Protect Your Loved Ones During The Dog Days of Summer

Most of us love being outside in the summer when the weather is warm and the sun is shining. The kids will be back to school soon, so you need to make the most of it while you can. But these are the dog days of summer, a time when the heat and humidity can be deadly, especially for seniors (as well as infants and pets).

Below are 3 tips to help you keep your senior loved one safe during these dog days of summer:

1. Make sure their air conditioning is working properly. If they don’t have air conditioning, make sure they have plenty of fans where they live. Many seniors tend to be cold anyway, but you don’t want their residence to be too hot. Spend some time with them so you get a sense of the climate in their home.
2. If they go outside regularly, suggest that they go in the morning or evening hours when the temperature is lower and the sun isn’t so hot. If they have to be out mid-day, make sure they dress appropriately so they don’t get too much sun exposure. We all love the vitamin D from the sun, but only with the proper protection for our skin! Make sure they have on a hat and loose, light clothing. If you can, be outside with them in the morning or evening. Take a walk, go for ice cream, sit on the porch and watch the sun set.
3. Have them drink plenty of water. Did you know that the average person sweats about a quart of fluid every day? We would suggest that everyone drink plenty of water all year long, but it is especially important in the hot summer months when we sweat even more. You don’t want your loved one to become dehydrated. Make it easy for them; have a cup out on the counter so they can easily reach for it and get some water.

At Assisting Hands® Home Care, our skilled caregivers will make sure the seniors in our care are in the proper climate, whether inside or outside. Whether you need someone to be with your loved one during the day, in the evening or overnight, our at home care can accommodate your needs. You will have peace of mind knowing that they aren’t home alone when they need help with medication, fall prevention, personal care, eating or other needs.

Contact us today to schedule your free in-home fall prevention assessment at 630-305-9100. To learn more about our in home senior care, click here.

Is your senior loved one safe at home?

In-home safety is the number one concern of adult children for their aging parents. “Will they be safe staying in their home?” It’s a question we hear all the time. The answer is usually ‘yes’ (with exceptions, of course), but there are things that the children need to do for their parents to make sure they can stay at home safely.

Since June is National Safety Month, we want to provide 7 tips for making your loved one’s home safe as they get older:

• Consider a medical alert system. You remember the commercial, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” That could happen to your loved one. Make sure they can easily reach out for help if they need it.
• Get up slowly. When they get up from a sitting or sleeping position, make sure they do it slowly so they don’t get light-headed and lose their balance.
• Remove throw rugs. They may protect the carpet, but they can easily create a tripping/falling hazard. Your loved ones need an unobstructed path throughout their home.
• Remove items that can block their path. Following up to the point above, your loved ones need a clear path not just from removing throw rugs, but also from furniture, paper piles, cords, or other hazards. Their route should be free from all obstructions.
• Remove step stools. The risk of injury from a fall increases exponentially for every foot you are above the ground. If something is out of reach from your loved one, move it so it is within reach when they are on the ground.
• Install railings. If your loved ones are unsteady on their feet, install railings throughout the house, inside and out, including places like the shower. This will give them one more place to steady themselves if they need it.
• Consider a stair lift or have stairs with non-slip surface. If your loved ones live in a two story house and they need to access the upstairs often, you may want to consider a stair lift if they are not steady going up and down. At the very least, make sure the stairs have a non-slip surface.
• Use assisted devices in the home. Does your loved one use a cane or walker when they go out, but they don’t think they need to use it in their home? Most falls occur going from bedroom to bathroom. Make sure those devices are near their bed so when they get up they can easily reach them.
• Have lights on throughout the house. It may be well-placed nightlights, but make sure your loved ones have a little illumination at night so they don’t have to fumble for a light switch in the dark and they can see where they are going.

At Assisting Hands Home Care, it is important to us that your loved ones are in a safe environment. We can provide you with a free in-home fall prevention assessment so you know the best way to protect them while they are in their home. Our skilled in-home care associates can also provide your loved one with safe transportation to and from doctors and other appointments, grocery shopping or other errands.

Whether you need someone to be with them during the day, in the evening or overnight, we can accommodate your needs. You will sleep better knowing that they aren’t home alone when they need help with medication, fall prevention, personal care, eating or other needs.

Contact us today to schedule your free in-home fall prevention assessment at 630-305-9100.

Is Your Loved One Protected During These Hot Summer Months?

