Details on common senior sleep disorders are provided by Hired Hands Homecare here.

Getting consistent, sufficient sleep can be a challenge for many older adults, due to a number of senior sleep disorders. And the effects of these disorders can be troublesome: extreme fatigue, concentration and memory problems, and sleepiness. Ensuring that your senior loved one gets enough rest each night is beneficial not just for the senior, but for you as a family caregiver as well. The following are some of the most common sleep problems for seniors, and the red flags that point to a need for medical intervention.

RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome): Restless leg syndrome is a neurological movement disorder that displays through an overwhelming urge to move the legs during periods of rest and relaxation. Someone with RLS may also experience a creeping, pulling, or tingling feeling in … Read More »

Respite care helps both seniors and their family members enjoy a better quality of life.

Meeting the ongoing care needs of an elderly or disabled loved one is a physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding job, requiring time for the family caregiver to rest and relax on occasion. Respite care allows for the relief needed from the daily tasks of caregiving, allowing the family caregiver to also care for himself or herself.

Here are the basic principles of respite care:

Relief from ongoing care responsibilities allows seniors to still receive the attention they deserve.
Respite care provides family caregivers with care that is planned, temporary, intermittent and substitute.
Time required for respite can vary, from just a few hours one day to ongoing, scheduled, routine relief.

How to help a family caregiver:

Offer to take turns in providing care. Even if you can … 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 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 »

The home care experts at Hired Hands outline simple exercises to improve senior safety.

The CDC reports that as many as one-third of all seniors fall each year, and surprisingly, less than half of those seniors talk to their doctors about it. When a senior experiences a fall, even if it does not cause serious injury, she can develop a heightened fear of falling, which may result in limited activities, reduced mobility, loss of physical fitness, and in turn, an increased risk of falling again.

In our last blog post, we discussed some home modifications you can make to improve senior safety and reduce the risk of falls. In addition, there are a number of exercises that seniors can do on a regular basis to increase muscle strength and improve balance, which will not only help reduce … Read More »

Hired Hands Homecare offers tips to prevent senior falls.

Falling is never fun, but for an older adult, a fall can result in devastating effects, like a fractured hip, which can escalate to a full range of additional health problems. A full 25% of seniors who fracture a hip end up dying within six months of the injury; a shocking, yet preventable statistic.

Taking time to make some simple modifications to the home can help create a safer environment for your senior loved ones and help prevent dangerous senior falls. Below are some easy home modification ideas from the home care Marin CA services team at Hired Hands Homecare that can be implemented to help lower the risk of falls for the elderly.

Lighting:

Replace light bulbs routinely to ensure there is sufficient illumination in … Read More »

When our parents were younger, telephones were wired to walls, mail was delivered by postmen, and if grown children lived at a distance from their parents, checking in on them meant asking a neighbor to stop by to see how they were making out. If seniors were housebound as a result of illness or frailty, they could very easily start feeling isolated and cut off from the rest of the world. Social circles grew smaller, and distant family members often felt at a loss because they weren’t able to be there to help. But the world has changed dramatically over the past few decades and technology has changed how we communicate and function with our everyday tasks. Technology has also allowed for a revolution in home care for older adults and those who ordinarily might not have been able … Read More »

There truly is no place like home, and the majority of adults age 65 and over, 90% per a study from AARP, desire to age in place in their own homes as they age. But how does that have an impact on senior independence?

Although the desire to remain living at home as opposed to moving to a nursing home is quite common, it can pose many difficulties for seniors who are in need of assistance with daily tasks such as driving, fixing meals, showering, walking, etc. The encouraging news is that senior home care in Walnut Creek, like those offered by Hired Hands Homecare, are structured to support senior independence and enhance wellbeing and confidence both inside and outside the home.

At Hired Hands Homecare, we offer expert senior care services that support seniors throughout the … Read More »

The most wonderful thing about human beings is that every one of them is altogether unique, and that doesn’t change simply because of age. As we get older, we stay the unique and intricate individuals that we have been our whole lives. Assuming that all seniors will act the same and require the same things is a cookie cutter approach that just will not work for seniors or those who take care of them. Providing care to older individuals necessitates an innovative and careful approach that permits the caregiver to determine just who an older adult is and what his or her specific needs are to determine the best plan of care to keep the individual healthy and well at home.

The change from long summer days to shorter, colder ones can sometimes affect how we feel. And while it’s true that many of us find the holiday season to be a joyful time, the drop in temperatures and reduced daylight can bring on darker feelings as well. These changes can even lead to a type of seasonal depression known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). During the late fall and winter months, be on the alert for any signs of depression that may be apparent in your senior loved ones. According to the Mayo Clinic, seasonal affective disorder occurs more often in women than it does in men, but men’s symptoms are often more severe.

Rather than dismissing these signs as simply the winter blues, note that SAD can cause older adults to sink into depression, experience a reduced energy level and increased … Read More »