle strength and build your muscles actually has some more surprising benefits besides just getting more toned. Strength training can actually benefit your heart more than cardio workouts can. Who knew?

Learn the 6 different ways that strength training can positively affect your health below.

1. It can improve your mental health and mood

Relatively recent research (O’Connor et. al 2010) has shown that moderate-intensity resistance training can reduce anxiety, can improve brain function (specifically memory and memory related tasks), can reduce chronic fatigue, can decrease depression, can improve sleep, can improve self-esteem, and can increase overall mental health through nerve cell regeneration, an increase in neurotransmitters, and more efficient oxygen delivery to the brain. Both an increased blood flow to the brain and increased hormones, like norepinephrine and dopamine, is what is causing strength training to enhance your overall mood and mental health.

2. It can lower your risk for diabetes

There are two places your body stores carbohydrates - in your muscles and in your liver. If you don’t have much muscle mass then your body can’t store all the carbs it needs to and they end up being stored in your bloodstream. This raises your blood glucose levels. But if there is enough muscle mass, then the carbs go into your muscles and are used when you exercise - through either strength training or cardio exercises. The important thing to note here is that you can burn carbs through both types of exercises but you need strength training to create more muscle mass and therefore decrease blood glucose levels. And the good news is that you don’t need to do much strength training to see a change in glucose levels. People over the age of 60 only need to do low intensity strength training twice a week for 16 weeks to see significant improvements.

3. It can improve symptoms of kidney disease

The biggest side effect of chronic kidney disease is muscle wasting. Strength training just 3 times a week creates significant improvement in muscle strength and can combat the symptoms of kidney disease. It can also relieve other symptoms of kidney disease like shortness of breath, itching, and muscle spasms. Research at the University of Leicester found that strength training increased leg strength by 37% and muscle size by 9% in a study of chronic kidney disease patients.

4. It can prevent heart disease

Strength training is often overlooked for its importance in cardiovascular health. However, strength training must be just as good, if not better, at improving heart health than cardio exercises. How so? Strength training can decrease blood pressure more so than cardio exercises, it decreases cholesterol and triglyceride levels, it decreases visceral fat by increasing your body’s metabolic rate, and it can also improve your quality of sleep. Sleep is important because lack of sleep can increase visceral fat levels and reduce sensitivity and metabolism. Recent research has found that weekly strength training can reduce your risk of developing conditions that raise your risk of heart disease, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, by up to 70%.

5. It can prevent dementia/Alzheimer’s

Not only does strength training help build muscles, it also helps build brain cells as well. Researchers have found that moderate intensity strength training increases the gray matter in your brain, or the sections of your brain that connect the different lobes of your brain. The gray matter is filled with synapse connections and is extremely important in neurological health. Many studies have found a connection between decreased gray matter and diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia. A study in Sweden found that women with higher fitness levels were 88% less likely to develop dementia compared to women with average fitness. Women with lower fitness had a 41% higher risk of developing dementia than women with average fitness. Another study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that strength training provided the best results in memory and cognitive behaviors for people already showing signs of cognitive impairment. This means that adding in strength training (and other cardio exercises) can stave off dementia in people who are already exhibiting precursors of the disease.

6. It can increase your balance and mobility

Falling is the leading cause of injury and death for people over the age of 65. As we age, we lose some of our balance and fine motor skills and this can lead to slipping or falling, which can then lead to further complications if someone falls and breaks bones, etc.. Weak lower leg strength is the biggest factor in causing falls says the CDC so more focus needs to be paid to your quads and glutes, the muscles that help stabilize you and help you stand up. Research in the British Medical Journal found that seniors who include 3 times weekly strength training see their likelihood of falling decrease by one third.

So what can you do at home?

Strength training doesn’t need to be intimidating. You can do almost everything at home with only your own body weight - no gyms, minimal equipment, and on your own schedule. Below is some important information to know about strength training.

