aMenu
x
Contact Us

Contact Info x

What is “Pink Eye”?

Home Health Care Jamaica NY

Home Health Care Jamaica NYAs a family caregiver, you know that the winter season often brings with it illness and infection. While these are generally mild to moderate, for your elderly loved one they might be much more pressing. Aging adults have immune systems that are lower and not as effective as those of younger people, which means that an illness or infection that seems mild to you or your children could develop into something very serious for your senior.

Understanding the different types of infections and illnesses that are possible can help you to detect possible issues when they occur so that you can give your parent the care that they need and ensure that they get the medical treatment necessary to help them overcome their issue and move forward more healthily.

One common infection that occurs at this time of year, but can occur at any time of the year, is conjunctivitis. Also known as “pink eye”, this is an infection of the membrane inside the eyelid and over the white portion of the eye. This infection leads to inflammation of the lining. The term “pink eye” comes from the red coloration of the white portion of the eye that occurs when the blood vessels of the eye become irritated and inflamed.

Pink eye is generally the result of a bacterial or viral infection but can also be caused by an allergic reaction. Though it can be very uncomfortable, it very rarely causes serious problems such as vision loss. It is important to note, however, that this infection is highly contagious so it is critical that as soon as your parent notices the signs of pink eye or is diagnosed with this infection they, and you, take caution to help prevent them from spreading this infection into their other eye or into yours.

Starting elderly home health care for your aging parent is one of the best decisions that you can make for them throughout the course of your caregiver journey with them. An elderly home health care services provider can be with your senior loved one on a customized schedule that is tailored to their specific needs, challenges, and limitations in a way that is right for them.

This means that they can enjoy a lifestyle that is fulfilling, active, and engaged, but that is also safe, comfortable, and healthy. A care provider can create a highly personalized course of care, support, assistance, and encouragement designed to address their personality, goals, and beliefs so that they are able to live the lifestyle that they desire and deserve throughout their later years.

When it comes to helping your elderly loved one deal with a pressing health condition or recover from an illness or infection such as pink eye, this elderly home health care services provider can be with your aging parent to encourage them to comply with their prescriptions and lifestyle goals, make healthy lifestyle choices, and practice aggressive germ control that will allow them to stay healthier as they age in place.

Sources: https://www.cdc.gov/features/conjunctivitis/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pink-eye/basics/definition/con-20022732

If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Health Care Services in Jamaica NY, please contact the caring staff at Gentle Hands Home Care.

Where Can You Look for Support Groups?

Caregiver Bronx NY

Caregiver Bronx NYSupport groups are a fantastic means of gaining information and emotional support if you're a family caregiver. Finding the right one for you can be a little more challenging than you might think at first, however. With some perseverance, you can find just the right group.

Talk to Your Loved One's Doctor

Your elderly loved one's doctor is an excellent first choice when you're looking for information about support groups. It's very likely that he already has a handout prepared that he has available whenever a family caregiver is looking for information about local support groups. From there, you can widen your search.

Inquire at the Hospital

Many support groups actually meet at your local hospital. It's a good environment and usually quite convenient. Try contacting the local hospitals in your area and ask what information they have about support groups. If you're having a hard time locating a person rather than an automated menu, try the hospital's website.

Ask at Senior Centers

Senior centers are another excellent source of information about support groups. They can help you find groups for you or for your elderly loved one. Some of those meetings may even happen at the senior centers, which can help you and your elderly loved one make more community connections.

Talk to Senior Agencies

Senior agencies in your area can also help. If you're having a difficult time finding agencies devoted to helping seniors in your area, try contacting the county health department in your area to get pointed in the right direction. Even if these agencies don't have support groups or information about groups, they may have other resources that can help you and your loved one.

Do an Internet Search

Although many people might head to the Internet first, it's a good last step instead. This is especially true if you're looking primarily for online support groups. Not all local in-person support groups list their meetings online, so you might not find much online about groups in your area. If you can't attend meetings in person, however, online groups are a wonderful backup choice.

