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Tag: Elderly Home Care

Caregiving for Early-Onset Alzheimer’s

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If your loved one has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, this doesn’t mean that they can’t be independent. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, “he or she may still drive, take part in social activities, volunteer and even work.” However, everyone is affected differently and should be treated with the personalized care they deserve. This means providing support when they need it, while planning ahead for the future. Learn how caregivers can maximize independence with your loved one.

Routine Reminders

During the early stages of Alzheimer’s, there may be some confusion or frustration when it comes to remembering names and dates. Names may become harder to recall. Similarly, dates for upcoming events or appointments may also be forgotten, especially if they’re not written down or saved on a phone. Caregivers can prompt your loved one to write important information, set reminders, and more. If needed, the caregiver can help with planning and organization for appointments and so on.

Transportation

If a person with Alzheimer’s feels disoriented or confused while driving, this can be dangerous for them and others on the road. It’s important for those with early-onset Alzheimer’s to communicate if they need help with driving so they can be safe, while also keeping their independence. Many caregiving agencies offer transportation services, which can be a relief for family members and reduce stress/anxiety about driving for your loved one.

Health and Wellness

Prioritizing the health and wellness of someone with Alzheimer’s is important. From maintaining a balanced diet to encouraging physical activities, a caregiver can focus on your loved one’s needs directly. They can come up with a plan to help a person in the early stages of dementia with basic cooking and prepping. Also, caregivers can support your loved one’s activities, whether that be exercising outside or moving around the house.

The Next Step

If you have a family member with early on-set Alzheimer’s, contact Home Instead Senior Care for dedicated caregiving services. We are devoted to your loved one’s needs and are here to help families like yours with Alzheimer’s care. For more information about our home care services, call (910) 342-0455 today.

What is Respite Care?

Primary caregivers hold the responsibility of caring for a loved one, such as an elderly or disabled parent. They act as a supportive role in a person’s life, helping them with important tasks at home and understanding certain everyday needs. However, the encumbrance of caregiving may be overwhelming and tiresome for some, which is why primary caregivers turn to respite care. Learn more about respite care and what it involves by reading our blog.

Definition

“Respite care provides temporary relief for a primary caregiver, enabling you to take a much-needed break from the demands of caregiving a sick, aging, or disabled family member,” according to HelpGuide. The purpose of respite care, as mentioned in the previous statement, is a way for primary caregivers to be reprieved from caring for a loved one for a period of time. Whether that be a couple of hours each day or taking a short vacation, respite is an important resource.

Services

One of the ways a caregiver can get relief is with an in-home care service. Whether these visits are scheduled on a regular or occasional basis, in-home respite provides an opportunity for loved ones to be cared for in the comfort of their home. A trained staff member can perform duties such as meal prep, shopping, housekeeping, bathing, feeding, and even medical care. Some home care companies have specialty services available too, so call ahead to inquire.

Arrangement

Having resources for respite can make a difference for a primary caregiver. HelpGuide states “while finding and arranging respite care sounds like a lot of work, it’s important to remember that respite is not just a service, it’s an effect that comes from taking breaks from the stresses of caregiving.” Caregivers can schedule times, plan breaks, and make accommodations if necessary.

Conclusion

At Home Instead Senior Care, we provide in-home respite care for the elderly that gives you a break from caregiving. A well-designed respite program provides these breaks on a regular, scheduled basis. For more information on our respite care program in Wilmington, NC, please call us at (910) 342-0455 or visit our website here.

Benefits of Respite Care

There will come a time where a caregiver will need the help of respite care. Respite care is temporary institutional or in-home care of a senior loved one who is ill, handicapped, or needs care around the clock. A caregivers, health and well-being need to be priorities, and giving yourself a break from those responsibilities as needed is key. Respite care will allow you to take a break from your daily care routine and manage the other responsibilities in your life. Read on and find some of the many benefits that respite care has to offer.

Find Relaxation Again

When it comes to your body, it needs adequate rest to function properly. If you fail to give it the rest it needs, you will begin to experience exhaustion and even depression. With optimal rest for your body, your mood will be enhanced. This will allow you to take on any caregiving responsibilities flawlessly, with a whole new outlook. 

Increase Your Social Life

People are creatures who need social engagement to avoid depression, as well as many other factors that can be debilitating at times. For a caregiver, it is important to avoid being isolated for extended periods of times. When you are constantly working with elderly loved ones, you can experience a mental and emotional breakdown. With respite care, it will allow you to take the time to have dinner with friends, attend a fun event, or even take a vacation, you know you deserve it.

