By:LINDSEY TANNER | AP Medical Writer | 07/19/11 1:38 PM

Healthy, active seniors enduring this week’s heat wave without any trouble are reminded that they need more water to keep the blood flowing and are far more at risk of dehydration and heat stroke.

This week’s heat wave may be uncomfortable, but you’re healthy, active and feel just fine. So what if you’re over 65? Think again. Feeling good doesn’t mean you’re safe.

There are changes in an older person that raise the risk for heat stroke and other problems. An older body contains far less water than a younger one. Older brains can’t sense temperature changes as well, and they don’t recognize thirst as easily.

Blistering summer heat is an underappreciated killer, claiming by some estimates as many as 1,000 U.S. lives each year — more than any other type of weather.

One federal study found 40 percent of heat-related deaths were in people 65 and older. Those numbers could be lower if more heeded heat warnings aimed at seniors. Yet research has shown many people over 65 don’t think the warnings apply to them — because they don’t think they’re "old."

Don Worden is 79 and an avid tennis buff who prefers playing doubles on outdoor courts along Chicago’s lakefront — even in oppressive 90-degree temperatures like those hitting the Midwest this week.

"I don’t pay too much attention to those" warnings, Worden said. "I stay in pretty good shape, and I don’t feel they apply to me."

Worden said he drinks a lot of water and would stop a match if he started feeling effects from the heat, "but that hasn’t happened."

Scott Sheridan, who studies the effects of heat and climate on health at Kent State University, researched how people over 65 view heat warnings. In his 2006 study of more than 900 people, he found about 70 percent knew about advice to drink plenty of water on very hot days, avoid outdoor activities and stay inside with air conditioning. But only about half said they followed the advice.

"People well into their 70s would say old people should watch out but not them," he said. "People just didn’t want to be thought of in that same category."

Dr. David Zich, an emergency medicine specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said he has colleagues in medicine that age who shun being thought of as "elderly." But those heat warnings apply to them, too.

As Dr. William Dale, geriatrics chief at the University of Chicago Medical Center explains it, "Any older adult has less reserve and is more likely to become dehydrated than others, just because their overall body water goes down with age no matter how healthy you are."

The amount of water in the body declines with aging, from about 80 percent in young adulthood to about 55 to 60 percent for people in their 80s, Dale said.

Temperature sensors in the brain become less sensitive as people age, so the body doesn’t get the same signals to drink water in hot weather, and older people often don’t feel thirsty even when they need to replenish, Dale said.

They also may not feel the typical symptoms of dehydration, such as headache or dizziness. Some complain of just feeling "bad" and think they’re getting sick, he said.

Conditions were ripe for those types of complaints Tuesday as a dense dome of hot air remained parked over much of the nation’s midsection, raising temperatures into the mid- to upper-90s from the Texas Gulf Coast to the Rockies and the northern Plains. Tropical-level humidity raised the heat index in many places to nearly 120 degrees.

In South Dakota, up to 1,500 head of cattle died across the state from the heat. And in eastern Iowa, the scorching sun caused a portion of Interstate 380 to buckle. The weather also sent dozens of people to hospitals, canceled outdoor sporting events and caused sporadic power outages.

In such conditions, dehydration can lead to heat exhaustion and potentially deadly heat stroke. During a heat wave, that can happen in a matter of hours in older people if they over-exert themselves, don’t drink enough water or are frail and don’t get out of un cooled homes, said Dr. Chris Carpenter, an emergency medicine physician at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Heat exhaustion can cause muscle cramps, low blood pressure, rapid pulse and nausea. It can be treated at home, by drinking water, getting into an air-conditioned room or sitting in front of a fan and misting the body with cool water.

But affected people should be monitored for mental changes and to make sure their temperature does not rise above 102 because the condition can quickly lead to heat stroke. A medical emergency, heat stroke involves temperatures of 104 or higher and can cause seizures, loss of consciousness and death.

Medicines many older people take also may make them more vulnerable to the heat. These include diuretics for high blood pressure, which increase urination — and make it more important to drink plenty of water, Dale said.