Once you start finding support groups, try attending a meeting to find out if it's the right fit for you.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Caregiver Services in Bronx NY, please contact the caring staff at Gentle Hands Home Care.

How Dangerous Is a Fall for Your Elder?

Elder Care Brooklyn NY

Elder Care Brooklyn NYIn your role as a family caregiver, you will help your elderly parent through a variety of challenges. One of the most important things that you can do to prepare you to give your elder the best care possible is to understand the dangers that they are facing. This enables you to identify their greatest risks and customize the care that you give them to help ensure that they stay safe and healthy while also encouraging them to continuing living an engaged, active, and fulfilling lifestyle.

One such danger is a fall. Elderly adults are at a far higher fall risk than younger adults, but they can also suffer more serious consequences. Understanding these can help you give your elderly loved one the care that they need to avoid these potentially devastating effects as they age in place.

Some things that you should know about the dangers of falls for elderly adults include:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one out of every four adults over the age of 64 experience a fall each year.

• 20 percent of falls results in a serious injury. This is one out of every five falls.

• Over 95 percent of hip fractures occur as a result of a fall.

• More than 2.8 million older adults throughout the United States seek medical assistance in emergency departments after suffering falls.

• More than 800,000 older adults throughout the United States must be hospitalized as a result of the injuries that they suffer as a result of falls.

• The most common injuries that elderly adults experience after a fall are hip fractures and traumatic brain injuries.

It is important to keep in mind that experiencing one fall puts your elderly adult at twice the risk of suffering another fall. Consider talking to your aging parent’s doctor about their risk of falling and what you can do to help them reduce this risk or help your parent recover effectively if they do suffer a fall.

If you are concerned about your elderly parent’s fall risk and have been looking for ways to help them stay safer and more secure throughout their later years, starting elder care for them may be the ideal option. An elder home care services provider can be with your elderly loved one on a schedule that is customized specifically for them and for the amount of care and assistance that they need.

This means that the care provider will take into consideration not just your senior’s needs, challenges, and limitations, but also the care that you give to them, their personality, and their lifestyle goals. Through these highly personalized services, this care provider can ensure that your elderly loved one gets the level of care that they need, and the quality of life that they deserve.

When it comes to helping them to reduce their fall risk, this elder home care services provider can help them to identify and abate potential dangers throughout their home, give them physical support and assistance with their personal care tasks, and even encourage them to stay more active and eat a healthier diet to keep their body stronger and more resilient.

Sources:  https://www.ncoa.org/news/resources-for-reporters/get-the-facts/falls-prevention-facts/
https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/falls/adultfalls.html

If you or an aging loved one are considering Elder Care Services in Brooklyn NY, please contact the caring staff at Gentle Hands Home Care.

How to Get Everyone on the Same Page about a Loved One's Home Care

Home Care Manhattan NY

Home Care Manhattan NYHaving everyone on the same page regarding your elderly loved one's health and home care needs is essential for her to get the help that she needs. The problem is that sometimes different family members have dramatically different information about the situation.

Share Information with Everyone Who Needs It

Start out by sharing your loved one's current health status information with anyone who needs to be aware of this information. You might want to schedule a family meeting, whether that's in person or through video conferencing. Since everyone may not be in the same area, you may need to set up several meetings in order to catch everyone who needs the information.

Dispel Misinformation

Some elderly loved ones give different information to different relatives about their health. This can even happen among siblings. What happens then is that everyone believes something different about your elderly loved one's condition. As you're sharing the correct information, you're also dispelling misinformation at the same time.

Give Everyone Some Time

Not everyone can adapt to this information as quickly as other people can, so you have to give them time to mentally catch up. As family members do catch up with this new reality, they may be able to offer more assistance with your loved one's care or offer advice when needed. Some people need more time than others to come to terms with changes to your elderly loved one's health and condition.

