Education

A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is a frightening one considering how the disease progresses. While the struggles along the way might be embarrassing, it’s important to keep family members and caregivers involved from the beginning. 

Accepting the diagnosis and the reality of the future is an important step in the process. Acceptance will allow for careful planning of activities and gaining new skills to facilitate coping in the future. These skills will enable a person to stay active and engaged in daily life. Acceptance will allow him or her to feel in control of life. Control is important as there are so many aspects of daily life that are taken away, such as solo trips to the grocery store, driving and maybe even living independently.

Once the diagnosis has been accepted, there are several methods that can be helpful in coping with it:

• Accept help from others. Independence is hard to relinquish, but accepting help from family members and caregivers will make things easier.
• Some people use sticky notes as reminders of things that might be forgotten and are daily activities.
• Approach tasks one by one. Not everything needs to be done at once, and if you get stuck with something that has become too difficult, walk away and take a break. It can be done later.
• Figure out the cause of stress. Don’t let people rush you along.  Voice your concerns and allow extra time for things to be completed.
• Make a daily routine and try to stay with it. Following a schedule helps ensure that things aren’t forgotten and provides a source of stability. Completing something is an accomplishment, and it gives a rewarding feeling.
• Regular exercise will aid in developing new brain cells. Exercise also is effective in managing stress and alleviating anxiety and depression, which leads to a healthier brain.
• Although it may become difficult to have a regular sleeping pattern, proper sleep is necessary for forming memories and storing new memories so they can be easily retrieved. When a person doesn’t get enough sleep, memory becomes worse and concentration becomes more difficult. This can lead to depression.

Remember that there is help available in different forms, such as forums, support groups, educational programs, and safety tools. Approved Home Health provides care that allows clients to remain in the home and offers relief to primary caregivers. Call today for your complimentary in-home nursing assessment at 941-870-8740.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s and one in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s, but early detection can provide relief from some associated symptoms.

The symptoms of Alzheimer’s and dementia worsen over time and can be classified as early-, mid- and late-stage Alzheimer’s.

In the early stage, the person might still be able to perform everyday activities. He or she might not be able to pinpoint anything specific that is going on, and may just assume it is part of the natural aging process. Loved ones might notice the symptoms first, including:

• Losing important things
• Forgetting people’s names
• Difficulty with words
• Short-term memory problems

The middle stage usually is the longest, lasting for many years. Problems speaking will become more noticeable and because the nerves are becoming damaged, things that once were simple will become more difficult. At this point, it is more difficult for the person to take care of him- or herself. Symptoms in this stage include:

• Confusion with days and time passage
• Inability to remember personal facts
• Difficulty controlling bodily functions
• Wandering off and becoming lost

Late-stage Alzheimer’s, leaves the patient unable to communicate or respond to the environment. He or she might speak a few words, but communication is not possible, and the person most likely will need constant help and or supervision. In this stage, he or she might:

• Need 24/7 care
• Become susceptible to illness
• Gradually lose the ability to function and even swallow

While there isn’t a cure, there are medications, alternative therapies, and trial studies that can help during the earlier stage of the disease. Support groups available for help and information can be found here.

Approved Home Health provides care for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients that allows clients to remain in the home and offers relief to primary caregivers. Call today for your complimentary in home nursing assessment at 941-870-8740.

Read more at http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_stages_of_alzheimers.asp?type=carecenter_footer

So you came to the decision to hire someone to help care for your loved one. Hiring a home health aide on your own is a difficult task and not having any healthcare experience makes it worse. What questions do you ask the candidate? How do you determine they are qualified? How do you check their credentials? What questions do you ask their references? How do you handle payroll and taxes? You have to repeat this for every candidate and hire more than one so you have coverage when your primary caregiver is away.

An easier way is to use a home health agency such as Approved Home Health. Agencies have already vetted their home caregivers. So now you only have to vet the agency. The Huff Post 50 blog post We Need A Home Health Aide, How do I Get That? provides you more information on the function of the agency and what to ask. Review this article then call us at 941-870-8740 for a free nursing evaluation.

