Healthy but Older Mom Refuses Daughter's Care
Dear Candid Caregiver: My 79-year-old mom has been widowed for a little over a year. She’d always depended on Dad to help her because her arthritis limited her movement and she uses a walker much of the time. Now, though, there’s been a complete change in attitude, and she insists that she can take care of everything herself, even physical tasks that are clearly a challenge. I’m not certain whether she’s trying to prove something or if it has something to do with Dad’s death. Whatever her reasoning, I worry about her. I can’t be with her all the time, so I want to help make her home safer, wherever that h...
Source: Minding Our Elders - May 8, 2020 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
All rise now — just how fit are you?
How fit are you, really? Fitness is not always best measured by parameters like your weight, your ability to run a 5K, or whether you can do 10 push-ups. Instead, one test of fitness is how well you can stand from a seated position.
Try this: Rise from the floor without using your hands
Before you start: Keep in mind that this test is not for everyone. For instance, someone with a sore knee, arthritis, poor balance, or another kind of limitation would have difficulty doing the test with little or no assistance.
Instructions: Sit on the floor with your legs crossed or straight out. Now stand up again. (This may not an easy ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - May 6, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Matthew Solan Tags: Exercise and Fitness Health Healthy Aging Men's Health Women's Health Source Type: blogs
Part Two: Mastering Wrist Arthrocentesis
We discussed the initial approach to the red, hot swollen wrist joint last month, and this month we focus on arthrocentesis of the joint with a full video of the procedure, including ultrasound and joint aspiration.A swollen, painful wrist that is hot to the touch with scant erythema is concerning for septic arthritis. The patient had multiple Band-Aids on his fingertips from blood glucose testing for diabetes, which increased his chances of having a septic joint with the punctures serving as an entry site for infection. Photo by Martha Roberts.The ProcedureIdentify the swollen joint, review the differential diagnosis, ...
Source: The Procedural Pause - May 1, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Harvard Health AdWatch: An arthritis ad in 4 parts
Perhaps you’ve grown as weary as I have of repeated arthritis ads. They appear in frequent rotation on television, online, and in magazines, promoting Enbrel, Humira, Otezla, Xeljanz, and others.
If you’ve actually read or listened to these ads, you might have felt perplexed at certain points. Here’s a quick rundown on what they’re saying — and not saying — in one of those ads.
“The clock is ticking”
Part 1: A teakettle whistles on the stove and a disembodied voice speaks as this ad for Humira opens. “This is your wakeup call. If you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, month after month the cloc...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 29, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Arthritis Bones and joints Health Inflammation Source Type: blogs
Harvard Health Ad Watch: An arthritis ad in 4 parts
Perhaps you’ve grown as weary as I have of repeated arthritis ads. They appear in frequent rotation on television, online, and in magazines, promoting Enbrel, Humira, Otezla, Xeljanz, and others.
If you’ve actually read or listened to these ads, you might have felt perplexed at certain points. Here’s a quick rundown on what they’re saying — and not saying — in one of those ads.
“The clock is ticking”
Part 1: A teakettle whistles on the stove and a disembodied voice speaks as this ad for Humira opens. “This is your wakeup call. If you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, month after month the cloc...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 29, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Arthritis Bones and joints Health Inflammation Source Type: blogs
Cardiac Arrest. What does the ECG show? Also see the bizarre Bigeminy.
A 60-something woman presented after a witnessed cardiac arrest. CPR was started immediately. EMS arrived and found her in a wide complex PEA rhythm. She was given 3 mg IV epinephrine and multiple rounds of ACLS over approximately 20 minutes.Her husband stated that she had not been feeling well in the past 2 weeks and c/o dizziness as well as diarrhea.She was never defibrillated.I was texted this ECG in real time, but it turns out to actually be the 2nd one recorded in the ED.What do you think?This is what I wrote:This looks like pseudoSTEMI to me. What appears to be ST elevation seems to be a wide QRS. I...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - April 28, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs
Caregiver Living With Chronic Pain Must Set LImits on Care
Photo credit Kat
Dear Carol: My 80-year-old mother had a stroke two years ago and lives in a close-by nursing home. I’m happy to visit her and make sure that her needs are met, but that’s not enough for her. She says it’s my duty to take her to the mall and other places to shop. She’s a large woman and taking her out in this way means getting her in and out of the car as well as wrestling a wheelchair in and out of my car trunk. I have fibromyalgia and body-wide arthritis, but she’s never accepted my health challenges. I’ve offered to take her for drives since the nursing home staff will help her in and ...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 24, 2020 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
5 Social Distancing Busters
You're reading 5 Social Distancing Busters, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Social
distancing and stay-at-home orders are taking a toll on the human psyche and
fueling the loneliness epidemic that has raged for several years. Let’s face
it: It’s isolating inside for long stretches. And when we venture outside, we
find others who look like aliens with face masks and gloves, darting away from
each other. It’s downright creepy.