Most of us love being outside in the summer when the weather is warm and the sun is shining. With kids out of school, summer has unofficially begun. With the fun of the summer months also comes heat, which can be deadly, especially for seniors (as well as infants and pets).

Below are 3 tips to help you keep your senior loved one safe during these hot summer months.

Here are our suggestions:

1.    Make sure their air conditioning is working properly. If they don't have air conditioning, make sure they have plenty of fans where they live. Many seniors tend to be cold anyway, but you don't want their residence to be too hot.

2.    If they go outside regularly, suggest that they go in the morning or evening hours when the temperature is lower and the sun isn’t so hot. If they are out mid-day, make sure they dress appropriately so they don’t get too much sun exposure. We all love the vitamin D from the sun, but only with the proper protection for our skin! Make sure they have on a hat and loose, light clothing.

3.    Have them drink plenty of water. Did you know that the average person sweats about a quart of fluid every day? We would suggest that everyone drink plenty of water all year long, but it is especially important in the hot summer months when we sweat even more. You don’t want your loved one to become dehydrated.

At Assisting Hands® Home Care we make sure the seniors in our care are in the proper climate, whether inside or outside. If there is an issue with something like the air conditioning, our skilled caregivers would make sure the proper people were notified as soon as possible to remedy the situation. Whether you need someone to be with your loved one during the day, in the evening or overnight we can accommodate your needs. You will have peace of mind knowing that your loved one isn’t home alone when they need help with medication, fall prevention, personal care, eating or other needs.

Contact us today to schedule your free in-home fall prevention assessment at 630-305-9100.

Risk of Daily Low-Dose Aspirin is Outweighed by Benefits to Prevent Heart Attacks and Strokes

A Senior Journal story related the fact that more than half of older Americans – those age 45 through 75 – take an aspirin every day, even though this use is not recommended by the Food and Drug Administration for most people who have not yet had a heart attack or stroke.

The American Journal of Preventive Medicine quotes a story that confirms that aspirin use is continuing to surge, especially among adults who are using it for "primary prevention."  Essentially seniors take aspirin in order to prevent an initial cardiovascular event, and in some cases to prevent cancer.

A national survey of more than 2,500 respondents aged 45-75, 52 percent reported current aspirin use, and another 21 percent had used it at some point in the past. The average age of respondents in the survey was 60. A different report found that aspirin use increased 57 percent between 2005 and 2010.

The downside of aspirin use is that it is essentially a blood thinner and can cause bleeding events, which is a primary reason some medical experts recommend caution in its use, even at the "baby aspirin" dose of 81 milligrams often used for disease prevention. The FDA has determined that in primary use to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, for every such event that's prevented, there's approximately one major bleeding event that's caused, such as gastrointestinal bleeding.

Despite the risks, the U.S. preventive Services Task Force recently issued a recommendation that men and women aged 50 to 69 consider taking low-dose aspirin if they are at a high risk for heart attacks and strokes.

Several cardiologists took exception to the recommendation due to the bleeding risks. They want to see the recommendations carry more restrictions.

However, the physicians do admit that for men and women aged 50 to 69 who are at an increased risk from cardiovascular disease, the benefits of low-dose aspirin outweigh the risks. As an added benefit, a low-dose aspirin regimen also helps decrease the risk of colorectal cancer.

   

Some other findings of the survey include:

• The strongest predictor of regular aspirin use was a patient having discussed aspirin therapy with a health care provider.
• About 35 percent of people who don't objectively have risk factors that might merit aspirin therapy still use it.
• About 20 percent of people who have already had a heart attack or stroke, and should be on aspirin therapy, do not use it.
• A majority of both current and previous aspirin users rated themselves as being somewhat or very knowledgeable about it.
• Among aspirin users, the reasons cited for its use by respondents was for heart attack prevention, 84 percent; stroke prevention, 66 percent; cancer prevention, 18 percent; and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, 11 percent.
• Significant predictors of aspirin use included people who were physically active, ate healthy foods, had achieved a healthy weight, managed their stress, tried to quit smoking, and/or had undergone health screenings.

How Can Your Senior Loved One Eat Healthier?

Your eyesight might not be what it used to be or the dinners that you once made without needing the recipe are harder to remember. As people age, their needs become a little greater, even with things that they once took for granted.