● One rep is one completed motion of the exercise from start to finish. For a biceps curl, this would be starting with your arm at your side, raising the forearm towards your shoulder, and then releasing it back down to the starting position.
● 12-15 reps of the same exercise is good for moderate intensity strength training and is called a set
● A good amount of training would be 3 sets of 12-15 reps each.
● It is important to rest between sets. At least 2 minutes to let your body recover.
● A circuit is doing multiple exercises in a row as a round and then resting. This would be 12-15 reps of exercise 1, 12-15 reps of exercise 2, 12-15 reps of exercise 3, etc. for 5-6 different exercises. All of these done in a row would be called a round. The goal would be to do three rounds with rest in between rounds.
● Prioritize good form above everything else. Don’t add more reps or more weight unless your form is correct.
● Start with just your own bodyweight and as your body strengthens and this begins to feel easy, you can then add small weights like resistance bands or dumbbells.
● Try to do strength training exercises 3-4 times a week, not on consecutive days. The days in between should be for cardio exercises.
● If you do feel very sore, give yourself extra rest days as needed and back off during the next workout.
● Begin with a 5 to 10 minute warm-up of light cardio (walking/running in place, etc.). Warming up is extremely important in older adults.
● Start out with 10-15 minute exercises and slowly work your way up to 30-60 minute exercises per day.
● See your doctor before trying workouts if you have any pain, injuries or other conditions you're dealing with. Take your time with the moves and only add weights or resistance when you feel comfortable with the exercises.

If you want to start adding strength training to your routine, speak to your doctor or a personal trainer. They will be able to create a personalized workout plan for you based on your age, current strength, limitations, etc. Not everyone is the same so picking exercises that are right for you is very important to mitigate any potential injuries.

If you are looking for a provider for live-in care in Florida with experience caring for individuals who can use support for exercise & healthy living, American In-Home Care and our family of caring companies, Whitsyms In-Home Care, Advocate In-Home Care and Douglas In-Home Care can help. We refer qualified and compassionate care providers that are matched directly with your loved one's personality and needs. We can refer care providers that specialize in Alzheimer's and dementia care, and who have training and continuing education in this area to ensure they provide the highest quality of care to your loved one, and that you and your loved one are in the best hands.
Interested in our Senior Care Services ? Click here to see our locations and service areas.
Interested in Care Provider opportunities? Click here to start registration.

Five Lifestyle Factors That Can Reduce Your Risk for Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s and Dementia, , , , ,

Roughly 6 million people of all ages in the United States are currently living with Alzheimer’s - this includes mostly people over the age of 65 but also 200,000 people under the age of 65 with an early onset version of the disease. One in every ten people over the age of 65 develops Alzheimer’s, which is a very large percentage. So what can you do to decrease your, or a loved one’s, risk for developing Alzheimer’s?

New research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2019 suggests there are 5 critical factors that you can change about your lifestyle that will significantly decrease your risk for developing the disease. This research is incredibly important because it shows that risk factors for the disease can be modified and that you can truly make a difference with lifestyle changes, regardless of genetics or predisposition for the disease. See what 5 lifestyle factors you can change below.

1. Diet

One of the biggest factors that affects our health is what we eat. People have known for ages that what we put in our body impacts our health, our chance of disease, and our longevity - and now, that it can decrease our risk for the development of Alzheimer’s and dementia. So what changes can you make in your diet? Scientists recommend a combination of a DASH and Mediterranean diet. The DASH diet is prescribed by doctors to prevent and treat high blood pressure and blood cholesterol. The foods in a DASH diet are low in sodium and high in other nutrients that lower blood pressure like potassium, calcium, and magnesium. The DASH diet includes lots of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry and legumes, and encourages a small amount of nuts and seeds a few times a week. You can learn more about the DASH diet and its recommendations here - (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/dash-diet/art-20048456).
The Mediterranean diet is more of a long-term lifestyle diet, while the DASH diet is for losing weight or changing blood pressure levels in a short amount of time. The Mediterranean diet, as the name suggests, is based off of a typical diet found in Mediterranean countries. This diet consists of large amounts of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, medium amounts of fish, dairy and healthy fats, and small amounts of meat and sweets. The important fact about the Mediterranean diet is that it is plant based instead of meat based. Meals are built around vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, beans and whole-grains with sides of dairy, seafood, poultry and eggs. Red meat is only eaten on occasion. You can learn more about the Mediterranean diet and its recommendations here - (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/mediterranean-diet/art-20047801).

2. Exercise

Regular exercise is important to stay physically and mentally fit. People who are active and fit are less likely to have a decrease in mental function and less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease later in life.

Exercising is important because it can:
• Sharpen reasoning skills in healthy individuals
• Improve memory and judgment skills in healthy individuals
• Delay the onset of Alzheimer’s for people at risk or with a genetic predisposition
• Slow the progress of the disease in people who already have Alzheimer’s

So how much exercise is enough to make an impact? The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that “individuals aged 65 and above engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise every week, or 75 weekly minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise.” Examples of aerobic exercise are brisk walking, running, swimming, tennis, cycling (inside or outside), dancing, taking a spin class, using the elliptical machine, etc. Many of these, like swimming, are low impact and good for people who are already over the age of 50 or who have had previous injuries.

