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Easy Tips for Being the Best Caregiver for a Senior at a Medical Appointment

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senior couple visiting a doctor

Family caregivers are uniquely positioned to be the best advocates for seniors at medical appointments.

Of all of the many responsibilities a family caregiver encounters, potentially one of the most overwhelming is managing health conditions. The National Council on Aging reports that around ¾ of all seniors are clinically determined to have at least two chronic diseases, and they are seeing an average of four medical experts.

As your aging parent’s advocate, it’s very important to know how to communicate effectively with those on the older adult’s medical team, and to arrive at appointments completely prepared to address all concerns. The following four questions are a great place to start:

  1. Are all of these medications essential? With most seniors taking several medications, you will need to keep a detailed list and evaluate it periodically with the doctor, along with the pharmacist, each of whom will be able to make sure there aren’t any duplications prescribed by different specialists, or any contraindications between meds.
  2. If prescribing something new, what unwanted side effects might we expect to see? Evaluating the benefits vs. the potential health risks for any new medication is very important, as there may be situations when troublesome side effects overshadow any positive benefits. And in case the physician shares a blanket statement such as, “Most people do not encounter any problems with this medication,” make sure to follow up to learn more about people who DO encounter problems.
  3. What’s the most effective way to decrease pain and discomfort? We’re all familiar with the opioid epidemic, and also the risk of addiction, as well as other problems that come with taking prescription pain medications. However, unaddressed pain can bring about both slowed healing and considerable emotional stress, both for the individual experiencing pain along with his or her caregivers.
  4. If this were your grandfather, what would you do? Inviting the doctor to step into your shoes is an extremely helpful method to gauge the way you may wish to proceed. There may be less invasive or aggressive means to managing a problem which you might want to explore first.

To get more tips on ensuring an older adult you love receives the best possible care, get in touch with the Ft. Lauderdale caregivers at Responsive Home Care. We’re here to help through:

  • Accompanying a senior loved one to healthcare appointments and procedures, making certain that questions are addressed
  • Ensuring medications are taken just as prescribed
  • Proactively monitoring for any changes in condition, such as medication side effects, and reporting them promptly
  • Planning and preparing healthy meals and providing encouragement to stay physically active to enhance health
  • And much more

Our qualified Ft Lauderdale caregivers are available across a large service area in Broward County.  To get started on a better quality of life for an older adult, contact Responsive Home Care at (954) 486-6440 to request an in-home consultation and learn more about options in Sunrise for elderly care.

This Latest Alzheimer’s Treatment May Help Combat Memory Loss

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Artificial intelligence, machine learning concept with glowing brain neurons.

Learn about the latest dementia treatment and how it’s helping with memory loss.

Memory loss and Alzheimer’s go hand in hand, and until now, researchers have been stumped in determining how to prevent, or remove, those beta-amyloid and tau proteins at the heart of the problem. Yet recent research has shown incredible results in significantly reducing memory loss in those with dementia, through a cap-like device that transmits electromagnetic waves.

Shown effective in mouse experiments, trials proceeded to human participants, who wore the device twice daily for an hour over a period of two months. To confirm results, the participants were tested using the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-cog), and incredibly, a full four-point score increase was achieved at the end of the trial. In laymen’s terms, this equates to regaining a full year of cognitive functioning that had been lost.

Dr. Gary Arendash, CEO of NeuroEM Therapeutics, the company responsible for the study, added, “We were particularly surprised that this highly significant improvement in the ADAS-cog was maintained even two weeks after treatment was completed. The most likely explanation for continued benefit after cessation of treatment is that the Alzheimer’s disease process itself was being effected.”

Blood work, cerebrospinal fluid assessment, and MRI scans confirmed a disaggregation of beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles, as well as improved communication between brain cells in the area key to cognitive function.

And perhaps most encouraging: all of the participants wanted to continue utilizing the head devices after the study was completed. The next step will be to engage in a larger clinical trial, to include the original participants and others, lasting 17 months. The goal is to make the device available to the public by 2021.

Stay tuned! Responsive Home Care, the Sunrise elderly care experts, remains on top of this and other trends in the quest to effectively treat, and eventually cure, Alzheimer’s disease. In the meantime, we will continue to provide highly customized, creative, compassionate dementia care for seniors at home throughout Broward County, Florida. Contact us at 954-486-6440 for a free in-home consultation to discover more about how we’re helping improve life for those with dementia.

New and Innovative Solutions to Combat Senior Loneliness

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Granddaughter Relaxing With Grandmother In GardenWe know that socialization is vitally important for our overall emotional (and even physical) wellbeing – but we also know that senior loneliness is an epidemic in America. With the hectic pace of life, it’s difficult for families and friends to provide the full measure of social interaction needed to keep isolation at bay for older adults, who are often homebound or unable to get out as much as they’d like.

But the mother of invention truly is necessity, and the need for creative socialization solutions has sparked some interesting innovations to combat senior loneliness:

The Chat Bench

Thanks to the police department in the southwest England town of Burnham-On-Sea, several benches now boast signage that boldly proclaims, “The Happy to Chat Bench: Sit Here if You Don’t Mind Someone Stopping to Say Hello.” And, stop they do! It’s a lovely way for those who are feeling lonely to meet others and make new friends.

Grandkids on Demand

Carefully screened college students are available through the Papa Pals app to spend time with an older person who is lonely or in need of a little assistance. Spending anywhere from 3 to as much as 10 hours visiting together, it’s a win-win: a little spending money for the students, and the friendly companionship seniors so desperately need.

Robotics

Advances in robotics allow for an amazingly lifelike companion. One such example is ElliQ, described as “a proactive social robot for older adults…essentially a tablet and voice-equipped speaker that can gesture like it’s engaging in a real conversation, bobbing its head like it understands, or leaning in closer to ‘hear’ you.”

As incredible as these ideas are to help combat senior loneliness, we have one that we believe to be even better: engaging the services of Responsive Home Care for a professional, friendly companion, available for as much or as little time as desired to engage in conversations, reminiscing, exercise programs, enjoyable pastimes and outings, and so much more to overcome senior loneliness. And companionship is merely one component in our wide array of in-home care services. Contact us at 954-486-6440 to learn more about our Sunrise in home care services!