Remember to stock up on all things sweet this month for the trick-or-treaters, but even better, let’s celebrate the devoted professionals who help us move better, feel stronger, and live healthier—it’s Physical Therapy Month, too! Physical therapists play a critical role in improving the overall quality of life for people of all ages—especially seniors.
If exercise hasn’t been your thing for several years, it might be a good time to consider some. As we age, we lose muscle mass, and the less we move, the more we could lose—not just in strength but abilities, too! Without doing activities of some sort, we could end up more sedentary than we wish.
Ghosts and goblins aside, nothing is spookier than falling, getting injured, and losing the ability to care for our own needs! As we prepare for what Mother Nature might hand out this winter, here are some excellent thinking points about why it could be good to add more movement to your life:
Benefits of Staying Active:
Cut your risk of infections
Decrease your risk of falls
Drop your risk of anxiety & depression & reduce the severity of your symptoms
Eliminate unwanted medications from your list
Improve your quality of life
Increase your strength and endurance
Maintain your ability to be independent
Reduce your pain & risk of reinjuries
When you can move freely, your systems work better (heart, lungs, & digestion)
Physical Therapy Can Help
Contrary to a popular myth, you don’t have to be injured or have a history of falls BEFORE you speak with your doctor about physical therapy (PT). Life is much simpler if you can do PT before you get hurt or require surgery or healing time. Preventative treatment from PT could help you keep moving, and it could avoid injuries.
Physical therapy can help people by reducing pain when they move, making it easier to stay active. Walking with confidence is also easier when you don’t have to worry about falling. Additionally, life can feel more fulfilling when you can maintain your independence and do as much as possible independently without needing assistance.
Keep Your Independence
While some days it might sound nice to have a maid around to do all the housework and run our errands, that idea usually feels best if it’s our choice. If we can’t do something and rely on others to get by, it can affect us very differently—on an emotional level.
Everyone has their special process for housework, cooking, driving, etc. When we begin relying on that support because we feel like we don’t have choices due to injuries or pain, it can be hard to accept. No one does things like we do; we often take our abilities and freedom to make choices for granted. Being able to move freely when and how we want is truly priceless.
If you’re experiencing decreased strength, pain, or limitations in your abilities, add reaching out to CaringEdge to your list of to-dos. We offer physical, occupational, and speech therapies, and we may be able to help you right where you call home, making it convenient for you to get back to moving again or stay that way!
Contact us at info@caringedge.com. Let us help you explore your insurance and determine how to qualify for the strengthening treatment you need to stay healthy—our patients are our purpose!
Many of us take for granted the simple things in life. Our body’s basic abilities, like being able to see, hear, and breathe, are gifts we don’t often celebrate until they’re compromised.
COPD, “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease,” impacts nearly 16 million adults. Managing the setbacks from COPD can feel like a full-time job, not to mention trips to the ER or hospital can take patients away from home frequently.
Once you develop a condition like COPD, it’s not going away, but with the right resources and self-care, it can be manageable at home.
Here are ten tips for living better with COPD:
Don’t Smoke
Stay Hydrated
Eat a Proper Diet
Don’t Skip Your Medication
Avoid Poor Air Quality (pet dander, secondhand smoke, areas of inadequate ventilation)
Exercise
Try Pulmonary Rehab
Get Plenty of Rest
Use Your Oxygen
Ask for Help
Home Care Services
COPD can cause gradual shortness of breath, which may worsen as the condition progresses. Being unable to breathe can make caring for your home or yourself difficult.
Vacuuming, laundry, sweeping, mopping, outside chores, and even showering can be taxing and sometimes even feel impossible. If you stop doing the basic things you need to do each day, hygiene risks due to poor air quality, unsanitary conditions, or even skin breakdown can add to your existing health struggles. One way to avoid these issues is by finding support.
While home health and home care are often confused, a home care service helps patients with non-medical needs at home. They also provide personal care assistance to ensure their clients have proper hygiene.
Home care services may be able to do light housekeeping and assist with bathing tasks to ensure your safety. Each provider offers different services, but some providers can help with transportation, scheduling appointments, picking up groceries, preparing meals, or running errands.
