There’s not enough time in the day, no matter what your age or what you do, days often go by without you accomplishing everything you’d hoped. 24 hours just aren’t enough in today’s busy world, so over the next couple of weeks we’re going to teach you how you can make 24 hours turn into 36 – without the use of a time machine. Make more time in your day through productive use of your time in the following ways:

1. Sleeping for productivity

2. Eating your way to a 36 hour day

3. Learning to multi-task effectively

4. Organizing your way to success

5. Learning how to get it done faster

6. Learning while multi-tasking in your free time

7. Using technology to increase productivity

8. Turning off

9. Asking for help

Visit again, over the next few weeks, we, along with WorkingCaregiver.com will be teaching you how to turn 24 hours into 36 so you can make the most out of every single day!

Via: Gaia.com

Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Typing seems like a pretty safe activity to many seniors who take precautions when engaging in physical activities to avoid injury, but they need to do the same every time they sit down at their computer to type out an email or chat on a social network site because of the risks of carpal tunnel syndrome. Seniors are in a higher risk group for carpal tunnel syndrome, and as a result need to focus on putting their physical health first even in front of a computer.

1. Warm up before typing – this is especially important for people who find themselves working at a keyboard al day, so seniors who have not yet retired should focus on wrist exercises before they get started everyday to prevent injury

2. Use ergonomic computer accessories – ergonomic keyboards are designed to work with the natural positioning of the hands and fingers. If typing a lot, rather than using your laptop keyboard, purchase an external one because they tend to be the worst for causing carpal tunnel. You can also purchase a mouse that is more ergonomic and buy supportive cushioned wrist rests

3. Take breaks throughout the day – there are programs available that will remind you to take a break every hour and lead you through a series of exercises designed to help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. Or, you can just do it yourself, taking a break for 5 or 10 minutes every hour. Get up, walk around, and shake out your arms to remove your hands from their repetitive position that could be damaging

Sources:

1. About.com

2. EHow.com

Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Retirement is not supposed to be stressful, but planning for a trip away from your Dallas home can be, because it’s an overwhelming process. To make travel planning easier, there are websites that act as main resources for a number of aspects that you’ll want to consider for your trip. Check out these sites to reduce the burden and stress, so all you need to worry about is enjoying your upcoming vacation:

1. Kayak – in order to find the lowest price fare available for their destination of choice, seniors can browse flights at this website. This is also a way for seniors to read about the various destinations and traveller reviews to make a decision about their trip. This saves the hassle of having to check fares and flight times at multiple airlines, and seniors can book directly with this travel site or use it simply as a resource

2. Away –if you’re travelling at a destination you’ve never been to, it’s hard to know what there is to do there, and leaving it until your arrival can require you to be perhaps more impulsive than you’d like. Seniors can login to Away and browse the destination they’re travelling to in order to find activities. This resource can also be used before a destination is settled on to help determine where to go!

3. Hotwire – when seniors are planning a trip ahead of time, they can setup to receive email alerts when there are sales on trips to a destination they’re considering, and prices are available for flights, accommodations and all aspects of travel

4. Orbitz – seniors who are thinking about taking a cruise or a different kid of trip, can look at Orbitz before booking to compare prices and also receive travel insurance

Via: Associated Content

Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

No one looks forward to their mammograms, and there’s a part of every single one of us who would rather not know if we have a disease that can be life threatening. But breast cancer screening is crucial to the health of our bodies and our minds, and since October is breast cancer awareness month, there’s no better time than now to have a mammogram done if you haven’t already.

If you’re a senior who has never had their breast cancer screening completed, here’s what you can expect from the process:

1. When dressing the day of the mammogram, avoid applying deodorant, talcum powder, or any other heavily scented items that can be irritating to others, or that could affect the imaging. Also wear a 2 piece outfit.

2. When arriving at the imaging office, you will be asked for copies of previous mammograms, if they do not have them already, and will also ask you to fill out a form with your medical records

3. Upon going into have the mammogram done, you will be asked to remove jewellery and clothing that can interfere with the procedure, including your shirt and bra, and any other clothing you have on above the waist

4. To prepare for the mammogram itself, one breast at a time will be placed on an imaging cassette and will be compressed with a paddle so that the maximum amount of breast tissue is visible on the image

5. The image will be taken and then the process will be repeated with the other breast

6. The images will be examined, not for results but to ensure they are effective. Typically, you will be allowed to get dressed and wait to find out if you are able to leave, or if more images are needed

7. The images and results will be returned for your doctor for review

Sources:

1. About.com

2. Imaginis

Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

As we age, family and those most important to us play an even greater role in our lives. But as our loved ones shape who we are, we have a similar influence upon them, particularly when it comes to the younger generations. It’s for that reason, that even from a distance, we need to make an effort to remain connected with our grandchildren, because we can influence them and their memories as much as they have a bearing on our quality of life. Grandparenting from a distance isn’t easy, but here are some tips:

1. Take advantage of technology – email and social networking sites can allow families to remain connected. Post pictures, videos and share stories using sites like Facebook or others that can help keep grandparents and grandchildren up to date on what’s happening in each other’s lives

2. Create fun long-distance games – to stay connected, grandparents can try fun long-distance games that let their grandchildren know they’re loved and being thought about. Create personalized crossword puzzles or word searches, send them a jar of M&Ms to countdown to the next visit, or play long-distance hide and seek, having someone hide items around the house and then giving the clues to their grandchildren over the phone

3. Make a point to get together – it’s hard to bring families together, and easy for too much time to pass between visits. Family reunions that bring grandchildren together with their grandparents should happen at least once a year no matter what!