But it is very important, especially as we age, that we be aware of what we are eating. As we close out National Nutrition Month, we want to share 5 tips to healthier nutrition for seniors:

• Limit Processed Foods: It might seem easy to load up your loved one’s freezer with ‘healthy’ frozen dinners, but those meals are likely loaded with salt and sugar. Just because a package says ‘healthy’ doesn’t mean it really is. Instead, make a recipe for your loved one once a week and divide it into single servings that can be heated in the oven or microwave. This way you can control the ingredients and you will know they are healthy.
• Eat More Fruits and Vegetables: Fruits and vegetables have a lot of vitamins and fiber, are lower in calories, and are generally unprocessed (beware of canned fruits and vegetables). Instead of buying chips and dip, make sure your loved one has plenty of cut up vegetables and hummus or ready-to-eat fruit available.
• Be Wary of Hidden Sugars: They are everywhere – in condiments like BBQ sauce and ketchup to cereals, yogurt and sodas. Find cereal that is low in sugar and get plain yogurt without added sugar. Your loved one can add the cut up fruit (see above point) to it to give it a great flavor. 

Eating too much sugar can increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. When you buy packaged food for your loved one, look at the ingredients to see where sugar is listed (keep in mind sugar goes by a lot of names like glucose, high fructose corn syrup, etc). If it is listed at the top, skip it. If it is listed toward the bottom or not at all, it should be okay.

• Be Wary of Salt/Sodium: Even if a product is low in sugar, don’t forget to see how much sodium it has. Too much salt can cause high blood pressure. Instead of using salt as a seasoning, substitute with other herbs and spices to create a great tasting meal that is low in sodium.
• Eat More Whole Grains: Your loved one doesn’t have to skip bread altogether; instead get whole grain instead of white bread. The same holds true for pastas and rice – get whole wheat pasta and brown rice instead of white. As with other processed foods, be wary of products that claim they are whole grain, but they are not. 

As with a lot of processed foods, packaging can be misleading. Read the ingredient label to be sure you are getting what you really want for your loved one. If your loved one isn’t eating healthy yet, take these changes one at a time. If done correctly, they may welcome the change. It is never too early to start eating better; healthy habits can last a lifetime.

At Assisting Hands Home Care we can provide your loved one with healthy meals and daily activity to keep their mind and body in as good a condition as possible. Whether you need someone to be with your loved one during the day, in the evening or overnight, we can accommodate your needs. You will sleep better knowing that your loved one isn’t home alone when they need help with medication, fall prevention, personal care, eating or other needs.

Contact us today to schedule your free in-home fall prevention assessment at 630-305-9100.

Osteoporosis Drugs Are Effective but Be Wary of Side Effects

By Richard Ueberfluss

More than 50 percent of women and 25 percent of men over fifty will suffer from an osteoporosis-related fracture.

Osteoporosis occurs when bone breaks down faster than it is replenished, leaving the skeleton porous and brittle.  Women lose bone density more rapidly during menopause, so they are more susceptible to osteoporosis than men.

Multiple medications, poor vision and balance problems also make older people more likely to trip and fall — one of the most common causes of hip fracture.

A hip fracture almost always requires surgical repair or replacement, followed by months of physical therapy. Taking steps to maintain bone density and avoid falls can help prevent hip fracture.

The good news is that hip fractures have dropped by 30 percent since 1995, according to a recent story in The Wall Street Journal.

The drop in hip fractures is puzzling, according to experts, because fewer Americans are taking drugs that help control osteoporosis.

In fact, use of osteoporosis drugs has dropped by more than 50 percent in recent years.  One of the reasons is that the drugs often come with serious side effects, such as sudden bone fractures.

The New England Journal of Medicine has estimated that for every 1,000 women with osteoporosis who were treated up to five years with bisphosphonates (a class of drugs that treat osteoporosis such as Fosamax and Reclast), they prevented100 fractures, and only caused one.

Doctors are split on ways to treat osteoporosis.  The Journal for example, quoted orthopedic trauma surgeon at the National Institutes of Health, who recommended that while bisphosphonates are effective, until someone has been diagnosed with osteoporosis, they shouldn’t take the drug for at least five years.

Whether or not medications are used, men and women with osteoporosis should have a senior care agency look for potential tripping hazards in the home that may cause falls.

If osteoporosis patients live alone, many families are using caregivers to stay with the patient to help prevent falls and teaching seniors how to minimize the dangers from falls.

Contact us today to schedule your free in-home fall prevention assessment at 630-305-9100.

Are your elderly parents getting the sleep they need?

Have you ever tried to fall asleep but just couldn’t? Or have you fallen asleep just to wake up in the middle of the night and then you can’t fall asleep until just before the alarm goes off? Are you staying awake to care for elderly parents? Sleep is such an important factor in our lives; it controls how we behave, our mood, our energy level, healing and growth.