Get Help from Whoever Can Help

As your other family members start to get on board with your elderly loved one's reality, they can offer you and your loved one more assistance. You may also find that you need more help than you expected or than your loved one's can offer. In those cases, it's a good idea to look for assistance from senior agencies in your area or to even hire home care providers. Once you fill in any gaps in your loved one's care plan, you can start looking at other areas in which you or your loved one need additional help.

Once everyone is caught up, keep them caught up by sharing information regularly and checking in to make sure that they're up to date.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Services in Manhattan NY, please contact the caring staff at Gentle Hands Home Care.

Including Neighbors Can Help Seniors Stay Safer at Home

Senior Care Long Island NY

Senior Care Long Island NYWhen a senior begins having difficulty maintaining their safety or even performing basic tasks of everyday life on their own, they may call on family members to help out. This could be a sibling, adult child, or someone else who lives in the area or relatively close.

Some seniors may call on friends as well.

Calling on friends could be difficult, especially if those friends are also dealing with physical challenges that are the direct result of age. As people get older, they will lose muscle every year, even if they work out regularly.

As they lose muscle mass, performing some of the most basic tasks can be more complicated. They may find it more difficult getting up and down the stairs, walking down the hall, getting out of bed, or even going to the store.

In today’s environment, especially in the United States, the sense of community is still alive, but much different.

Some people can spend years living in a particular neighborhood and have very little contact with their neighbors. There are many theories as to why, but it could have to do with busy schedules, a sense of isolation, and even people not wanting to be bothered by others, even their own neighbors.

In those communities where neighbors are friendly, outgoing, and communicative, they may be able to provide some support and care for seniors, especially if it keeps them safer.

For example, a neighbor who may work several jobs to support himself may be more than willing to take the garbage down to the end of the driveway for an elderly neighbor, then bring it back the next morning. Some might have no problem collecting the mail for a senior who is unable to get out and walk down the sidewalk on their own.

Calling on a family member who lives 30 miles away to take care of these things can put a lot of extra pressure on those family members. It can especially take away their ability to provide more important services and support, such as taking them to a doctor’s appointment, helping them get into and out of bed, and more.

Including neighbors in helping seniors also improves safety for the elderly. However, relying on family, friends, and neighbors, while they may very well be a great support system, doesn’t beat hiring an experienced senior home care aide or other home care services.

Home care support is the best way to keep seniors safe at home.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Care Services in Long Island NY, please contact the caring staff at Gentle Hands Home Care.

What Are the Best Tips for Preventing a Broken Hip at Home?

Elder Care Hicksville NY

Elder Care Hicksville NYIf you're concerned that your elder loved one could ever break a hip, you need to first look into making sure that her home is as safe as possible. Checking even a few of these items can help to ensure that your loved one is less likely to fall and injure herself.

Check for Problems with Carpets and Rugs

Carpets and rugs can be sneaky in terms of your loved one's safety at home. They can appear to be quite safe, yet you may find that they're actually quite slippery, worn, have a tendency to roll at the edges, or otherwise provide a slip or a trip hazard. Make sure that all rugs and carpets are secured to the floor, either with tape or by tacking them. If a rug can't be secured, remove it completely.

Adjust the Lighting

Your elderly loved one likely needs more lighting in her home than you realize in order to see obstacles clearly. Double check her existing lighting and replace bulbs with brighter, newer bulbs. If the lamp or fixture itself just can't get bright enough, consider replacing them. You don't want to blind your loved one with too much lighting, however, so it's important to make sure that the light isn't directly in her eyes.

Add Hand Rails throughout the House

Hand rails are invaluable if your elder loved one starts to feel that she is going to fall. Some of the most common locations for hand rails are stairways, hallways, and bathrooms. You might want to consider placing them in other locations, as well. If there is a room that seems as though it might present a problem with navigation, a hand rail may be just the ticket.

Reduce Clutter, Particularly on Floors

Clutter can be far more dangerous for your elder loved one than you might first think. It's easy to overlook and it has a way of multiplying itself so that it takes over a space. Work with your loved one to contain or remove as much clutter as you can so that you can keep pathways clear for her to walk safely through her home.