Some types of drugs can interfere with sweating and raise body temperature, including some medicines for insomnia, nausea, prostate conditions, Parkinson’s disease and even Benadryl. Many list "dry mouth" as a side effect — a tip-off to drink more water, Zich said.

There aren’t specific guidelines on how much water older people should drink in a heat wave.

Dale said he generally tells his older patients to drink a quart of water throughout the day, and to drink even if they don’t feel thirsty.

Doctors also advise older patients to avoid alcohol and coffee during extreme heat because they can cause the body to lose fluid and contribute to dehydration.

For more information on home care in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler, Mesa or the East Valley contact Care-To-Go home care. (480) 284-8611

When Alzheimer’s Waited Outside the Oval Office

By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN, M.D.

WASHINGTON — Ron Reagan’s new memoir, “My Father at 100,” has touched off sensational headlines with its suggestion that President Ronald Reagan might have begun showing hints of Alzheimer’s disease while still in the White House.

But in two interviews this month, the younger Mr. Reagan said he never meant to suggest that his father had dementia before leaving office in 1989. And he graciously took the blame for not being more explicit in a passage that described a few personal observations along with comments from the former president’s doctors.

A “rather small section of the book has attracted outsize attention,” he said in a telephone interview from Seattle, where he lives.

All he meant, he continued, was that the amyloid plaque characteristic of Alzheimer’s can start forming years before it leads to dementia. The former president’s diagnosis was made in 1993, four years after he left office.

“Given what we know about the disease,” his son told me, “I don’t know how you could say that the disease wasn’t likely present in him during the presidency.”

Had it been stated that way, the assertion about Alzheimer’s would have stirred little if any debate. Still, the issue is important for anyone — including candidates for office — because of the difficulty of distinguishing the initial symptoms of Alzheimer’s from, say, simple forgetfulness.

The disease occurs most frequently after 70, but it can strike younger people. Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist, diagnosed the first case in a 51-year-old woman. It is now recognized as one of a number of types of dementia. And diagnosing it with certainty requires a brain biopsy, rarely done while a patient is still alive.

Mr. Reagan’s mental state was an issue even before he became the oldest man elected president, at 69, in 1980. Adversaries were fond of attributing his penchant for contradictory statements, forgetting names and general absent-mindedness to Alzheimer’s.

I reported on Mr. Reagan’s health, and he told me that his mother, Nelle, had died of senility — and that if he were to develop it in office he would resign.

As a follow-up to questions about Alzheimer’s, my extensive interviews with his White House doctors, key aides and others, I found no evidence that Mr. Reagan exhibited signs of dementia as president. The interviews did not include family members.

Moreover, until Ron Reagan’s memoir appeared, no other family member — and not Edmund Morris, the official biographer who spent seven years with Mr. Reagan in the White House — publicly hinted that he showed evidence of Alzheimer’s as president.

“My Father at 100” (Viking) is an affectionate, often lighthearted account of a son’s attempt to uncover his father’s character by going back to his early days. It is generally well written, except for portions of the closing chapter about Alzheimer’s — which Ron Reagan acknowledged were flawed because he “relied on memory” without checking facts about when and where the suspicion of his father’s Alzheimer’s was first raised.

He writes, for example, that after the former president fell from a bucking horse in Mexico in 1989, his doctors detected probable signs of Alzheimer’s in removing a blood clot that formed between his skull and brain. But such a procedure does not involve a brain biopsy that doctors would need to diagnose dementia.

Moreover, Mr. Reagan was flown to a military hospital near Tucson — not taken to San Diego, as his son writes — and the blood clot, a subdural hematoma, was removed weeks later at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

In the interviews, Ron Reagan genially acknowledged the errors and said that if he had anticipated the controversy he created, he “would have done more due diligence in terms of pinning down dates.”