While we are in National Sleep Awareness Week, we thought we would look at 6 things you can do to get a better night’s sleep.

1.      Have a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed and get up at the same time each day. By creating a routine, you body’s biological clock will get used to it and you will sleep better.

2.      Track your sleep. Write down when you go to bed, how you feel, if you wake up – and how long and how many times. Also track what you did, ate or drank close to bedtime. This may help you identify certain foods or activities that could be affecting your sleep.

3.      Wind down. Don’t go from fully active to bedtime in a couple minutes. Take time to prepare yourself: have your things together for the next day; brush your teeth, hair, etc; relax in bed or practice some deep breathing/meditation.

4.      Skip alcohol before bed. When the alcohol levels in your body start to drop, it signals your body to wake up. So even though you may think alcohol will help you fall asleep, it won’t keep you asleep for long.

5.      Create ‘white noise.’ Buy a ‘white noise’ machine, CD or MP3 download that will block outside noises or distractions from within your own home. This will help you clear your mind and focus on falling asleep.

6.      Don’t let your pets sleep with you. Cats are especially active in the late night/early morning hours and may want you to be awake when they are. Have you ever been nudged in the middle of the night for no reason except they wanted you to know they were there? That doesn’t help your sleep. It may be time to have Fluffy or Spot find another sleeping space away from yours.

When you are the primary caregiver for a loved one that needs help throughout the night, you can’t get the sleep you need to take care of yourself because your focus is on your loved one.

At Assisting Hands Home Care we want to take that burden off of your shoulders. If you can get the rest you need, you will be able to take better care of your loved one, yourself and your family – in addition to a job or other activities that you have. Whether you need someone to be with your loved one during the day, in the evening or overnight, we can accommodate your needs. You will sleep better knowing that your loved one isn’t home alone when they need help with medication, fall prevention, personal care, eating or other needs.

Contact us today to schedule your free in-home fall prevention assessment at 630-305-9100.

When Is It Time For A Daily Money Manager?

By Wendy Einspar

Think of the mail coming into your home, the bills that need to be paid, the calls or emails that should be made about your insurance, wills, retirement planning and more. Now imagine handling all this with impaired eyesight, decreased hearing, arthritic hands, or failing memory.

Many of us wish we had someone to handle the day-to-day personal paperwork, bill paying and interactions with advisors. Daily Money Managers can fill that role. However, the support of a Daily Money Manager (DMM) is even more critical for seniors.

A DMM for busy professionals often works alone in the clients’ homes (or virtually from theDMM’s office) while the clients are at work. DMMs for seniors, more often than not, work with their clients in their homes and have special skill sets to help their clients navigate between dependence and independence. In addition, the DMM for seniors needs to have an incredible array of resources available to guide the senior and the senior’s family to the right decisions about legal documents, long-term care planning, housing options, care management, financial asset management, household management, and more.

 Signs That a Daily Money Manager Is Needed By a Senior:

• Complaints of too much paper
• Bills not being paid
• Medicare, secondary insurance, and medical bills are piling up and not being addressed
• No Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy, Advance Directives in place to provide back up for the senior when he or she is no longer able to handle his or her own affairs
• A spouse has passed away and the widow(er) does not know how to settle the deceased spouse’s affairs and/or does not know how to handle the finances going forward
• Estate planning needs to be done, but there is no clear information about what assets are involved
• A sense of confusion is communicated in conversations
• Letters are coming in from the IRS that taxes have not been filed
• Rent, mortgage and/or insurance has not been paid, electricity is about to be shut off
• Medicaid may be needed, but the process of getting everything together to apply is overwhelming

Early on, DMMs need to sort through accumulated papers: locate bills that need to be addressed immediately; identify important documents and file appropriately or note which documents need to be collected. DMMs help organize and file estate planning, tax and financial documents for the client; work with doctors and insurance companies to sort out what needs to be paid by the insurance company or the client; and prepare budget and spending reports.

How Do I Finding a Daily Money Manager

Search on the website of the American Association of Daily Money Managers(www.aadmm.com) – click “Find a DMM” and search by zip code. In the same area of the website, you can find a list of excellent questions to ask when hiring.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Wendy Einspar for a free consultation at:

Phone 630.728.1257

Email – wendy@einspardmm.com

Internet – www.einspardmm.com

Richard Ueberfluss, PT

www.assistinghands.com/naperville

630.305.9100