If you’ve had chicken pox, the shingles virus (herpes zoster) is lying dormant in your nervous system. Many things can trigger a shingles outbreak, especially stress and medical treatments that weaken the immune system. Early signs of shingles may include pain, itchiness, upset stomach, tingling, headache and fever. Anywhere from one to five days later a rash develops, usually on one side of the trunk, followed by blisters. There are many myths associated with shingles, including these six common misconceptions:

1. Shingles only happens to elderly people. Shingles can occur in anyone at any age who has had chicken pox. However, the risk for developing shingles does increase with age,  especially if you have a lowered immune system.

2. I’m safe, I had the vaccine. The shingles vaccine reduces your risk by about half, but you may still develop shingles. The vaccine also helps reduce the risk of serious complications if you contract shingles.

3. Shingles is contagious. Shingles is caused by the chicken pox virus, so everyone who has ever had the chicken pox or the chicken pox vaccine has the virus in their system. Shingles is less contagious than chicken pox, and if the rash is covered the chances of developing shingles from exposure is minimal. If you are exposed to shingles and have not had chicken pox or the chicken pox vaccine, you could catch chicken pox.

4. If you haven’t had chicken pox, you can’t get shingles. If you’ve had the chicken pox vaccine, the virus is still in your system. You  won’t get chicken pox, but there is a slight chance you could get shingles.

5. Once you get shingles, you have to wait for it to go away. If you contact your doctor within three days of developing symptoms, antiviral medication may help.

6. When the symptoms are gone, the virus is too. Because the shingles virus is in your nerves, the pain could go on for years. It can even travel to your eye. In addition, unlike chicken pox you can develop shingles more than once. Getting the shingles vaccine will lower your chances of getting it again.

Treatment for shingles includes several antiviral medications to reduce the severity such as Zorivax®, Valtrex® and Famvir®.Your doctor may prescribe medication to help with the pain, have you use over-the-counter pain relievers or topical ointment like capsaicin. These medications are only effective if your symptoms are caught within the first three days, so be sure to contact your doctor at the first sign of shingles.

The team at Approved Home Health is ready to offer assistance when you need help caring for your elderly parent. Call us today at 941-870-8740 for a complimentary nursing evaluation.

For more information on Shingles:

http://www.prevention.com/health/6-myths-about-shingles-you-still-believe?cid=soc_Prevention%20Magazine%20-%20preventionmagazine_FBPAGE_Prevention__

http://nihseniorhealth.gov/shingles/aboutshingles/01.html

The day has come for the dreaded “car keys” talk. Just as your parents once dreaded turning the car keys over to you, you now dread having to take the keys away from your mom or dad.

A senior caregiving professional can help with this discussion. Seniors tend to respect the authority of a physician or other caregiving professional regarding these matters, they often hear “you need to stop driving” better when it comes from a doctor rather than a family member.

Be empathetic when you have this conversation. Imagine how you would feel if you couldn’t drive to work or to the grocery store tomorrow. Consider how limited you might feel if you were not able to come and go from your home at will. By approaching the issue from an empathetic standpoint, you may find your mom or dad becomes more open to hearing you.

When you suggest a person give up the car keys, it’s important to have a list of viable transportation alternatives. This can help to maintain independence and avoid feeling like a burden on family caregivers. Here are some suggestions:

• This is an especially useful option for activities like religious services and other regularly scheduled events. Encourage your mom or dad to ask someone who participates in the same activity to pick up and drop off him or her.
• Public transportation and community-based transport services.
• You and other family members. When a senior stops driving, family members often jump in to provide transportation services.

The team at Approved Home Health is ready to offer assistance when you need help caring for your mom, dad or other loved one. Call us today at 941-870-8740 for a complimentary nursing evaluation.

As an adult child, it can be hard to admit that your parents may need help. Approved Home Health has identified 13 signs that can help you determine if you are seeing normal, age-related behavior or something more serious.

