EVERYDAY CARE
Featured ArticleWhether one is nine hours old or 90 years old, touch heals. However, many seniors go without intimate touching for a year or more at a time, with medical personnel providing the only physical contact. Touch is important for people of all ages.It's comforting and helps us feel closer to the people in our lives. Read more Under ordinary circumstances, changing bed linens is a snap; but changing the linens while someone is in the bed calls for domestic engineering. Read more
By Margaret Caudill- Slosberg, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. As a caregiver, you are in a unique position to help detect and assess your loved one's pain. Naturally, it's distressing to see someone you care for suffer, especially when you don't know what to expect or how to respond. And it is particularly difficult to fully grasp your loved one's pain if she or he is unable to verbalize their feelings. Read more
What balm can doctors or caregivers offer a human being whose life has been derailed by a devastating impairment-dementia, say, or a crippling accident, or paralysis, or the loss of the ability to speak? They can give the gift of music. Researchers at the Institute of Music and Neurologic Function, a nonprofit research center founded in 1995 in New York City, has found that music has the ability not only to calm, to stimulate and to trigger elation, but also to heal. Read more
Helping your Loved One Accept a Second Opinion A situation all too common for caregivers is the reluctance of loved ones to get a second opinion. For instance, Jody, a caregiver, said, "My mother seems to have a million reasons for not getting a second medical opinion. She has some good points, and I'm often hard pressed to overcome her objections." Read more
Making Shared Time Enjoyable for All Of all the things we can do for a sick or aging loved one, perhaps the best and most important, is to simply visit. Read more
Managing Challenging Behaviors Learn how to determine the root cause of difficult behavior Read more
When I think about being fit and keeping in shape I usually think about the gym, but the Alzheimer's Association reminds us that keeping fit from the neck up is even more important. Studies show that people with well-developed analytical skills and positive mental attitudes are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Read more
Moving Tips: Making a Loved One's Move Less Stressful With a laundry list of things to do when taking care of a loved one, some choices must take priority. Moving can be very stressful and moving a loved one into a nursing home or care facility may be especially difficult. The logistics can be overwhelming, not to mention the emotional stresses. Read more
Old Age or Treatable Condition? By Elaine J. Amella, Ph. D, A.P.R.N., B.C. It's no surprise: Bodies change as people grow older. Yet sometimes, important clues to disease, like shifts in appetite or sleep, are dismissed as the normal results of "old age." With a combination of close observation and readily available assessment tools, family members, caregivers, and health- care staff can tell the difference. Read more
Keeping your own life on track is more than enough to keep you busy. Now you're faced with organizing the details of a loved one. Whether you use online tools, a shoe box in the closet, an old grey filing cabinet or a combination thereof, organizing information will make your job easier, save time, and help with planning and budgeting. At the very least, good record keeping and task management will eliminate confusion and frustration when you need information quickly Read more
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