When his father was president, Mr. Reagan, then a professional dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, visited him two or three times a year. Now 52, the younger Reagan has been a radio and television talk show host, commentator and magazine writer. In the book, he writes that he did not want his father to run for a second term, partly because of political differences (Ron has long been liberal) and partly because of his concern about Mr. Reagan’s health — not the possibility of Alzheimer’s, but the near-fatal gunshot wound he sustained in a 1981 assassination attempt.

Understandably, the son’s memories about his father’s Alzheimer’s focused on when it first produced symptoms. The anecdotes that he cites are either well known or lack convincing evidence for Alzheimer’s.

For example, he recounts the 1984 re-election campaign, when his father performed dismally as he floundered through his responses and was lost for words in his first debate with his opponent, Walter F. Mondale. But Mr. Reagan performed well in the second debate, 11 days later.

While spending a day in the Oval Office in 1987, the younger Reagan noticed that aides were providing his father with scripted index cards — a technique he often used when giving speeches — for phone calls lasting five minutes at most, implying signs of a failing memory. But in an interview, Mr. Reagan said it was “hard to know what to make of that” — and laughed as he said he was using similar notes in our conversation.

The son noted little things that he could not explain and to which he did not attach a name at the time. Based on knowing his father’s demeanor and cognition over a lifetime, the observations created an impression “that something was amiss.” But, he wrote, he did not want to leave an impression that his “father was catatonic or mumbling incoherently” at any period in the White House.

In his last months, Mr. Reagan held court from a hospital bed in his den, uncomplaining and gently agreeable. By this time he looked younger; his face had lost many of its worry lines and wrinkles. But as he stopped eating and drinking and his kidneys failed, Mr. Reagan lost the decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s and died on June 5, 2004.

Alzheimer’s hereditary patterns are not precisely known. Ron Reagan said he is aware that he is at risk for the disease. But he has not had genetic tests for it, and has not been asked or volunteered to take part in any study of the family history of Alzheimer’s.

Care-To-Go provides home care and caregivers in the Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler and Gilbert areas.

The holidays can be a time of renewal – renewal of friendships through visits and cards, renewal of family relationships through gatherings and shared meals, and renewal of one’s faith. But the holidays also are a time that can be particularly challenging for a family caregiver. It is a time during which the changes in one’s life are highlighted and there are additional demands placed upon on an already stressed life.
The holidays are always a whirlwind and this is especially true for caregivers. During the holidays it is important for caregivers to seek a balance – between caring for someone else and caring for oneself; between celebrating good memories of past holidays while not dwelling on what might have been lost. Here are ideas to keep in mind for both the caregiver and the care receiver as the holiday season arrives:
Ideas for the Caregiver:
1. Don’t try to do it all. In the past you may have prepared Christmas dinner for 20 and created hand-made gifts for all of your relatives. Ask other members of the family to carry on specific family traditions. Dividing the responsibility will help you manage your stress level. 
2. Don’t attempt to travel long distances by car if your loved one is not used to it and tires easily. You will both be exhausted by the time you reach your destination, and you will have a difficult time enjoying yourself. 
3. Ask family or friends to provide respite care. Make time to enjoy holiday decorations or window shopping. Just a few hours of time by yourself or with a friend can be renewing and help combat a sense of isolation. 
4. Avoid comparisons with past holidays. It is often emotionally draining to look upon change as loss. “Life is change” can be a helpful concept to hold onto. 
5. Create new traditions that can be carried on year to year, rather than dwelling on old traditions that your loved one can no longer participate in.
Ideas for Your Loved One:
1. Find a way to have your loved one participate in the holidays, whether its making decorations or counting the days on an Advent calendar
2. Decorate your loved one’s room or living area for the holidays. Incorporate symbols and decorations that are meaningful. 
3. Stimulate all of your loved one’s senses with the sounds, sights, smells and tastes of the holidays. Ideas include holiday music and decorations, a favorite dessert and familiar scents.
4. Familiar holiday foods are a nice way to evoke positive memories.
5. If your loved one is in a care facility, extend traditions to other people in the facility. For example, pass out holiday cards or make a traditional dessert to share.