Talk with your loved one's elder care providers about how to spot other potential safety risks in her home.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Elder Care Services in Hicksville NY, please contact the caring staff at Gentle Hands Home Care.

How to Forgive Yourself When You Fear You Don't Deserve Forgiveness

Caregiver Little Neck NY

Caregiver Little Neck NYBeing a family caregiver means that now and again you're going to make a mistake or do something that makes you feel terrible. What you need to do in that situation is forgive yourself, but that can be difficult to do.

Accept that You're Human and Going to Make Mistakes

It's really easy to have higher expectations for yourself than you do for other people in your life. You may not realize that you do this, but if you're having a difficult time accepting that you're going to make more than a few mistakes, you're expecting too much of yourself. Remember that you're only human. You have flaws and they're what make you the amazing and unique person that you are.

You're Not a Bad Person

It's also really easy to believe that if you make a mistake or you experience a feeling that is negative that you're suddenly a bad person. The truth is that everyone experiences negative emotions now and again. The difference is in how you handle it. When you're in that negative feeling, ask yourself why you feel that way and what you can do about it. When you make a mistake, know that you can make it better again.

Get Someone Else's Perspective on the Situation

Sometimes what you really need is to get someone else's perspective on a situation in order to understand it from your own point of view. Call up your best friend, your therapist, or a support group buddy. Talk to that person that you trust about the situation and ask them their take on it. You're likely to hear that you're being way too hard on yourself and you need to let go and forgive.

Imagine What You Would Tell Someone Else

If you're still having trouble forgiving yourself, try this exercise. Sit quietly and imagine that one of your best friends came to you about the exact same situation you're upset about. What would you tell that person? Really think through what you would say and what you would recommend that person do to correct the situation. You need to treat yourself the same way that you would your best friend, so take the advice that you would give.

Being a family caregiver means that you're not going to be perfect all the time, but you can pick yourself up and keep trying again and again.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Caregiver Services in Little Neck NY, please contact the caring staff at Gentle Hands Home Care.

Dehydration and Your Aging Parent

Homecare Nassau County NY

Homecare Nassau County NYThe elderly are prone to dehydration. One study showed that 27% of the residents of an LTC facility were admitted to the hospital due to signs of dehydration.

Why

The physical changes associated with aging play a part in the increased susceptibility to dehydration. Muscle holds more water than fat; therefore, loss of muscle tissue and a corresponding increase in fat lowers the body’s ability to store water. Decreased kidney function also contributes to potential dehydration. Seniors also tend to lose the thirst signal that warns them of the need to increase fluids.

What to Watch For

Signs of dehydration include dry mouth, dark or cloudy urine, headache, weakness, fatigue, muscle cramping and skin that does not “re-plump” when pressed. Severe symptoms that require immediate attention are severe muscle cramping, low blood pressure, rapid pulse and breathing rate. These symptoms warrant prompt medical attention.

Take Action

As a family caregiver, it’s important to give your parent every opportunity to increase their water intake. To that effect, make sure they always have a glass of water by their side. If water has never been their drink of choice, consider adding cups of herbal tea or flavored water with slices of lemon, berries, watermelon, or cucumbers to their beverage choices. Soup is a good addition to the diet during the winter months. Limit caffeine and cocktails which can lead to dehydration. If consumed, be sure to offer a glass of water for every glass of caffeinated or alcoholic beverage that they drink.

Homecare Providers

Winter is the time of year when many family caregivers consider adding an in-homecare provider to their caregiving team. This season tends to find seniors home-bound to a greater degree than the rest of the year. Warm fires and artificial heat also tend to dry out their environment, leaving them more susceptible to lack of fluids. An in-homecare provider can assist with the daily activities of living as well as provide that all-important companionship. Their attention will ensure that your parent has access to the right foods and the amount of fluids they require during this time of year. They can offer transportation to the senior community center and accompany them to special events, keeping them engaged and active even during winter’s chill.

