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Don’t miss your yearly checkup

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Don’t overlook the value of a yearly health screening.

There’s a reason we’re told so see the doc at least once a year as we age: the older our bodies get, the more they can start to break down. A regular checkup can help identify unknown issues before they become serious.

Even if you feel healthy, you still should visit your health care provider at least once a year. During a regular checkup, your doctor likely will take care of such important issues as screening for medical issues, assessing potential future health care needs, updating vaccinations and encouraging any health-focused changes that might be necessary.

If your health is great, you’ll feel relieved. And if there’s something you need to take care of, you’ll be thankful you caught it early.

For example, did you know that other than getting it checked, there’s no reliable way to tell whether you have high blood pressure? That’s one reason high blood pressure is known as the “silent killer,” causing damage to your circulatory system and leading to potential heart attacks and strokes without you even knowing it. At a checkup, your doctor will identify whether you have high blood pressure — and, if so, what to do about it.

Plus, regular checkups can help you get to know your doctor better, which can be comforting if you ever have an illness or emergency.

In addition to a regular health checkup, older men also should consider regular screenings for cholesterol, colorectal cancer and diabetes, among others. Women also should consider regular breast cancer screenings. Your health provider will let you know what screenings are important for you specifically, based on your health and history.

Related: Five simple ways seniors can lower cholesterol

With Father’s Day coming up, how about a checkup as an outside-of-the-box gift idea?

The joke about belts, ties and wallets is that dads often need them but would rarely buy them for themselves. Setting your dad up with a health checkup could be something like that, too. If your dad has been dragging his feet about seeing his doc for a look-over, helping him set that up could be a needed gift.

Another good idea could be signing up for long-term care help at home. At-home care visits from a certified nursing assistant can give you piece of mind that medication is being monitored, groceries are stocked, and daily needs are being met.

You both will be thankful for that.

How to identify strokes — and help prevent them — in an elderly loved one

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As we age, our risk of stroke increases. According to the Mayo Clinic, those older than 55 have a greater likelihood of stroke than do younger people.

Are you concerned about the risk of stroke in a loved one? Here’s how to spot them:

An older man in a hat looks off into the distance outdoors.

You’ve probably heard the acronym FAST, from the American Stroke Association. The acronym is a great way to help identify the symptoms of a stroke in a loved one.

F: Face drooping. If you spot face drooping and suspect a stroke is occurring, ask your loved one to smile. If the person is having a stroke, his or her smile might be uneven or lopsided.

A: Arm weakness. Ask your loved one to raise both arms and check whether one arm drifts downward.

S: Speech difficulty. Ask your loved one to repeat a simple sentence. Stroke victims often will have slurred speech that is difficult to understand.

T: Time to call 911. If you see any of these symptoms — even if they go away — call 911 and take your loved one to a hospital immediately.

To help prevent strokes, there are a few things you can encourage your loved one to do:

An older woman in a hat looks off into the distance in a diner.

Get good sleep. According to Senior Living, elderly people who sleep poorly — those who wake often and have erratic sleep patterns — are more susceptible to developing hardened blood vessels, which can restrict blood flow to the brain and lead to strokes. The avoidance of strokes is one way in which good sleep can promote good health. If an elderly loved one has Alzheimer’s or dementia, working to manage sundown syndrome also can help promote better sleep.

Pay attention food and drink. Cholesterol, which sticks to the insides of our blood vessels and restricts blood flow, can increase stroke risk. Sodium can lead to high blood pressure, which is a major stroke risk. Diet soda, too, can be harmful. And then there’s fatty food. Trans fat, in particular, can contribute to strokes (not to mention obesity, cancer and heart disease). Spend some time researching the value of good nutrition and make changes in your loved one’s diet to maximize the benefits of great food.

Exercise. Research published in the journal Neurology found that higher levels of physical activity were associated with a lower risk of silent stroke.

If you’re concerned that a loved one might experience a stroke or other medical issue with nobody around to help, consider setting up a schedule with family members or seeking a nurse for hire to be with your loved one when you are unable. A home attendant caregiver can help offer peace of mind that someone will be there for your loved one — while also helping out with many other personal care tasks, including shopping for healthy foods. Take My Hand At-Home Care provides licensed caregivers throughout Whatcom County to help the elderly live safely at home.

Five simple ways seniors can lower cholesterol

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Many of us, during our regular checkups with our doctors, are told we need to lower our cholesterol. LDL cholesterol (often referred to as “bad” cholesterol, as opposed to HDL, or “good” cholesterol) can increase our risk of heart disease or stroke because it sticks to the insides of our blood vessels and restricts blood flow.

As we get older, our bodies tend to produce more cholesterol, so our cholesterol levels are especially important to keep an eye on.

There is no magic way to maintain healthy cholesterol levels without putting in hard work, so if you have high cholesterol, you’ll need to make a few lifestyle changes. Here are four simple things you can start doing today to achieve healthy cholesterol levels:

Lose weight. Extra weight contributes to high cholesterol. Each day, find small changes you can make to take steps toward weight loss. For example:

  • Instead of snacking on potato chips, grab a couple carrot sticks.
  • Every 30 minutes, get up from your chair and walk around the room (even standing up periodically has benefit).
  • Drink more water.

Small changes can lead to the formation of good habits that can pay large dividends over time in lowering cholesterol levels.

Exercise. Moving your body regularly can help increase the LDL cholesterol in your body while also helping you lose weight. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day for a healthier heart. Whatcom County offers many wonderful walking opportunities.