For families caring for elder loved ones at home, respite care can be a great relief during the holidays. It can be a great relief for the family caregiver as well as the senior. There are two options. First the caregiver can stay with the senior at home while the family members take a break. The other option is to take the senior out for an outing.

For Home Care in the Phoenix area contact Care-To-Go (480) 284-8611 Care-To-Go.com

By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY

Doctors often instruct cancer patients to eat well to keep up their strength.

But for cancer patients, getting through a simple meal can be a challenge. Radiation treatments can burn the throat, making it painful to swallow. Chemotherapy can cause patients to develop mouth sores or leave people nauseated. Other patients find that chemo takes away their sense of smell or alters their sense of taste.

Two books from the American Cancer Society aim to help both patients and their caregivers overcome these hurdles. The Complete Guide to Nutrition for Cancer Survivors ($24.95), published this year, explains how good nutrition can help boost the immune system and fight fatigue.

What to Eat During Cancer Treatment ($19.95), published last year, offers 100 recipes to help patients cope with six major symptoms of treatment. For instance, there’s a brie and apple grilled cheese for patients coping with nausea. Most recipes take only 30 minutes to make.

That’s important, given that cancer patients may not have much energy to spend in the kitchen and caregivers may be pressed for time, says the cancer society’s Colleen Doyle, who edited both books.

The recipes also include foods packed with vitamins and antioxidants, Doyle says. Patients who eat well are often better able to deal with side effects of treatment and may be better able to fight off infections, she says.

"I truly believe food is medicine, and it helps people provide their body with the nutrition they need to heal," say Barbara Grant, a registered dietitian and co-author of Nutrition for Cancer Survivors.

American Cancer Society’s tips for cooking for someone with cancer:

• Ask if the person has any special requests. "Instead of just showing up with chocolate cake, ask, ‘What can I make you? What sounds good?’ " says Grant.

• Ask if you can help with groceries or offer to do the dishes, says the American Cancer Society’s Colleen Doyle, a registered dietitian.

• Offer to put together a "survival kit" in a cooler, filled with snacks and drinks, for times when the cancer patient doesn’t want to get out of bed to go to the kitchen to eat, Doyle says.

• Prepare an "on-the-go" snack mix with nuts, pretzels, dry cereal or crackers for the cancer patient to eat when away from home.

• Instead of making one big casserole, prepare individual servings to freeze and reheat, Doyle says.

• Wash your hands carefully, make sure all meats and eggs are fully cooked, and take care to avoid any kind of contamination, which can be dangerous for people with weakened immune systems.

Recipe: Tuna melt quesadilla

The recipe from the American Cancer Society addresses the common cancer treatment symptoms of unintentional weight loss and taste alterations.

Servings: 3

Prep time: 15 minutes or less

Total time: 15 minutes or less

This twist on a classic gives new life to the tuna melt. A quesadilla is a good choice when a sandwich seems overwhelming. Choose full-fat options if trying to gain weight, reduced-fat if you are watching calories.

Ingredients:

• 1 (5-ounce) can tuna in water, drained

• 1 tablespoon regular or reduced-fat mayonnaise

• 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion

• 1 tablespoon pickle relish

• 3 (8-inch) whole wheat or plain tortillas

• 3/4 cup shredded regular or reduced-fat Cheddar or "Mexican style" cheese

Directions:

1. In a bowl, flake the tuna. Add the mayonnaise and mustard and stir to combine. Add the onion and relish.

2. On a microwave-safe plate, place 1 tortilla and spread half with 1/3 of the tuna mixture. Sprinkle the other half with 1/4 cup cheese. Fold the tuna half over the cheese half. Microwave on high for 40 to 50 seconds, or until cheese melts. Repeat twice with the remaining ingredients. Microwaving the quesadilla instead of pan-frying or baking keeps it softer.