Even a small amount of help, such as a day or two a week, can help improve life and help to reduce risks. They may be the missing piece you need to continue living independently!
Home Health Services
Home health services vary but may include a registered nurse (RN) who visits your home. Services can also include physical, occupational, and speech therapies, as well as a registered dietician to help support the nutritional needs of patients experiencing various health conditions.
When an RN visits your home, they can offer education, monitor your vitals and health changes, and help you learn to manage your condition independently. Care, health monitoring, and education at home may help prevent your condition from worsening and reduce the need for ER visits or hospital stays.
Each patient’s goals and needs are unique. Home health clinicians can help create a care plan centered around your outcomes to help you be successful, healthy, and safe.
If you or someone you love is managing a life-limiting chronic condition such as COPD, call CaringEdge today at 877-907-8684 or email us at info@caringedge.com. We can conduct a free consultation to determine your eligibility. If you’re on a limited or fixed income, Medicare or Medicaid may even be able to cover the costs!
September is here. It’s time to prepare for a new season with cooler temperatures, and don’t forget to celebrate Healthy Aging Month!
While genetics play a factor in our health, our choices and lifestyle do, too. When retirement closes the door to busy schedules and commutes, another door opens to hobbies and free time. It’s a great opportunity to have the time and attention to improve habits and adopt healthy activities.
Here are ten ideas to kick off Healthy Aging Month:
1. Take Control of Your Health:
From reducing stress to improving the numbers in your medical chart, it’s never too late to begin managing your mental and physical health. Doing so will help you maintain your independence, greatly impacting your quality of life as your years begin to add up.
Healthy aging is a balancing act: too much of anything isn’t good for you. If you have habits to change or complex emotions to regulate, your doctor’s office is the best place to start so you can find activities that will suit you best.
2. Do Some Gardening:
Whether you’re foraging the last of your summer veggies, pruning your shrubs, or planting a beautiful display of tulips, gardening can be done at whatever pace you find comfortable. It’s great exercise; it gives you a reason to be outside, and if you’re planting something for springtime, it can help you get excited about what will pop up.
3. Play Pickleball:
This one is sweeping our nation by storm. Although it’s been around longer in some communities, many rural areas are improving their parks and recreation options by adding pickleball courts. When you partake in a game, you also open the door to social opportunities.
4. Travel:
Seeing new places, faces, and nature scenes can help nourish the soul. Visit that friend from college you lost contact with or long-lost relatives in other cities and states. See as much as possible and take all the photos to remember your adventures.
5. Be a Local Tourist:
List the nearby attractions you haven’t had a chance to enjoy and visit! Have you longed to visit the arboretum, museum, or community theater? Are you driving near beautiful waterfalls every day that you’ve only heard about, or perhaps there’s a famous landmark nearby that you’ve never seen?
6. Check out Book Clubs:
It’s important to keep learning. If you can join an established book club, that’s great, or you can start your own based on topics and books that interest you the most.
7. Do Some Organizing:
Whether your junk drawer needs a good once-over or you could really benefit from downsizing your closets, garage, or entire home, this project is a gift. You can see what you have and what you need, and it helps you think about eliminating what you don’t. Have a rummage or estate sale for a bonus activity that puts money in your pocket!
8. Take a Class:
From dancing to knitting to social media and pottery, community education classes are typically low in cost and high in satisfaction. They’re also offered at varied times during the year so participants can attend in a season that works best.
9. Spend Time Outside:
Nature is great for the soul! Hiking, biking, or walking along public trails can help improve your mood and well-being. Even a picnic in the park with family helps you socialize, get fresh air, and, if you’re lucky, get a dose of vitamin D from the sun.
10. Volunteer: Find an organization that speaks to your soul and volunteer your time for those who need it in your area, or check with us at CaringEdge. Our hospice patients benefit greatly from our kind, compassionate volunteers who help with everything from washing dishes to sitting on the front porch enjoying coffee.