3. Smoking

Alzheimer’s specifically is known to be linked with problems of the vascular system, i.e. your heart and bloodstream. Smoking increases your chance of vascular problems, strokes and mini bleeds in the brain - all of which are also risk factors for dementia. Chemicals in cigarettes can also cause inflammation and oxidative stress, which both increase your chance of developing Alzheimer’s, as well as a plethora of other diseases. Some research says that 14% of dementia cases can be attributed to smoking. But don’t worry, stopping at any point in your life will still have an impact on your Alzheimer’s risk. It’s never too late to adopt healthier lifestyle practices.

4. Drinking

Don’t worry - we’re not about to tell you to stop drinking altogether. Thankfully, drinking in moderation has no significant impact on your risk for developing Alzheimer’s. However heavy drinking and binge drinking will lead to brain damage over time, reducing the amount of your brain’s white matter - the material that provides synapse connections between different sections of your brain. It can also lead to a lack of vitamin B1, eventually affecting short term memory.

So what is moderate alcohol consumption? The NCS says that 1-14 units of alcohol per week for women and 1-21 units a week for men is considered light to moderate.
• A typical glass (175mL) of (12%) wine = 2 units
• A pint of lower (3.6%) alcohol beer or cider = 2 units
• A pint of higher (5.2%) alcohol beer or cider = 3 units
• A single shot (25mL) of spirits such as whisky, gin or vodka (40%) = 1 unit
5. Cognitive Activities

Increased cognitive activity in early life is known to be associated with decreased cognitive decline and a decreased risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia. The new research presented at the Alzheimer’s Conference shows that increasing your cognitive activity at any point in your life can decrease your risk for Alzheimer’s. So what can you do to increase your cognitive activity? Anything that keeps your brain active like crossword puzzles, sudoku, reading books, puzzles, playing card games, etc. “Your brain is like any other muscle in your body — the more you strengthen it, the more resistant it will be to environmental and physical stress,” Tousi explains.
A new study by Ko et. al published in the Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience Journal also shows that increased childhood cognitive activities, like taking music lessons or learning a new language, could greatly decrease the risk of developing both Alzheimer’s and dementia. Encouraging your kids to stimulate their brains will help them further down the road. But it’s also important to know that any cognitive activity increase at any age will help reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s. So it’s never too late to pick up a new brain stimulating activity.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5875443/

So what does this all mean for me?

So what does this actually mean for you? How much will changing these factors actually impact your risk of developing Alzheimer’s? Research shows that people who changed at least 4 of these habits had a 60% decrease in risk, and even people who only changed 2-3 of these habits still had a 37% decrease in risk. While most people would probably assume that not smoking or drinking would have a positive impact on your body, this research emphasizes the magnitude of these small changes. Even people with an increased genetic risk can still decrease the chance of developing the disease if they change these 5 lifestyle factors.

“What we are starting to see, across the board, whether you inherited a genetic predisposition to dementia or live in a place that increases your risk, is that you may be able to overcome some of this with lifestyle,” Carrillo says. “Even more exciting, even a little bit counts.

If you are looking for a provider for live-in care in Florida with experience caring for individuals with Alzheimer's, American In-Home Care and our family of caring companies, Whitsyms In-Home Care, Advocate In-Home Care and Douglas In-Home Care can help. We refer qualified and compassionate care providers that are matched directly with your loved one's personality and needs. We can refer care providers that specialize in Alzheimer's and dementia care, and who have training and continuing education in this area to ensure they provide the highest quality of care to your loved one, and that you and your loved one are in the best hands.

Interested in our Senior Care Services ? Click here to see our locations and service areas.

Interested in Care Provider opportunities? Click here to start registration.

A Look Back at Older Americans Month 2019

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Connect, Create, and ContributeOlder Americans Month

Every May, the Administration for Community Living leads the national observance of Older Americans Month. The month-long celebration focuses on healthy aging strategies, addressing challenges to community living for older adults, strides in elder care research to improve medical support systems, and changing senior landscapes.

May is also a celebration of significant turns in legislation and science that have had an immediate impact on the quality of life for older Americans.