Resources: Johnson, J.; Risk Factors for Dehydration among Elderly Nursing Home Residents; J AM Geriatrics; 1988; 36

If you or an aging loved one are considering Homecare Services in Nassau County NY, please contact the caring staff at Gentle Hands Home Care.

How to Handle Denial from Other Family Members When Your Elderly Loved One Is Seriously Ill

Elderly Care Massapequa NY

Elderly Care Massapequa NYWhen an elderly loved one first starts to deal with an illness or health condition that can deteriorate quickly, many of your family members might develop some denial about the situation. This is normal, but it can be difficult to overcome on your own.

Share What You're Seeing

As your loved one's primary family caregiver, you're in a special position. You're far more likely to see behavior that puts up a red flag or to hear from your loved one's doctor that a diagnosis is troubling. That often means that you're not in denial, but other family members who do not have as much contact with your elderly loved one might be. They may only see your loved one on good days or when the behaviors aren't as prevalent.

Encourage Your Family Members to Spend Time with Your Loved One

For some family members, simply being around your elderly loved one more often can help to open their eyes to what is actually going on. Encourage your other family members to spend some more time with your elderly loved one. Once they're more in tune with what is actually going on, these family members may be able to add some weight to your own observations.

Share Information as You Learn It

As you learn more about your elderly loved one's health conditions, share what you're learning. Your other family members may not understand much about some health problems, such as heart disease, and how it can affect your elderly loved one. The more that you can share, the less likely your other family members are going to be able to continue living in denial.

Suggest Joining a Support Group or Getting Other Help

Sometimes other family members need to hear information from a variety of sources before they can start to accept it. Suggest to them that they join a support group that can help them to learn about your loved one's health conditions. Support groups meet both in person and online, so that can help them to fit meetings into their busy schedules.

Work with your loved one's doctors and elderly care providers to determine the best ways to battle denial for your elderly loved one.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Elderly Care Services in Massapequa NY, please contact the caring staff at Gentle Hands Home Care.

How Caregivers Can Cope with Stress

Home Care Jamaica NY

Home Care Jamaica NY

Caregiving for a loved one can be a frustrating and stressful experience. There may be times that you are filled with joy at knowing you are making a difference in your aging parent’s life. On the other hand, there may also be times of agitation and frustration when the elder is constantly throwing demands your way and expecting you to do them.

One way to help cope with this stress is by having an elder home care provider take over for you, while you get a much-needed break. Another way to help with these stressful feelings is to learn how to cope with them. Here are some ways you can cope with your stress in order to get back to providing the care your loved one needs.

Ask for help. Whether someone asks you or you ask for help from a family member, let someone else take over for you. They will be able to provide the same quality of care that you would, while you spent some time doing something that you enjoy for a change.

Emphasize the positive. It is all too easy to focus on the things you can’t do to help the elder. By thinking this way, you will lead yourself to overpowering feelings of guilt and helplessness, knowing there is nothing more you can do for the elder. Whenever possible, try to focus on what you are able to do for them instead of what you can’t. You may begin to feel proud of yourself for these accomplishments instead of beating yourself up for the things you are not able to do.

Find local resources. Being a family caregiver can be a lonely and isolating experience. To prevent these feelings from leading to depression or caregiver burnout, look for local resources that would help. This includes community resources and transportation services.

Think support group. You have probably heard of support groups for adults who are upset over a recent diagnoses or loss. But did you also know that support groups are available for caregivers? Look for ones in your area in order to vent your frustrations and receive advice from experienced caregivers.

Encourage the elder to see their doctor. The good thing about stress is that it is completely treatable. However, to do so, the senior needs to discuss treatment options with their doctor. Also make sure to inform him of any symptoms or concerns you have.

With these tips, you will be able to decrease your stress and live life contently.

Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/caregiver-stress/art-20044784

If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Services in Jamaica NY, please contact the caring staff at Gentle Hands Home Care.