Nutritional information:

Per serving (1 quesadilla)

Calories: 360

Total fat: 17 g

Total carbohydrate: 31 g

Dietary fiber: 3 g

Sugars: 3 g

Protein: 21 g

Sodium: 940 mg

For CareGiver Home Care in the Phoenix or Scottsdale area see http://Care-To-Go.com

As the TSA  airports try to get a handle on quick and efficient scanning at security checkpoints, new machines may not be the answer.

Our Elder Travel Companions from Phoenix and Scottsdale report longer security delays and frazzled nerves at full body scan airports.  Our seniors in wheel chairs are not subject to this screening and will continue to be checked as usual.  The Travel Companion CareGiver can be a great asset in transiting airport security.

By Gary Stoller, USA TODAY

Opposition to new full-body imaging machines to screen passengers and the government’s deployment of them at most major airports is growing.

Many frequent fliers complain they’re time-consuming or invade their privacy. The world’s airlines say they shouldn’t be used for primary security screening. And questions are being raised about possible effects on passengers’ health.

"The system takes three to five times as long as walking through a metal detector," says Phil Bush of Atlanta, one of many fliers on USA TODAY’s Road Warriors panel who oppose the machines. "This looks to be yet another disaster waiting to happen."

BODY SCANNERS: Concerns about privacy and health set off debate

The machines — dubbed by some fliers as virtual strip searches — were installed at many airports in March after a Christmas Day airline bombing attempt. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has spent more than $80 million for about 500 machines, including 133 now at airports. It plans to install about 1,000 by the end of next year.

The machines are running into complaints and questions here and overseas:

•The International Air Transport Association, which represents 250 of the world’s airlines, including major U.S. carriers, says the TSA lacks "a strategy and a vision" of how the machines fit into a comprehensive checkpoint security plan. "The TSA is putting the cart before the horse," association spokesman Steve Lott says.

•Security officials in Dubai said this month they wouldn’t use the machines because they violate "personal privacy," and information about their "side effects" on health isn’t known.

•Last month, the European Commission said in a report that "a rigorous scientific assessment" of potential health risks is needed before machines are deployed there. It also said screening methods besides the new machines should be used on pregnant women, babies, children and people with disabilities.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office said in October that the TSA was deploying the machines without fully testing them and assessing whether they could detect "threat items" concealed on various parts of the body. And in March, the office said it "remains unclear" whether they would have detected the explosives that police allege Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate on a jet bound for Detroit on Christmas.

TSA spokeswoman Kristin Lee says the agency completed testing at the end of last year and is "highly confident" in the machines’ detection capability. She also says their use hasn’t slowed screening at airports and that the agency has taken steps to ensure privacy and safety.

The TSA is deploying two types of machines that can see underneath clothing. One uses a high-speed X-ray beam, and the other bounces electromagnetic waves off a passenger’s body.

Passengers can refuse screening by the machines and receive a pat-down search by a security officer, screening by a metal detector, or both, the TSA says.

For more information on an Elder Travel Companion go to CareToGoTravel.com and for Phoenix in home care caregiver see Care-To-Go.com

Avoiding Medication Problems

Numerous elders are taking numerous medicines, which increases the

likelihood of prescription problems.  Allow me to share some

excellent tips for seniors to reduce the probability of making a

mistake with their medications:
1.    Check the label when you pick up a prescription to be sure

that you have the right prescription. Read back the prescription to

your doctor and pharmacist.
2.    Keep all prescription in original containers.
3.    Be sure to contact your health care provider or pharmacist

if you have any concerns about missing a dosage.
4.    Always fill all medications at the same pharmacy.
5.    Read the patient information that accompanies the

prescriptions.
6.    Notify the pharmacist right away if there is a change in the

shape, color, size or smell of your medication.
7.    You should not share or take another person’s medication.
8.    If you are in doubt about a prescription you are taking, be

sure to consult your doctor.  Always ask about side effects that you

might experience or expect.
9.    Construct a list of the medications you are taking and share

with your Care Giver and family members. The list ought to include

the following information:
- Your name, social security number and your date of birth.  The