Before
Coronavirus knocked us off our feet, one-fifth of Americans repor...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - April 24, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Judy Holland Tags: family featured health and fitness relationships covid_19 pickthebrain social distancing Source Type: blogs
Palliative Care Could Help Improve Older Person ’s Quality of Life
Photo credit Toa Heftiba
Dear Carol: My mother is 93 years old and depressed. She has advanced macular degeneration, poor hearing and all-over arthritis pain, which can be debilitating. She has medication for heart and blood pressure, but she refuses to take her pills because they make her feel worse. I know that she’s got a lot of challenges and that she’s in pain, but when she says she’s done living, I don’t know what to say or do. I want to tell her that it will all get better, but obviously, it won’t. I’ve suggested that she see a doctor about an antidepressant. She says she doesn’t want to do that....
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 22, 2020 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Keeping Kids Healthy in the Age of Coronavirus: Dr. Greene on The People ’ s Pharmacy
Transcript
[00:00:00] Joe Graedon: I’m Joe Graedon.
[00:00:01] Terry Graedon: And I’m Terry Graedon. Welcome to this podcast of the People’s Pharmacy.
[00:00:06] Joe Graedon: You can find previous podcasts and more information on a range of health topics at PeoplesPharmacy.com.
[00:00:14] How’s your family holding up during the coronavirus pandemic? Isolation can be especially challenging for children.
[00:00:22] This is the People’s Pharmacy with Terry and Joe Graedon.
[00:00:33] Terry Graedon: Children appear less susceptible than older adults to serious complications of COVID-19...
Source: Conversations with Dr Greene - April 21, 2020 Category: Child Development Authors: Alan Greene MD Tags: Dr. Greene's Blog COVID COVID-19 Viral Infection Source Type: blogs
Keeping Kids Healthy in the Age of Coronavirus: Dr. Greene on The People s Pharmacy
Transcript
[00:00:00] Joe Graedon: I’m Joe Graedon.
[00:00:01] Terry Graedon: And I’m Terry Graedon. Welcome to this podcast of the People’s Pharmacy.
[00:00:06] Joe Graedon: You can find previous podcasts and more information on a range of health topics at PeoplesPharmacy.com.
[00:00:14] How’s your family holding up during the coronavirus pandemic? Isolation can be especially challenging for children.
[00:00:22] This is the People’s Pharmacy with Terry and Joe Graedon.
[00:00:33] Terry Graedon: Children appear less susceptible than older adults to serious complications of COVID-19...
Source: Conversations with Dr Greene - April 21, 2020 Category: Child Development Authors: Alan Greene MD Tags: Dr. Greene's Blog COVID COVID-19 Viral Infection Source Type: blogs
My Experiences with Hydroxychloroquine Urge Caution and Ethical Research into COVID19 Therapies
by Keisha Ray, Ph.D.
I take the drug hydroxychloroquine, brand name Plaquenil, for an autoimmune disease. Hydroxychloroquine was once used to treat malaria and is now commonly used to treat a range of inflammatory disorders like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. If this drug sounds familiar it is likely because it has frequently been in the news as a potential therapy for COVID19. During multiple press conferences the president has touted this drug as a potential cure for COVID19. Medical professionals like Dr.… (Source: blog.bioethics.net)
Source: blog.bioethics.net - April 20, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Keisha Ray Tags: Ethics Featured Posts Health Care Health Policy & Insurance Human Subjects Research & IRBs Informed Consent Pharmaceuticals Politics Public Health #covid19 #diaryofaplagueyear COVID-19 Source Type: blogs
Knee arthroscopy: Should this common knee surgery be performed less often?
Imagine you’re walking along and suddenly experience excruciating knee pain. Though it initially seems stuck in one position, after a minute or two you can limp along home, but just barely. At your doctor’s visit, an x-ray is normal but symptoms continue for weeks. An MRI is performed and now you have an explanation: a torn meniscus. (Two menisci — rubbery cartilage pads that act as shock absorbers — separate the bottom of your knee bone from the top of your shin bone.) A month later, you’re no better despite rest, pain medicines, and physical therapy. It’s time for surgery to fix it, right? Maybe not.
Knee art...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 20, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Injuries Osteoarthritis Pain Management Surgery Source Type: blogs
COVID-19: Hidden Coinfections and Chain Reactions Parasitic Infectious Relationships within Us
By SIMON YU, MD, LT COL, USA (Ret)
Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opened up a new front in the Coronavirus War by saying we don’t just need to treat the acute disease, we need to treat the underlying conditions that make people more susceptible to serious disease progression. He focused on heart disease, and managing mitigating risk factors such as CVD, diabetes, hypertension and smoking in order to increase people’s odds for recovery. The initial focus has been pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with risk factors including asthma, chr...
Source: The Health Care Blog - April 15, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: COVID-19 CDC chronic disease holistic care Pandemic SDoH Source Type: blogs
Does CBD help with arthritis pain?
If you have chronic arthritis pain, you may be wondering about cannabidiol (CBD) as a treatment. CBD, along with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other chemicals, is found in marijuana. But unlike THC, CBD is not “psychoactive” — that is, it does not cause the intoxication or high associated with marijuana use.
There’s a good chance you’ve tried it already: according to a Gallup poll in August of 2019, about 14% of Americans report using CBD products, and the number one reason is pain. The Arthritis Foundation conducted its own poll and found that 29% reported current use of CBD (mostly in liquid or topical...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 10, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Arthritis Complementary and alternative medicine Drugs and Supplements Marijuana Pain Management Source Type: blogs