Prevent Any Bad Habits

When a caregiver becomes overworked, they may turn to bad habits such as smoking, drinking, overeating, and other bad habits in an attempt to manage their stress. By choosing respite care you will have the ability to take some\ much deserved time off to relax and enrich your life with healthier habits such as fitness, journaling, meditation, or yoga. Preventing these bad habits is essential to be an efficient caregiver. Don’t allow yourself to become overworked.

Regardless of the reason your need for respite care, you want to make sure to choose the right senior care facility. That’s where we can help, here at Home Instead Senior Care we have years of experience working with the senior community and are here to help. Contact us anytime for additional information on our respite care service.

Home Modifications for Your Senior

Home modifications can make it possible for seniors to live a comfortable life at home. Some modifications, such as ramps and walk-in showers, are just a few ways to improve safety inside the home, while also adding convenience for daily activities. Follow along in our blog for ways to make your senior’s living space more accessible!

Ramp Modifications

Indoor ramps are a useful home modification for older adults who use wheelchairs. These indoor ramps provide smooth transitions from one surface to another, making it safer to move throughout the home. We recommend threshold ramps, which are made from rubber components. They can easily be adjusted to the height of the door jamb or steps.

Kitchen Modifications

Washing dishes can be a challenging task if the sink is too deep or hard to reach over. Countertops and cabinetry may also be too high, especially for those using a wheelchair. To fix this problem, hiring a contractor to come in and adjust the counter height or lower the sink may be necessary. Moving tableware to lower shelfs, like bowls and plates, can also make everyday items more accessible!

Bathroom Modifications

Getting in and out of the shower may prove difficult for seniors as they age. One way to solve this problem is to replace the bathtub with a walk-in shower, which provides a much easier (and safer) entry and exit compared to a bathtub. In addition, installing a shower bar can give seniors something to hold onto while maneuvering to and from the tub. If an elderly person is having difficulty standing for long periods of time, consider a bathtub bench for more convenience!

Conclusion

Caring for an elderly loved one means making changes around the house as they grow older. If you have a senior that needs home assistance, contact Home Instead Senior Care. We provide the best quality care from the comfort of your elder’s home, with services tailored to you and your family’s needs. Visit our website for more information!

What Happens When Our Elders Watch TV All Day?

Watching TV is easy. Onscreen virtual reality effectively keeps both the young and old occupied and visually stimulated, so much that it has long become a nationwide pastime, if not the most popular one. But does this casual, fun activity come with strings attached? After all, how bad can streaming Teletubbies or those flashy infomercials be?

 

1. It strongly encourages sedentary behavior

It turns out that sitting and binging TV shows for five hours or more (which roughly translates to five episodes) per day can lead to fatal blood clots. For the elderly, the destructiveness tends to be even worse. This correlation is similar to that observable between in-flight entertainment and pulmonary embolism; not standing up, not drinking water, and not moving seem to add up to spell blood flow trouble. The perils remained the same even in Japan—well-reputed for the longevity of its senior population; the Japanese Collaborative Cohort Study found that fifty-nine deaths resulted from pulmonary embolism. Participating in sports, increasing heart rate, and—perhaps most importantly—limiting TV viewing time are some strategies to counter such dangers.

 

2. Thwarts intellectual stimulation

Although documentaries and educational content abound today, one of the main reasons people flock to the TV screen is relaxation. Reality TV, celebrity gossip, and vapid entertainment only require that we fix our gaze at the glowing colors and laugh along. Unsurprisingly, persisting in this passive, unthinking, and unchallenging mode slows down our ability to recall memories. The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing reported that watching more than 3.5 hours per day was linked to a decline in verbal memory, most acutely in those who displayed higher cognition beforehand. So don’t flip to that channel with those petty catfights or ugly brawls; instead, consider reading thought-provoking and high-concept material with your elders, as it pushes our minds to crank the gears of our imagination.

 

3. Stifles Relationships

The absence of intellectual workouts reinforced by mindless TV not only rots our critical thinking and memory, but also inevitably our social skills too. Private binge-watching can rob opportunities for communal watching, and can isolate us away from tight-knit friendships and affirmation. Instead of turning to TV, we can turn to our peers; playing golf is an excellent way for elders to stay physically active and exercise friendly competition. In the case of the viewer who has obesity from binge-watching and has trouble moving, television addiction is not only a distracting hindrance to social interaction, but a physical one; however, regularly oxygenating the brain by going on a simple stroll can go a long way in crushing that couch potato inside all of us.

 

Conclusion

Being bombarded with promotions of all those unhealthy food products is unnecessary, and diverting our attention from vapid entertainment is avoidable. At the same time, trying to incorporate every healthful strategy simultaneously is not only exhausting, but also often ineffective. Thinking through each one carefully and applying it creatively and in a fun way, though, can spruce up your daily activities. Let Home Instead Senior Care help you decide those strategies!