Senior Health

Activities for elderly adults incorporated into each day help seniors thrive.

Is your senior loved one participating in activities for older adults on a regular basis, or is she stuck in a rut that mainly consists of TV-watching, eating, and sleeping?

At Hired Hands Homecare, we believe that enhancing senior home care services with enriching activities is a key component to ensuring the highest quality of life. Hired Hands is one of the leading providers of senior care in Santa Rosa, CA and surrounding areas, in part because we believe our clients should be honored with activities that engage them and keep them involved in living life to the fullest on a daily basis. This means personalizing activities to engage our clients’ unique interests, hobbies, and ability levels.

Our person-centered care begins with learning as much as possible about the senior’s preferences, dislikes, … Read More »

Learn from the North Bay, CA home care experts how to avoid diabetes care burnout.

Diabetics know that living with diabetes is an ongoing struggle, and constant diabetes self-care can at times feel relentless and unending. To overcome the fatigue and avoid diabetes burnout, sometimes all it takes is a little helping hand.

For instance, partnering with Hired Hands Homecare, the home care company North Bay, CA families trust, helps diabetes patients with medication reminders, healthy meal planning and preparation, personal hygiene needs, and even housework and running errands. Additionally, implementing the following tips will go a long way towards improving your outlook and reducing the chance of diabetes burnout:

Exercise regularly. You’re better equipped to overcome stress when physically fit.
Stop smoking.
Reduce alcohol and caffeine intake.
Set reasonable goals and expectations.
Get sufficient sleep. Your body needs quality rest time … Read More »

Learn how to better manage the daily ups and downs of diabetes care in this article.

Checking glucose levels, monitoring blood pressure and monitoring food intake—these are just a few of the daily activities known all too well by diabetics.

Effective diabetes care requires consistent, ongoing care management—realizing that ignoring diabetes can result in serious health complications such as heart disease, high blood pressure and even diabetic coma. Thankfully, there are steps diabetics can take to alleviate the stress of diabetes care and remain hopeful and healthy.

 Most importantly, identify barriers to care. Barriers to diabetes care management can include:

Requiring additional information and education on proper diabetic care
Avoiding circumstances that might disrupt the diabetes care schedule
Overcoming excuses related to getting more exercise
Eating habits that could be driven by emotions instead of actual hunger
Depression or other emotional problems

 Accept … Read More »

Learn which symptoms to routinely check for when managing diabetes.

Let’s get serious and take a hard look at the statistics: as many as 29 million Americans are currently diagnosed with diabetes—over 9 percent of the entire population.

Diabetes is more rampant in the United States than ever before, and providing care for a loved one impacted by diabetes symptoms is an everyday event. While each person’s experience with the disease is unique, there are certain diabetes symptoms that can crop up with little to no warning, requiring that diabetics and their care providers alike be on the lookout each and every day.

Following are just a few important examples from the American Diabetes Association of diabetes symptoms to watch for on a routine basis:

Overwhelming fatigue

Blurred vision

Cuts and/or bruises that are slow to heal

Reduced weight – even when … Read More »

Learn how to strike a balance between safety and independence for senior parents.

It’s a disagreement that develops for a number of families: senior parents adamantly like to age in place in their own homes, while their relatives are worried about their safety. And there’s a debate to be made in both scenarios. Seniors, especially those who live alone, confront many different risks: falls that could bring about serious injury, challenges in preserving way of life to which they’ve become accustomed as aging advances, even a susceptibility to fraud artists. Yet independence for senior parents is vital to self-worth, regardless of age.

Defining a balance that suits the requirements of both sides may very well be difficult, but there are several important factors to bear in mind that will help.

Let go of ageism. While there is certainly credibility to worries … Read More »

Marin, CA home care experts provide Lou Gehrig’s Disease care advice

As a degenerating neurological disease, ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) can lead to a variety of physical concerns that can lead to clinical depression. For family caregivers providing in-home care for ALS patients, it can be easy to become overwhelmed and to feel uncertain about how to best help the individual live life to the fullest and stay optimistic.

When it comes to providing in-home care for someone with ALS, it is essential for caregivers to understand the struggles that the disease produces so they can provide the very best care.

Hired Hands Homecare, the Marin, CA home care experts, has put together the following techniques to help caregivers provide the best care for individuals with ALS:

Individuals with muscle diseases like ALS are proficient thinkers even if they … Read More »

Learn more about ALS caregiving

Being given a diagnosis of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) can bring up a lot of questions and concerns, for both the individual diagnosed and his/her family members. What causes ALS? What are the symptoms of ALS now, and how will they be changed in the years to come? Where can I go to find needed support?

More than 30,000 Americans are currently diagnosed with ALS , and nearly 5,600 new patients are diagnosed with the disease each year. And even though the actual cause is not clear, some scientific studies point to confusing risk factors, such as a doubled risk of ALS in veterans who served during the Gulf War.

Though each individual can be affected by ALS in different ways from others, the advancement of the disease does seem to follow certain … Read More »

Urinary incontinence can be an embarrassing subject for those who are affected by it. The preconception regarding the disorder commonly ends up with individuals having either insufficient facts or believing in some common misconceptions about incontinence. Following are some incontinence myths and the truths to go with them, courtesy of the Napa senior living experts at Hired Hands Homecare:

Myth: Urinary incontinence is unavoidable as we age.
Truth: Although the aging process does boost the risk for incontinence, many senior individuals retain normal bladder control, so it should not be considered a standard or inevitable part of the aging process.

Myth: Urinary incontinence cannot be remedied in older individuals.
Truth: Thankfully, this is not the truth in the majority of circumstances. There are ways that incontinence can be treated effectively.

Myth: Drinking as little water as possible will lower the risk of incontinence.
Truth: Often older … Read More »

Marin, CA home care tips for urinary incontinence

The Marin, CA home care team at Hired Hands Homecare understands that incontinence, or problems with bladder control, is an embarrassing and sensitive matter, particularly for older individuals. It can trigger a variety of concerns, from skin sores to reduced socialization for seniors who are reluctant to leave the home in case of an “accident.” And yet while urinary incontinence impacts approximately 25 million people in the U.S., the affliction hardly ever gets the attention and conversation it deserves. Considering the lack of communication and facts about senior incontinence, many older adults and care providers feel as though there isn’t anything that can be done to help.

Nevertheless, senior incontinence is not inescapable as people age. While many seniors do find that their bladder may be “weak,” leading to leakage, sometimes the … Read More »