1. Missed appointments: Missing a doctor’s appointment or forgetting to meet a friend or family member.
2. Maintaining hygiene: Body odor, poor grooming, incontinence and inappropriate dress for the weather.
3. Unopened mail:Watch for unpaid bills or other neglected household duties.
4. Spoiled food: Food left unrefrigerated or kept long after it’s “sell by” date.
5. Poor nutrition: Look for weight loss, loss of appetite or unwillingness to cook for him- or herself.
6. Scorched pans: May indicate the inability to cook safely and could pose a fire hazard.
7. Mystery bruises: Unexplained injuries that could be the result of falling.
8. Car damage: Look for dents and scrapes that cannot be explained or recalled.  Drive with your family member to determine whether he or she is safe behind the wheel.
9. Easily disoriented: Not recognizing familiar spaces, wandering or getting lost in well-known areas can be early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
10. Loss of memory: Forgetting something at the store is normal; forgetting something at the store and not remembering that you did when reminded of it can be a sign of memory impairment.
11. Word problems: Inability to recall a common word for something or repeating oneself.
12. Random check-writing: Sending money to unknown “charities” or other unusual expenditures.
13. Perceived threats: Physical aggression toward others or psychotic ideation (“People are coming into my house” or “They are talking about me on TV”).

Approved Home Health can help keep your parent safe in his or her own home. Call us today at 941-870-8740 for a complimentary nursing evaluation.

Caring for a parent who is showing uncharacteristic mood swings or angry outbursts can be difficult. Such problems may be due to memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related dementia. Dementia causes changes in memory, thinking and behavior and can make your elderly parent seem to be increasingly aggressive or angry. These changes can be stressful or even frightening for both the parent and the adult child. 

It is important to remember that the behavior is probably related to the disease. The changing moods and aggression are not unusual and probably not personally directed at you. It is also important to remember that sudden behavior changes in a person with dementia may be caused by a physical problem such as dehydration or drug reaction and you should contact your parent’s doctor for an evaluation.

If the doctor checks find no physical or drug-related cause for the change in behavior, then perhaps your parent is experiencing fear or anxiety about something that’s going on in his or her life. Look for a pattern. Does the behavior occur when you are preparing to leave the house? Is it worse when a certain friend or family member visits? By understanding what is behind the behavior you can take steps to try and minimize the problem.

Approved Home Health offers these tips for dealing with behavior changes related to dementia:

• Try not to rationalize or argue. Accept your parent where they are with their level of dementia and keep responses simple.
• Be aware of your body language — your parent may sense if you look upset and stressed, and feel anxious, too.
• Try to keep a routine and schedule. This can help calm fears about the unknown or any changes in the day.
• Allow plenty of time when preparing to go out with your parent. Rushing will probably only increase their stress and anger.
• Try to redirect unsafe or undesirable behavior. For example, if your parent wants to walk out the front door at 11 p.m. because it’s time to go to work, try distracting him. Calmly offer to take him to work but first you have to find the umbrella because rain is predicted. Redirect the focus of attention.

As difficult as it may be to deal with aggression or mood changes related to dementia, there are ways that Approved Home Health can help care for your elderly parent. Call us today at 941-870-8740 for a complimentary nursing evaluation.

While you probably enjoyed bath time when your children were little, there is little to look forward to when you need to help an aging parent with bathing. Approved Home Health offers these 14 tips for making bath time easier for both of you.

• Build positive associations with bathing: Do something pleasant before the bath and follow up with a reward.
• Make the bathroom a happy place using favorite colors and pictures, and favorite brands or scents.
• Keep the door closed for privacy.
• Stick to a bathing routine. When you find an approach that works, try to keep it exactly the same each time.
• Make sure the room and water are warm.
• Use as little water as necessary. The sensation of sliding into a tub full of water can be fearful or confusing.
• Run the water in the tub before your parent enters the room; the sound of pouring water can cause distress and your loud voice over it can be interpreted as angry shouting.
• Place a brightly colored, nonskid bath mat in the tub or shower to help your parent judge depth; put a colored carpet on the floor outside the shower or bath, for focus.
• Use distractions in the room to take the person’s mind off the washing: play music, hang favorite pictures, talk about pleasant topics.
• Give your parent a washcloth or wash mitt to occupy his or her hands.
• Be respectful but matter-of-fact about cleaning “private areas.”
• Don’t rush—act as if you have all the time in the world.
• Never force, intimidate or threaten your mom or dad into bathing.
• Know when to quit. If you’re heading for a stand-off, drop the subject of a bath. Focus on other activities and then try again later. Make it sound like a bath is a fresh new idea.

Approved Home Health provides assistance with personal care, including bathing, shaving, dental hygiene and dressing. Call us today at 941-870-8740 for a complimentary nursing evaluation.