Pharmacy needs this information when someone else is going to refill

the prescriptions without the client present.  Your social security

number and your date of birth should be kept on a separate sheet to

protect against identity theft.
- Prescription name (the drugs being taken, both generic or brand)
- The strength (dosage)
- Instructions for using the prescriptions, including how many times

a day and what time of day medication should be taken
- What liquids or foods are being used to take or should be used to

take with meds, for example, water, juice, apple sauce etc.
- Your allergies to certain medicines as well as foods
- Pharmacy and health care providers names, addresses, contact

numbers
- Family emergency contact information

10.    When you are in skilled nursing or a hospital:
- State your name before taking any medications and always show your

wrist bracelet for identification. Ask the doctor or nurse to

identify each medicine by name before you take it.
- Ask your doctor or nurse why your prescription has not been given

at its normal time during your hospital stay.
If your medication was started in the hospital, watch for new side

effects.  If you experience new side effects or your condition is

not improving as it should, tell your nurse.  From time to time

medications need to be changed when they are not performing

properly.
Be sure to ask your doctor how long a particular prescriptions will

be needed.  Oft times prescriptions are added in the hospital or

skilled nursing facility for a temporary problem, but when you leave

the hospital for skilled nursing or your home, the prescription

remains.  A different doctor may be reluctant to terminate a

prescription from another medical doctor.
- Remind your medical doctor if you have any allergies to certain

meds and food, or if you have a condition that may possibly affect

the use of some medications.
1.    Tell your pharmacist if you are taking any dietary

supplements or over-the-counter meds.
2.    Make sure your CareGiver has an up to date prescription log

listing all prescriptions, Doctor’s name, and Pharmacy.
Make sure to only take medications that you really need and check

with your medical doctor why you are taking it, how long you will

require it, what side effects to watch for, and that it won’t

conflict with any other meds you are taking.

In the Phoenix area Care-To-Go, an in-home care agency can assist

you with your prescription organization.  Care-To-Go also provides

complete in-home care elder services.  Contact Care-To-Go at 

www.Care-To-Go.com and for an Elder Travel Companion CareToGoTravel.com

What should you do if your doctor isn’t listening to you or the person you’re caring for, or not honoring your desires with regards to treatment and medication choices, or recommending prescriptions or treatment options that seem to be inappropriate for older patients. Listed here are several illustrations.

The relationship with your medical doctor is a special one and has to be taken seriously. Many times senior citizens aren’t receiving enough care from their doctor. Is the medical doctor too busy and overscheduled, or there just may be a personality mismatch. Don’t be afraid to search for a new one if you feel you are not getting the attention you require.

Whenever seniors go to their doctor it’s a great idea to bring along with you, a professional CareGiver or a trusted family member. It will serve you well to have someone else there to be sure you understand what the medical professional is saying and if you need to get more in depth information from the doctor, the advocate can facilitate. Occasionally it is simpler for the other person to ask more inquiring questions.

By way of example a doctor may try to make you feel guilty when you ask to do away with a prescription or a procedure from your regimen. You may have prescriptions from a number of doctors and they may conflict with each other. Your physician may be unwilling to stop or change a prescription prescribed by a different health professional. But sometimes the dilemma doesn’t lie in your control; what is wrong is that the physician isn’t listening to you or not taking your loved one’s age or situation into account when making medication and treatment decisions. In many cases, it’s like a bad relationship; communication has broken down and you, your family member or CareGiver aren’t getting what you need.

7 signs it may be time to fire your doctor:

1. You feel the health professional blames, ignores, or criticizes you, your caregiver or the person in your care

2. The medical doctor does not reply to your feedback, or becomes defensive or unpleasant

3. It seems the physician is not taking your family member’s pain or other symptoms seriously enough

4. You discover treatments that can help that the doctor hasn’t told you about

5. The physician doesn’t explain treatment options clearly, resulting in mistakes

6. The medical doctor prescribes medications without comparing to medications prescribed by another doctor.

7. The doctor is reluctant to organize your medication inventory when it comes from various other physicians.

When you aren’t satisfied, the best thing to do is to change doctors, and change to one you can work with to provide the best care. Doctors often say that if a patient is going to change doctors, they’d appreciate hearing it directly rather than suddenly receiving a sneak request for medical records to be sent to another medical professional. However, it’s your prerogative to find a new doctor and ask the staff to fax over the request for records. You’re not obligated to engage in another confrontation.