The Expansion of the SNAP program and the Older Americans Act to help alleviate the financial burden of aging and the risk of malnutrition.
National Anti-Aging Movement
Preventable Issues Drive

Healthy Aging Strategies

One of the most significant focuses of Older American’s Month 2019 was aging as healthily as possible. The science behind aging is reasonably conclusive when it comes to the causes of overall health degradation. Put as simply as possible, aging itself is a slow decline in health. Not taking the proper steps towards aging healthily substantially accelerates the whole process drastically by introducing everything from heart disease to diabetes. While many of the health challenges we face as we age are unavoidable and a natural part of the aging process, there are countless avoidable health debits that can be better managed by seniors. There is a laundry list of healthy living strategies, and trying to parse all of them out can be incredibly intimidating; for the sake of simplicity, a few are listed below.

Keep consistent track of blood pressure to maintain heart health
Start thinking about diet before any health issues arise
Practice preventative care
Exercise, exercise, exercise! You will thank yourself for it in the years to come
Maintain an uncluttered living space
Addressing Challenges to Community Living

The research on the positive health benefits of community is robust and conclusive. It is a fact that seniors, and any other humans really, benefit significantly from both a mental and physical health standpoint by participating in some form of community.

Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t mean living in a senior home or giving up even a shred of independence. There are millions of healthy people participating in community events every day. Bake sales, volunteer work, staying active in your grandkids lives, even just getting out and doing the shopping. There are so many ways to get out and about with other people, and the benefits are numerous and undeniable.

The Connect aspect of Older American’s Month speaks on this point at length, with a particular focus on new prescriptions that began being offered this year. Doctors can now medically prescribe “Socialization” to seniors that are suffering from issues related to isolation or depression. The early results show substantial improvements in mental health, which tend to have positive effects on physical health nearly across the board.

Expansion of the SNAP program

Between 40-50% of all retired seniors are estimated to suffer from some form of malnourishment. While malnourishment can be caused by a lack of nutrients, it is most often caused by a lack of consumption. Millions of seniors can barely afford food, and the food that they can afford is often severely lacking in vitamins and nutrients. Picture a college students’ diet, with a senior’s immune system, and you can imagine why malnourishment is such a massive health issue for seniors.

The SNAP program was expanded in 2019 to include a more significant percentage of a growing senior population, providing millions with proper dietary options. However, it has been an uphill battle informing as many seniors as possible of the benefits available to them. There was very little press surrounding the expansion of the program, and adoption has been limited, even though it is a godsend. Another challenge that has proven difficult to navigate is pride. Most individuals on social security at this point are Baby Boomers, and selling any form of government assistance to them is extremely touchy. Regardless, OAM 2019 focused heavily on spreading this information, and hopefully by this time next year, the discussion will be centered around how effective these adoption campaigns have been.

National Anti-Aging Movement

There is a national movement to remove language related to anti-aging from products and general medical terminology that has taken flight this year. AARP officially announced that they would no longer advertise anti-aging products or run any articles related to the subject. Citing the term as something that stigmatizes the completely natural and healthy aging process. There is no need to be “anti-aging” since aging itself isn’t a bad thing at all.

The language has shifted towards aging with happiness, or grace. Instead of continually saturating seniors with all of the ways they can prevent something inevitable, the focus is on owning seniority. It is an excellent message, and based on the trends being established this year, it will likely only continue to grow as more large senior brands adopt it.

Preventable Issues Drive

Seniors practicing preventative care is a subject every single May, and every other month of the year. There are so many health issues that can be avoided completely by regular visits to your doctor and a healthy diet. AARP and thousands of doctors went on record this year stating that the single most important aspect of aging well is preventative care.

The most relevant issue seniors can avoid almost entirely, barring genetic predisposition, is heart disease. Heart disease is by a large margin the leading cause of death in Americans, specifically those that are seniors or middle-aged. There are medications that can help minimize risk once it is diagnosed, but it is better to just avoid the diagnosis entirely. Other issues include diabetes, glaucoma, Alzheimer’s & Dementia, and arthritis. All avoidable or at the very least minimizable with preventative care.

The drive for exposure this year has included the previously mentioned doctors’ campaign. Nearly every long-term care location or senior healthcare provider has also bought in. In some cases, with flyers in their waiting rooms, in others with full-on exposure campaigns that work with seniors interactively to get them moving.

Changing Senior Landscapes

Every year for Older Americans Month, the state of senior housing and accommodations is a primary focus. This year specific mention of the health benefits of maintaining independence well into your golden years was made.