If you’re interested in learning how to help as a volunteer, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@caringedge.com.
Ahh, it’s almost time to tackle the fall to-do list. Have you made yours yet? Some lists are as simple as washing a few windows, whereas others might entail raking the yard, bagging leaves, leaves, and more leaves (the week after, more again).
As you prepare for your seasonal list, have you considered who can help? Do you need help? Are you SURE you don’t need help?
Using step ladders, hoisting heavy bags, and treating the blisters that always seem to come from holding a rake is often part of that to-do list, whether we intend them to be or not. When you make your list, consider having some first-aid relief on hand to care for what may come from seasonal chores. While you’re at it, have you made your annual check-ups to be sure you’re in tip-top shape to do everything you need to before the snowflakes fly?
Here are some helpful ideas to remember all the chores in and around your home and a few additional tips to stay healthy this winter:
Outside:
Be sure to have heating sources prepared (wood stacked conveniently or fuel refilled)
Turn off outdoor faucets
Be sure hoses are drained and tucked away neatly
Prepare your mowers, blowers, and weed whips for freezing weather
Rake or mulch the leaves in your yard
Clean your windows so you can enjoy the winter scenes
Clear out gutters
Cover the air conditioner
Deep-clean dryer vents
Inspect any electrical cords you may have to ensure they’re safe for use & not frayed
Install storm windows & doors
Clean your vehicle & put a winter emergency kit in the trunk
Inside:
Clean the fridge and freezer
Change the furnace filter
Change your smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries
Be sure your fire extinguishers are easy to access and not expired
Clean your ducts/vents
Find & clean your winter gear (hats, gloves, boots, etc.)
While preparing your home inside and out is great, consider a shopping trip while the weather is nice. Some items may be bulky and inconvenient to lug around in shopping carts once the snow and slush arrive:
Staying ahead of medication refills/taking medications as prescribed
Did you know that outpatient therapy can be done BEFORE you have an injury? Yes, it’s true! If you’re having near misses, losing your balance, or feeling unsteady, outpatient therapy can help you regain strength and abilities. Therapies can also help you move and do tasks in a way that reduces your pain.
The best way to stay strong for the future is to keep moving. If moving is starting to be difficult or you’re having falls you are afraid to admit to your family, call CaringEdge. We can talk through what is needed to be approved for outpatient therapy. Doing therapy before you lose abilities entirely can do wonders for your future, and it can help you stay strong over the winter so you’re ready to plant your flowers in the spring!
How do we get from eating an apple a day to keep the doctor away to needing a pill organizer for all of our medications so quickly? “Someday” comes faster than we anticipate!
To combat pain and the effects of aging, multiple prescriptions, along with over-the-counter medications, can be common. However, juggling the medications we’re prescribed may not only feel daunting but can sometimes prove to be dangerous.
Remember that you have a voice as a medical patient or a pharmacy customer. Sometimes, medications prescribed to help us can do more harm than good. When in doubt, always check it out!
Medication Safety Tips:
If possible, use the same pharmacy and doctor (pharmacy or doctor hopping can increase your risk for adverse reactions to medications prescribed to you).
Follow your prescription instructions; never take more medication than prescribed.
Keep a current list of all over-the-counter medications and supplements you use.
Store your medications in a safe place and dispose of them with the help of your local pharmacy when they’re no longer needed or expired.
Watch for medications that look unfamiliar in size or color or if the number of pills you need to take has changed (if you experience an unexpected hospital stay, don’t recognize the pills being given, or are unaware of what’s being provided, ask).
Common Side Effects from Multiple Medications:
Blurred Vision
Bleeding
Bruising
Cognitive Impairment
Confusion
Constipation
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Dry Mouth
Falls
Headaches
Indigestion
Loss of Balance
Skin Rash
Sleep disturbances (insomnia or sleepiness)
Make the Most of Medical Appointments:
See your medical providers as often as recommended or as new needs occur. During your appointment, discuss your medications.
At your doctor’s visit, inform them of any new health issues and all medications you’re taking.
Tell your doctor if you’re experiencing medication side effects or are concerned before starting new prescriptions.