Either way, you’ll breathe a sigh of relief once you’re dealing with a medical professional who listens respectfully, answers your questions, accommodates your requests, takes your symptoms seriously, and works with you to develop a treatment plan you can all feel good about.

In the Phoenix, AZ area Care-To-Go offers Elder Home Care services and can assist you with doctor appointments and prescription organization. Contact Care-To-Go at 1-800-818-0407 or Care-To-Go.com  For Elder Travel Companion services see CareToGoTravel.com.

Phoenix Home Care Caregiver Explains 19 Home Safety Tips For Seniors

Most accidents occur in the home and especially for our seniors.  Even though our seniors are in their own home and in familiar surroundings, they have a much higher accident rate than the rest of us. When you couple failing eyesight, poor hearing and decreased judgment and balance, the senior has a more difficult time moving around and staying safe. If you make the changes yourself or use a personal CareGiver, you may be able to avoid a major fall and injury to your parent.

What can you do to protect an elderly loved one from getting hurt?  Here are some steps to follow:

1. Keep outdoor steps and walkways in good condition and clear of debris. Be sure the hand rails are clean and in good condition.
   
2. Illuminate all stairways and hallways and provide light switches at both ends. Brighter lights are better.
   
3. Use nightlights or bedside remote controlled switches. Yeah the clapper works too.
   
4. Provide handrails in hallways and stairways.
   
5. Keep a sturdy nightstand next to the bed so glasses and other personal items are within reach.
   
6. Put felt or soft material over sharp edges and corners of furniture such as nightstands, tables and shelves.
   
7. Tack down the edges of carpets and rugs; remove throw rugs that slide or can be tripped on.
   
8. Keep pathways clear of furniture and other objects.
   
9. Provide handrails in the bathroom (especially near the toilet, at the entrance to the shower and in the shower) and use non-skid strips in the shower and bathtubs.
   
10. Use a shower seat and shower hose for those unable to stand in the shower.
    
11. Avoid using bath oils or lotions in the bathtub or shower.
    
12. Use kitchen appliances with thermostats and timers. The elderly find appliances with signal lights and buzzers easier to use.
    
13. Clearly mark the “off” position on stoves and ranges so a person with diminished eyesight can immediately tell if the element is off. Try some nail polish.
    
14. Set water heater thermostats or faucets so water does not scald the skin.
    
15. Install smoke detectors in the kitchen and throughout the rest of the house.
    
16. Keep a fire extinguisher handy and know how to use it.
    
17. Arrange frequently used kitchen items in an easy-to-reach cabinet.
    
18. Install one good lock that can be opened easily from the inside.
19. Keep loose magazines and mail off the floor, seniors tend to accumulate mail clutter.

For a complete home assessment contact Care-To-Go at 480-284-8611 and on the web at http://Care-To-Go.com Are you getting to the point where you need someone to help you shoulder the load taking care of Mom? A Home Care CareGiver will be able to assist your senior with household tasks to be sure they are safe and happy.

Nobody likes being dependent on other people. Elders really don’t embrace the idea of

needing other people to assist him or her. Independence and freedom could be among

the qualities that a lot of seniors treasure most-and this is the reason so many elders

wish to stay in their homes. Seniors usually do not want to give up their independent

lifestyle; consequently, they are electing to forego moving to elder care centers and

assisted living facilities and opt for home care.

Because self-reliance is very crucial to the elderly, many elders regularly balk at the

thought of accepting home aid. Elders may feel that they have been handling everything

satisfactorily on their own; thus, elder care isn’t required. Rather regularly, though, the

adult children or other relatives or the friends of the elder may realize that some kind of

home care is necessary–maybe the elder just does not want to acknowledge it or does

not realize it. Since the elder’s major goal may be to hold on to their independence, it’s

always important to introduce the subject of senior care gently.

