Health

Ease the process of medical tests for older adults with these tips.

There’s often nothing “routine” about a routine checkup. You may arrive to your appointment perfectly fine, but leave with orders for blood work along with other medical tests a doctor recommends to keep you as healthy as possible. These tests may be nothing more than a minor inconvenience for you, but medical tests for older adults could be challenging for many reasons: transportation problems, mobility issues, thinner skin, fragile veins, cognitive difficulties, and much more.

Supporting mental health in aging parents starts with recognizing the signs and addressing the stigma around mental health care.

Mental health is a critical aspect of well-being throughout life, and it becomes even more significant as our parents grow older. For many older adults, however, talking about mental health can be especially difficult due to ingrained stigmas and the values they were raised with. It’s important to understand why older loved ones might be hesitant to discuss mental health and to recognize the signs that they might be struggling. This knowledge can guide you in supporting mental health in aging parents to ensure they receive the support and care they need.

Learn how to incorporate fruits and veggies into a senior’s diet today!

Most people, including seniors, prefer carbs to carrots. And that can make it challenging to meet a senior’s nutritional needs. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention shares that only one in 10 older adults is meeting the recommendation of at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables each day. Numerous studies have revealed that older adults who do follow these guidelines reduce their risk for heart disease, diabetes, as well as other chronic health issues, and ultimately live longer lives.

When you run into challenges finding a diet that supports a senior’s nutritional needs, you may have to find creative ways to incorporate fruits and veggies into a senior’s diet. For example:

Add a crunch. If the senior loves a crunch, there … Read More »

Improve communication with someone you love by learning what people with Alzheimer’s want you to know.

If you’ve ever wished you could look a senior with dementia in the eye and understand exactly what they’re thinking, we just might be able to help you with that! Communicating effectively with someone with dementia isn’t easy, especially as the disease progresses. Following are several statements provided by people with Alzheimer’s to give you some insight into what it feels like to live with the disease.

You haven’t lost me. A diagnosis of dementia does impact a person in many ways, but it doesn’t change the essence of who they are. “I love the same people and doing the same things I did before my diagnosis,” explains Dale Rivard. It’s essential to recognize that while memory and cognitive abilities may decline, the … Read More »

With all of the options on store shelves, which are the most important vitamins for older adults?

Minerals, vitamins, and supplements – oh my! Nearly three in four older adults are taking them; but are they really needed as we get older? After all, a balanced and healthy diet offers older adults essential nutrients. But there are specific areas of deficiency that may make a case for the addition of a supplement. Make sure to talk with the doctor before making any changes, but with their recommendation or approval, consider the following important vitamins for older adults:

Calcium

Aging bones are susceptible to breaks and fractures when calcium intake is inadequate. This is especially true for post-menopausal women, with a full 50% of those over age 50 breaking a bone because of osteoporosis. However, men are also in … Read More »

Chemo brain can last for months or even years after treatment has ended.

Memory lapses, confusion, and difficulty concentrating—these symptoms could easily be attributed to Alzheimer’s, but for cancer survivors, there’s another likely culprit: chemotherapy. Referred to as chemotherapy induced cognitive impairment (CICI) or “chemo brain,” these effects can linger for months or even years after treatment concludes. It’s not exclusive to chemotherapy recipients, either; radiation, surgery, hormonal treatments, and even the cancer itself can contribute to cognitive challenges, complicating effective treatment.

Exploring the Complexity:

Dr. Kevin Liou from the Bendhaim Integrative Medicine Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center emphasizes that cancer-related cognitive impairment is a multifaceted issue with various contributing factors. This complexity means that chemo brain can manifest at any point during or after cancer treatment, presenting symptoms like difficulty multitasking, reading comprehension issues, word-finding … Read More »

You may be afraid to talk with the doctor if you’re concerned it might be dementia, but these tips can help.

Distress. Embarrassment. Fear. If you’re concerned it might be dementia, the feelings surrounding a potential diagnosis can force you to keep your suspicions to yourself. An  AARP survey peeled away some of the layers of emotion to find the reason – namely, worry over losing independence and becoming a burden to others.

While there is some truth to these worries, there are also some misconceptions fueling them. As an example, roughly 1/2 of the participants, who were adults age 40 and over, believe they’re likely to get dementia as they grow older. The truth is that just over 10% of older adults over age 65 are identified as having Alzheimer’s disease.

Because of this, it’s critical for … Read More »

Join us today from 10 to 3 at the 2023 Senior Disability Tech Expo!

Proudly sponsored by Sonoma County Senior Advocacy Services and HICAP.

Sonoma County Fairgrounds
Grace Pavilion
1350 Bennet Valley RD
Santa Rosa, CA

More info:  https://senioradvocacyservices.org/gva_event/2023-northern-california-tech-expo-outreach-event/

Learn about three post-pandemic health care appointments you may have been putting off, and why you should get them scheduled.

At the start of the pandemic, life as we knew it came to a screeching halt – including, in many cases, our health care needs. Dr. Ned Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute, shares, “There was a time, early in the pandemic, when we didn’t know much about this virus. So at that time, I think hospitals and clinics closing – that made sense.” But he goes on to explain that we know more now – and now is the time to get back on track with post-pandemic health care appointments and procedures.

We have evidence now that the health risks of avoiding exams and tests outweighs the risk of contracting COVID-19. Experts have outlined three key … Read More »

Parkinson’s fatigue affects a person cognitively, physically, and emotionally.

Parkinson’s fatigue affects as many as one in two people with the disease, but until recently, we haven’t fully understood just how debilitating this condition actually is. A study is providing us with the insight we need to comprehend the impact of Parkinson’s fatigue, and what we can do to help someone experiencing it. Led by Duke University’s Sneha Mantri, MD, the goal of the research was to gain firsthand patient insights to know how to better address this challenging condition.

Three distinct areas of fatigue were investigated in the study: physical, emotional, and cognitive. Participants were asked to describe their level of fatigue, and the terms they used were quite revealing, including feeling unmotivated, overwhelmed, isolated, lacking energy, and as if they were “walking through molasses.”

Parkinson’s fatigue … Read More »