Adjust your diet. Specific changes to what you eat can do wonders for heart health. Saturated fats — appearing in such natural products as dairy and meat — can be eaten in moderation, but reducing their levels in your diet is a great step forward. Another step is to eliminate trans fats; when shopping, check labels and avoid buying anything containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. On the positive side, increasing your intake of omega-3 fatty acids can help lower blood pressure, and eating more soluble fiber can help keep cholesterol from entering your bloodstream. Eat more fruits and vegetables, eat less sugar and fat.

Don’t smoke. Nicotine reduces LDL cholesterol levels. According to the Mayo Clinic, your risk of heart disease one year after quitting smoking is half that of a smoker. What’s more, it takes just three months after quitting for your blood circulation to improve and lungs to work better.

Seek assistance. Helping you along your path to achieving the above goals is one way an at-home caregiver can be of service. Caregivers can accompany you on walks, cook heart-healthy meals and help you remember to increase your water intake. They also can accompany you to doctor visits as you attempt to learn more about treatment options. To learn more about how caregivers can help, give Take My Hand At-Home Care a call.

How to identify elder fraud scams — and help those you love

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In today’s world, money scams that prey on the elderly are prevalent.

Fraudsters often use telephones and email to conduct their scams, capitalizing on seniors’ trusting natures and unfamiliarity with technology. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has opened new opportunities for criminals, and some classic in-person scams still are being used regularly.

On its website, the FBI lists common elder fraud scams. Among them are the grandparent scam, in which criminals pose as a relative — usually a child or grandchild — claiming to have an urgent need for money, and the home repair scam, in which criminals appear in person and charge homeowners in advance for home improvement services that they never provide.

Other scams include the COVID-19 charity scam, in which criminals claim they are collecting donations for families hard-hit by job losses during the pandemic but are keeping the money for themselves. Here in Whatcom County, PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center has warned of a COVID-19 scam in which fraudsters call the elderly under the guise of COVID-19 contact tracing and attempt to acquire private information.

Email scams sometimes take the form of blackmail, with fraudsters demanding payment in exchange for not releasing sensitive information they claim to have about you.

Here’s how you can help keep elderly loved ones from falling prey to scams:

  • Review common scams, especially those that target the elderly, and familiarize yourself with how they work. That will help you recognize when criminals might be using one of these methods to target a loved one. The list provided by the FBI is a good place to start. SeniorLiving.org has a great list of scams as well.
  • Educate your mom, dad or elderly loved one on the potential for scams. Make sure they know to contact someone if anything seems fishy. If they get a threatening email or receive a strange phone call, have them reach out to you or a trusted friend to discuss the issue. In addition, explain potential scams to help them identify what’s happening should a scam artist contact them.
  • Research scams online. Most scams have been used many times. An internet search with details of the scam — for example, with some of the specific language used in a threatening email — can help you determine whether this is a common scam attempt.
  • If your loved one is a victim of fraud, report the scam to the FBI or to your local police. Try to capture and share as many details as possible, including names, dates, methods of communication, descriptions of the fraud claims and — if money has been sent — how it was sent and to whom. Reporting scams can help protect not only your loved one but also any future victims the criminal might plan to target.

Fraud is a story as old as time, but with some research and foresight, we can learn to identify potential scams and help protect ourselves and others.

How technology can help loved ones with dementia

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As an aid for older people with dementia or cognitive decline, technology has been in use for decades. In fact, the first medical alert device — a pendant that could dial preprogrammed phone numbers when pressed — dates to the 1970s.

As technology has grown and expanded in the past half-century, its usefulness in helping people with dementia and their loved ones has grown as well.

Here are five ways modern technology can be used to help those with cognitive decline:

  • Because those with cognitive decline can be prone to wander and get lost, location trackers can be lifesavers. The Alzheimer’s Society website contains a wonderful resource for those looking for technology to keep tabs on the location of a loved one.
  • Video monitors can be placed strategically to let family members and caregivers know that people with dementia are able to take charge of important activities. A camera trained on the medication cabinet, for example, can send alerts when movement is detected, providing assurance that important medications are being taken. Similarly, a kitchen camera can provide evidence that loved ones are eating, and a door camera can send notices when someone enters or leaves the house.
  • It can be common among the elderly, and especially those with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, to need regular reminders of the time, day and their schedule. Talking clocks can provide aural and visual reminders of the time and can be programmed to remind the elderly when to take medications.
  • Digital games can help the elderly meet needs for socialization, communication and brain stimulation. ActTo Dementia, an international dementia research project, provides app recommendations on its website.
  • Picture frames that show slideshows of digital photos can be used to show friendly and familiar faces to the elderly, helping stave off loneliness and to keep the faces of loved ones at the fronts of their minds. Some of these frames also can be set to play familiar and meaningful music.

Of course, technology should be used as an aid, not as a replacement for a caregiver or another form of memory care. For their emotional and physical wellbeing, it’s important that elderly loved ones continue to receive personal care and attention. For assistance with at-home care in Whatcom County, from Bellingham to Blaine, please consider giving Take My Hand At-Home Care a call.

Caregivers: nursing home vs. at-home care

Of the 1,000 adults polled in a recent survey, 75% said they would prefer recovering at home instead of in an institutional setting after a serious health event.  According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic has only solidified this opinion: “As consumers live through the ongoing public health emergency and read about the dangers of … [Read More...]

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Sue Sorensen became involved with Whatcom County eldercare and aging-in-place services in 2009. She launched Take My Hand At-Home Care in January 2012 … Read More...

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