Loneliness May Increase Dementia Risk, Heart Attacks and Stroke
Discussions with Elders about HousingCalming a Person with Dementia Begins with Joining Their WorldLife Does Go on After a Dementia Diagnosis: Try Art (Source: Minding Our Elders)
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 17, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
More Support from Healthcare System Essential for End-of-Life Care
Discussions with Elders about HousingCalming a Person with Dementia Begins with Joining Their WorldNeeds of Solo Agers a Growing Concern in Aging Population (Source: Minding Our Elders)
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 16, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Calming a Person with Dementia Begins with Joining Their World
Discussions with Elders about HousingNeeds of Solo Agers a Growing Concern in Aging PopulationEstranged Family Member Is Suddenly Interested in Mom’s Healthcare (Source: Minding Our Elders)
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 16, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
A Story from the Sandwich Generation: Caring for Kids and Parents
Discussions with Elders about HousingCaregiving Shouldn't Be Competitive but It Can Feel That Way at TimesChallenges of The Journey Toward Menopause – and After (Source: Minding Our Elders)
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 15, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Life Does Go on After a Dementia Diagnosis: Try Art
Discussions with Elders about HousingNeeds of Solo Agers a Growing Concern in Aging Population (Source: Minding Our Elders)
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 14, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Exercise May Help Prevent Alzheimer's: Study Shows Why
This article was written quite a while ago, but recent studies have repeatedly confirmed that both exercise and diet really can make a difference for the average person and maybe even for those more at high risk. Read more on HealthCentral:
Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. “I hold onto your book as a life preserver and am reading it slowly on purpose...I don't want it to end.” ...Craig William Dayton, Film Composer
Discover the Difference. EGOSAN - the Top-Rated incontinence brand from Italy. Now Available on Amazon.
***Egosan is PEFC certified. This certification guarantees t...
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 13, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Tips to Ease Discussions with Elders about Housing
Photo credit Andrea Piacquadio
As you watch your parents or other beloved elders age, sometimes worry becomes inevitable. Should they have housing upgrades? Can they continue to live independently? Your intention isn’t to take over their lives, but you may genuinely want to start the conversation about possible future changes. How do you do this without causing a backlash?
View a slideshow on HealthCentral for tips on how to make these conversations more natural and friendly:
Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. “I hold onto your book as a life preserver and am reading it slowly on purpose......
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 12, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Aging in Place or Assisted Living: It's About Choices
It's not hard to understand why 60-year-olds would say that they want to remain in their home for life rather than move to assisted living or a nursing home. These are generally people who are relatively healthy and feel that they can hire help for whatever they need down the road.
Indeed, aging in place sounds like a wonderful concept. What could possibly be wrong with it? The Washington Post interviewed Stephen M. Golant, a University of Florida professor of gerontology, about the trend. Golant views the current. He feels that people should have choices and that aging in place is just one of them. Golant said in the int...
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 11, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Needs of Solo Agers a Growing Concern in Aging Population
Solo Agers (or to use an older term, Elder Orphan, are terms used by medical professionals to describe individuals living alone with little to no support system. In a research article published in Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research, in July 2016, "Elder Orphans Hiding in Plain Sight: A Growing Vulnerable Population," Maria T. Carney, M.D., and her colleagues, sought to help clinicians identify adults with multiple chronic diseases who are aging alone and are geographically distant from family or friends. Identifying these individuals might well increase the availability of services for this popu...
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 10, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Estranged Family Member Is Suddenly Interested in Mom ’s Healthcare
Dear Carol: My life has revolved around caring for our older generations. Dad died last year, and Mom’s now in memory care. While Mom’s good during the day, as evening closes in, she becomes anxious and agitated. Her doctor calls this sundowning. Though my estranged sister has never been involved with care, I regularly update her via email. Last week, she called Mom for the first time in years and told her to stop taking her medications because they were bad for her. Mom takes comfort care medications, nothing more, but now she’s refusing them, calling them poison. Any suggestions? - WR
Continue read...
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 9, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Veteran Caregiver for Multiple Elders Tells It Like It Is
When I first started sharing my stories and looking for others who had similar tales to tell, people tended to be reticent about speaking up. Now, sharing caregiver "in the trenches" stories has become a major part of caregiver self-care and even survival.
Because of my long Internet history, I'm often interviewed in print and on radio. A recent radio interview on a show called "Doing What Works," hosted by Maureen Anderson, touched on many topics that I've written about for Healthcentral.com over time, so I'm sharing links to those stories here for those who want to dig deeper.
The first question Maureen asked is how my...
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 8, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Challenges of The Journey Toward Menopause – and After
...Challenges of the journey toward menopause – and after:
As estrogen levels continue to drop, many women experience hot flashes, sometimes called hot flashes (some say hot flushes). When they happen at night, these episodes can cause night sweats. When these are frequent, they can be life-altering.
Sometimes, lifestyle changes such as losing weight, not smoking, avoiding alcohol, and relaxation methods such as yoga can help. Your doctor can suggest different approaches and may even prescribe medication for severe cases. Don’t suffer in silence. Speak up and work toward getting relief.
Other health concerns that ca...
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 7, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Caregivers: We Need to Stop Second-Guessing Ourselves
Photo credit Karolina Grabowska
Like most adults, I’ve second-guessed many of my own decisions. While most were made with my own future in mind, that all changed when I became a family caregiver for an ever-increasing number of older adults – a time that also coincided with raising two young children, one with health challenges.
A dying aunt, a budding son: My aunt Marion, who had no children of her own, was in the hospital dying of cancer. While my parents visited her much of the time, I’d been close to her since I first learned to walk, so I tried to see her as much as possible. One afternoon, it had become...
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 6, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Caregiving Shouldn't Be Competitive but It Can Feel That Way at Times
Photo credit Briana Tozour
Normally, all is well in caregiver support groups. People help and comfort one another, offer advice based on what’s worked for them in a similar situation, or just simply offer a much-appreciated hug — virtual or otherwise. This much-needed, well-meaning support can go off-track when the debate over family home care vs. facility care comes into play. The arguments for and against these choices can be intense, something that only increases the already huge load of unearned guilt that caregivers often carry.
Decisions, decisions: Caregiving decisions are nearly always a matter o...
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 5, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
The Challenge of Balancing Sandwich Generation Caregiving Relationships
Photo credit Robert Stoke
Caregiving can creep into your life or crash down with a bang, but either way, if we aren’t thinking ahead, we can find that our other relationships suffer. Oh man, I’ve been there.
This is how it often happens: You see your parents a lot since you still live in the same community. So, when your mom falls and breaks her arm, of course, you rush to help. You assist your dad with making some adjustments around the house, and then, for the most part, he takes over. Then, the unthinkable: Your dad has a heart attack. You rush in to help. And then…
Continue reading on Hero...
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 4, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