It could be easier to speak about in-home care with the senior on neutral ground with

an trusted friend present. Meeting with the senior at their doctor’s appointment for a

chat about the subject could be a good idea for some; other people may find it more

comfortable to take the senior out to lunch with a friend of hers who is in agreement

with the idea. Whatever, the focus of the conversation should be about keeping the

senior at ease with the home care and helping her to make decisions.

Unlike what seniors  might think, elder care will truly assist the senior to maintain her

independence. No, perhaps she will not be entirely self-reliant as they were before;

nevertheless, they will no longer have to depend on using taxis to take her to

appointments and shopping trips because their home care caregiver can drive her. Also,

they won’t have to order take-out food if she doesn’t feel like cooking, because her

caregiver can cook a meal for her. Yet she will still maintain her independent life style

because she is still living in her home–not in an elder facility.

It is actually easier for seniors to maintain their independence when they have a hired

senior care companion. Using a home care caregiver makes it simpler for seniors to

complete tasks. This is because the caregiver does or helps with whatever the senior

cannot do, while the senior takes care of other activities. Caregivers provide support

and services that are tailored specifically to the senior for whom they are giving care;

so the senior has the option of choosing what the caregiver does to assist her.

Some caregivers become great friends with the seniors they assist because they spend

a lot of time together. The companions really begin to become almost like part of the

family. The elder won’t think about any loss of independence or freedom at all,she will

simply be content to still be living in her own home, with the help of her home care

caregiver.

For more information on Home Care in the Phoenix area visit Care-To-Go.com For a

Personal Travel Companion anywhere, contact CareToGoTravel.com

One of the most important ways to help your communication is not only to inquire "how are you" but also what are you

feeling?  If you think about it, how are you is one of the most common questions we ask, but it can be a rather

inconsiderate one. The usual answer is fine or OK. It does not allow for a great deal conversation. When you ask, how

are you feeling you are inquiring deeper. Someone who is asked that question will get the notion you want to know how

he really is feeling. It may necessary to ask a few times in different ways to get to the real answers.

When you ask, what are you feeling be prepared to hear almost anything. The person could say they think a whole lot

about passing away or they are apprehensive about what the future holds for the children. Or possibly he is afraid he

isn’t going live a year. Be ready to listen and hear the answer he gives you. You do not have to have a reply, but you

should be set to hear the harsh words the question can provoke.

Your conversation with your loved ones should be direct and on an adult level.  The last thing an elder person needs

with a serious affliction is for you to be patronizing or treat them like a kid. The senior needs straight talk constantly

being compassionate and kind. Here’s a opportunity for caring support from your loved ones and their friends.

People with cancer and serious diseases frequently need to get the opinions of those around them regarding their

health problems, medications, and treatment outlook. Stay straight forward, but don’t attempt to answer questions

that you don’t know the answers to. A senior with cancer will be able to sense your honesty and be thankful for it.

While having their illness, seniors with a serious disease might express frustration and anger to friends or family.

Remember that our seniors with serious diseases pass through quite a few stages including denial, negotiation anger,

and acceptance. During the denial and anger levels, their communication could upset relatives and friends, but it can

help to bear in mind that seniors often shift their feelings onto people close to him or her. They seem to do it because

the people closest to them are safe to talk to. They realize that you will still be there for them, especially if they act

terribly and create tension. Frequently, the person is frustrated and angry concerning the cancer or disease and the loss

it brings, but that is hard to discuss. The senior may take out their angry feelings on family, friends, or anybody that

happens to be around at the time.

Remember, they will open up to you only if and when they trust you. Always be a good listener first and express

compassion and love.  Seniors usually talk themselves through the stages knowing that you are there to support them

all the way.

When using a caregiver, be sure the caregiver is trained to handle conversation with your senior.

For more information on senior care and home care in the Phoenix area contact Care-To-Go.  Senior Travel Companion

service is available at CareToGoTravel.com