Sources:

1. Let Life In 

2. FamBooks 

Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

For many grandparents, if they need to step in and take on caring for their grandchildren, there’s never a question that they’ll do it because family comes first beyond any concerns they have about taking a child into their home at their age. While love goes along way, it doesn’t eliminate the potential challenges which can include:

1. Seniors who are retired often have limited finances available, and adding another member to the household can come at an increased expense

2. Seniors may not have the same physical capabilities that younger parents would when responsible for the physical care of children when carrying them around, bathing, and physical chasing after children

3. Seniors may neglect their own health needs when worrying about others

4. Seniors may be under the stress of legal issues when trying to adopt a child or ensure that they legally remain the child’s guardian

Love is the first step in overcoming these challenges, because seniors who have that for their grandchildren can get over the rest, but they might need a little bit more help along the way and can take note of the following tips:

1. Find out if there are assistance programs available in their area to help grandparents raising grandchildren financially

2. Remember to simply do the best that they can, and remember, that loving the children and ensuring their safety, health and happiness is all that’s really important

3. Of course, the health of their grandchildren is important, but grandparents need to remember if they don’t take care of themselves, they’ll be unable to care for anyone else

4. Seniors can try to minimize the stress of the process by seeking support from those who have been in similar situations

5. Respite help is necessary to give seniors a break. If children are too young to be in school seniors can find a daycare or ask for help

Sources:

1. Care-givers 

2. AARP 

3. Answers for Families 

Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Retirement age is approaching for the boomer generation, and every financial move can greatly affect the type of retirement that seniors will have the opportunity to enjoy. There are some common financial mistakes that boomer women in particular tend to make, which should be corrected before they compromise the future of their senior years:

1. Some boomer women expect they’ll receive an inheritance – women who are fortunate enough to still have parents alive, might expect that at the time of their passing, they will receive a large enough inheritance to carry them through retirement. There are no guarantees if boomers will receive an inheritance at all, and if they do, they may not know if it will be enough to finance their senior years

2. Reliance on a spouse – many women allow their spouse to control all aspects of finances and also assume that their loved one is effectively planning for their retirement. Both partners should be involved in financial management, or at least have an awareness

3. No planning for women on their own – boomer women might assume that their spouse will be with them forever. But death or divorce can change this, and women need to make sure they have their financial ducks in a row so they can survive on their own

4. Expecting a man to save the day – some women on their own have the “prince charming” attitude and are waiting for a man to sweep them off their feet and fill up their bank account

Via: Let Life In

Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

It’s October, breast cancer awareness month, and it’s time to step out in your pink to support a worthy cause in honor of all those who have won the fight against breast cancer, as well as those who haven’t been so lucky. Older adulthood doesn’t mean you have to be complacent about a worthy cause, so show your support in the following ways:

Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Gardening is a great way for seniors to exercise their creativity, relax and gain a sense of accomplishment for growing fresh produce that they can give to family, friends or serve at the dinner table. But, with many seniors having limited space to garden – many need to look to a different method – container gardening, which can be done virtually anywhere. Here are some tips for container gardening:

1. Get the right sized container – purchase containers or consider saving things from your recycling. All you need to do is punch a few holes in the bottom of the container to make it suitable for planting. Most vegetables require larger containers, although you might be able to use a recycled container the size of a large yogurt container for herbs, leaf lettuce, spinach and radishes

2. Use a good quality soil – purchase a high-quality potting soil or top soil in order to keep your container garden free of weeds.

3. Following planting instructions – if you’re planting vegetable plants or others which are already grown, place a little bit of soil at the bottom of the pot, remove the plant from its existing container and fill in any remaining space with the potting soil. When planting seeds, fill the pot completely with soil and follow directions for spacing

4. Care for as directed – put your pots in an area that will be the right temperature and have exposure to sunlight as directed. Water according to instructions.

Via: AFB Senior Site

Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

It’s not uncommon for Dallas seniors to take multiple prescriptions to help maintain their health in older adulthood. It’s called polypharmacy, and while it might in fact have benefits to longevity and overall well-being, it also increases the risk of drug interactions, particularly for seniors taking 5 or more medications consecutively. Here are 6 tips for preventing polypharmacy drug interactions:

1. Keep medications documented – carrying a list of all prescription and non-prescription medications taken (including vitamins and supplements) can help ensure none are forgotten about when speaking with doctors and pharmacists. The list should also include why they’re taken, the dosage and frequency

2. Mention even over-the-counter medications to medical professionals –you might not think they’re important, but even over-the-counter medications, vitamins and supplements can interact

3. Don’t assume – don’t assume that your doctor remembers what they’ve prescribed you in the past. Doctors are often busy and frazzled. When they prescribe a new medication, don’t hesitate to ask them about potential interactions as a reminder

4. Make sure all doctors are aware of your prescriptions – if you’re a senor who sees multiple doctors or specialists, don’t automatically expect that information regarding your prescriptions has been shared. This is where having a complete list can come in handy and avoid issues with polypharmacy

5. Check out new drugs – sticking with one pharmacy will allow your pharmacist to verify that there will be no drug interactions; they might catch something your doctor hasn’t. Otherwise, take the initiative to research any new drugs for interactions yourself

6. Be cautious of side effects – don’t assume any side effects are just that, talk to your doctor to ensure they aren’t the result of drug interactions

Via: CSA Connections

Image: osteoarthritis.about.com
Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.