If you struggle to recall important information during medical appointments, bring someone with you to help communicate, or write a list of questions and concerns to bring with you.
Following a medical appointment, you may request a patient summary to be printed or emailed.
Ask for a printed medication list following an appointment to review the information and be sure it’s accurate.
Keep a current medication list (including supplements, vitamins, and over-the-counter meds) handy for appts.
If you’re seen in the ER or hospitalized, follow up with your primary care provider or ask your medical team to inform them of any new findings, procedures, or prescriptions.
Tell your doctor about any allergies you have (if appropriate, wear medical jewelry).
As a patient, you are at the center of the team; remember that YOU call the shots.
If managing your healthcare needs is taxing and confusing or you don’t feel you can do it independently, appoint a trusted healthcare decision-maker to help.
Additional Tips:
As a patient, you can refuse treatment and seek second or third opinions if necessary. Be consistent in reporting your needs and concerns, and always be forthcoming about your medications. Consistency is key to managing your healthcare needs and staying safe when taking prescriptions. If you should find yourself struggling to manage your medications or have a new health condition, find out if you’re eligible for home health services.
Medicare typically covers home health services, and sometimes, having a little extra help to get used to dealing with a new medical issue can go a long way, especially if you live alone. Living alone, you may not recognize a medication’s side effects or be able to manage a life-threatening side effect on your own.
Home healthcare services can offer a nurse to visit your home to help you understand your condition, manage your medications, and monitor your vitals to ensure your health. They can also recommend helpful services and safety interventions to keep your home a safe place to be.
We all await milestones in our younger years, like getting a driver’s license or graduating high school. Those are exciting times, but later in life, we can become overwhelmed or perhaps even dread what aging may have in store for us.
The good news is that aging can be enjoyable with the right daily support and healthcare. It’s all about prevention, and outpatient therapy is one of the best preventive measures.
Preventative Therapy
Many people think they have to be recovering from an illness or surgery to qualify, but thankfully, those are not the only reasons. You could be eligible for outpatient therapy if you’re feeling weak, losing balance, or having falls—or even close calls! Therapy can help you work to prevent a fall.
By avoiding a fall, you could be saving yourself from a serious setback. Injuries from falls can result in ER visits, hospitalizations, and nursing home stays. One fall can increase the risk of leaving the home where you’re most comfortable. A therapy evaluation can evaluate your balance and strength and determine if you qualify for outpatient therapy services.
Along with this evaluation, therapists may also visit your home to assess your surroundings and identify any risks that increase your chances of falling. They may recommend making changes to enhance access to areas of your home or small additions like grab bars to keep you safe.
Home Health Services
You may achieve a better outcome by combining home health services and outpatient therapy. Home health offers a registered nurse to visit your home to provide help according to your goals.
If you need education to manage a new diagnosis or an ongoing health condition such as diabetes, home health visits can help you prevent unwanted setbacks. Managing life-limiting health conditions can put significant demands on anyone. The travel time alone to pharmacies and clinics and navigating waiting rooms to get care and consultation can feel like a full-time job. Home health can add a layer of convenience to allow you time to rest and return to feeling better versus going into a clinic setting for every treatment.
From dietary education from a registered dietician to receiving IV fluids under your own roof, home health can be a helpful investment in your future. The more your health is managed or, better yet, stabilized, the less likely you will require frequent clinic and ER visits or hospitalizations.
Prepare For the Changing Seasons
As you prepare for the “ber” months this year (September, October, November, and December), consider what would help you stay well this winter. Cold days, snow, and ice can reduce activity levels. Instead of losing strength this season, think about how adding a home health service or two could help you to maintain or improve your abilities.
Connect with us if you think home health services could be right for you or a loved one. Simply reaching out to discuss concerns and needs is just that; it does not guarantee services, but talking through it can provide peace of mind to know if it might be time. We are also happy to help our patients explore insurance coverage to relieve any worries that home health services will cost too much.
Contact us at info@caringedge.com. We’re here to help those on the road of aging to have peace of mind!
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