There are several suggested ways to make sure you can age at home, or at the very least on your terms. Most of them root in maintaining or improving health, since at the end of the day being able to administer self-care is the primary barometer for independence. This has been the case every year since OAM started, physical health leads to independence, which maintains mental health, which facilitates healthy and vibrant aging.

There has been a slow, but steady shift in the landscape of senior housing that is beginning to reach a fever pitch, however. 2019 was a year of focus on how to maintain independence even with health issues that would typically force seniors into long-term care communities or nursing homes. Historically senior care took the “shotgun” approach towards long-term living. If a single health issue prevented independence, even if it required 30 minutes a day to address, a senior home was typically the answer. This led to a complete lack of independence and often culminated in the spiral so often associated with poor nursing home care.

A more precise method of care is growing increasingly popular now, at-home care. Not every senior requires round-the-clock medical attention and on-call medical staff; most don’t as a matter of fact. If you can handle most of your activities of daily living but have trouble bathing, for example, there is no reason you should have to move into a nursing home. You can age in place, and all it requires is a 30-minute daily visit from an at-home care professional. To put it into a term, the landscape for senior care in 2019 is shifting towards personally tailored care.

If you or a loved one are interested in a consultation to see which in-home care services would be right for your loved one, we can help. We refer qualified and compassionate care providers who can help with many different services to help prepare your loved one for the future and keep them home. For more information about our services and coverage area, contact us to speak with a Client Care Liaison.

Interested in our Senior Care Services ? Click here to see our locations and service areas.

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5 Tips for Communicating with Seniors with Hearing Loss

All Posts, Chronic Disease Care, Family Caregiver Tips
dementia care orlando

One universally accepted fact about aging is that hearing becomes more difficult with age. Even with modern hearing aid technology and major strides in research involving age-related hearing loss, millions of seniors suffer from hearing impairments. However, this doesn't mean that they should have to miss out on the conversation. There are ways to communicate with seniors suffering from hearing loss so as not to cause frustration, and to make communicating easier; here are 5 of our top tips for communicating with seniors with hearing loss.

Maintain Eye Contact

Maintaining eye contact is a solid communication tip no matter who you’re speaking with, but it takes on extra importance when communicating with seniors with hearing loss. When you maintain eye contact while talking, the person you are communicating with has a clear view of your mouth, allowing them to infer what you are saying when it might be hard for them to hear you. Facial expressions and overall animation are also major factors that contribute to communication, and can be used by seniors that are hard of hearing to help them understand you.

Enunciate Your Words

The importance of enunciation goes hand-in-hand with the importance of maintaining direct eye contact. If you speak very clearly, and make sure that your words are spoken without trailing off or blending, it is much easier for people with hearing impairment to read your lips. The goal is to speak deliberately and slowly, enunciation will typically follow.

Speak Loudly, but Don’t Yell

The best way to explain voice volume when speaking to a senior that is hard of hearing is, “commanding, but not yelling.” Raise your voice to the point that it feels like you are speaking at the highest “inside voice” you can comfortably utilize. Maintaining a calm tone is imperative, it can become frustrating and hurtful when hearing impaired seniors feel like they are being yelled at, or that you are frustrated with them.

Don’t Overwhelm Them

It can be easy to forget how difficult conversations are to follow when you don’t personally have any hearing issues. Family gatherings are especially hard on seniors with hearing impairments for example, primarily due to the fact that they are extremely overwhelming and there are a lot of different noises. It becomes significantly more difficult to keep up with several voices sounding off at once when you have hearing issues. When speaking to a senior that is hard of hearing in a group environment, take turns speaking directly to them, and try to minimize background noise as much as possible.

Don’t Assume They Understand

One of the most common habits of hearing impaired seniors is pretending that they understand and are following the conversation. It can be embarrassing for them to admit they are having trouble hearing, so they often pretend they can hear without any issues. This is most commonly reflected in the “nodding and smiling” phenomena. Periodically check in with them to make sure they are keeping up with the conversation, and reassure them that it is ok if they can’t keep up.

 

 Conclusion

While communicating with an individual that is hard of hearing can often come with its own set of frustrations, it doesn’t have to. Even utilizing two or three of the tips mentioned above should immediately improve the quality of communication you have with friends and loved ones that are hearing impaired. Just remember, as frustrating as it can sometimes be for you, it is infinitely more frustrating for them to struggle when communicating, so be patient and kind. And a reassuring smile never hurts!