Lifestyle Magazine Focuses on Attitude Toward Aging
“At Senior Lifestyle Advantage magazine, we speak to those who are 55 and older, encouraging them to live a healthier, more balanced life with hope. Each issue shares expert advice, easy recipes, travel, and feature stories about living with joy.”
These words are the short version of the message that Judith Stanton, founder and publisher of Senior Lifestyle Advantage, wants to spread. Stanton’s magazine focuses on the ways in which aging can be positive and fun, a viewpoint that is sorely needed at a time when ageism marginalizes a large percentage of our population.
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Source: Minding Our Elders - May 10, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Aging with Ease: How Moving Right Can Make All the Difference
...Most of us move and sit automatically without thinking of how it affects our bodies. With age, however, our habitual movements can translate into poor posture and sore or damaged joints. Mary Derbyshire has some words of wisdom to help us age with less pain, and the approach to movement that she teaches is, well, painless. Derbyshire has taught fitness and movement for over 35 years.
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Source: Minding Our Elders - May 9, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Pain Management as We Age: An Interview with Dr. Denis Patterson
Pain management can be a problem for aging bodies. With the current focus on removing opioids as a go-to solution, doctors are working hard to provide alternatives for their patients. Dr. Denis Patterson is a Board Certified Pain Medicine, Physical Medicine, and Rehabilitation physician and he is the founder and owner of Nevada Advanced Pain Specialists in Reno, Nevada. I’ve had questions for some time about what doctors are suggesting for pain management for aging bodies that may be suffering from old injuries or current issues such as severe arthritic pain, so I asked Dr. Patterson if he would be will...
Source: Minding Our Elders - May 8, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Transitioning from Hospital to Nursing Home Most Practical Move for Some
Dear Carol: My 83-year-old mother has lived with my family for two years, but her Type 1 diabetes and lung problems have been worsening. She also has severe pain from arthritis. Mom was recently hospitalized with a respiratory infection and took a long time to respond to treatment. They finally got the bacteria under control but she’s very weak and her breathing needs monitoring. The doctor insisted that she should only be released to a nursing home. I asked if this was just a time for recovery but he was strong in recommending that she move there permanently. He said that she needs more nursing care than she can g...
Source: Minding Our Elders - May 7, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Driving and Memory Loss: Tips to Help Elders Give Up Driving
For many of us, a car is a sign of independence. But this emotional connection to our automobiles is part of what makes convincing a person that he or she is no longer capable of driving such a volatile battle. The longer adult children or others wait to discuss driving issues with a loved one, the harder it can be.
Occasionally, people in the earlier stages of cognitive or physical decline will recognize the signs of that decline when they have a close call while driving and scare themselves into giving up their right to drive. More frequently, if the person has developed Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia, and the...
Source: Minding Our Elders - May 6, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Nighttime Snacks Stop Some Alzheimer's Wandering
Elderly people often eat more food when they are on a program of frequent, smaller meals than the standard three larger meals a day. Available snacks can also help people with Alzheimer’s who tend to wander. An informal experiment at the Parker Jewish Institute in New Hyde Park, N.Y. found that if they provided people with dementia who became anxious and agitated at night with a snack, they would often calm down and return to bed. Aura Gordon, an RN manager, told one story last month at the Aging in America conference in Chicago. “A patient, ‘a lovely man,’ got out of bed around 2 a.m., as was his custom, pic...
Source: Minding Our Elders - May 5, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Alzheimer's: What Is Really in Your Control?
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, of the more than five million Americans with Alzheimer’s, approximately 200,000 individuals develop the disease before age 65 (younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease or YOAD). Additionally, barring a cure or some type of prevention, someone in the United States will develop the disease every 33 seconds. What do we do, just give up and give in? Or do we look for ways that may give us a better chance to get through our last years without signs and symptoms of this devastating disease? I say let’s fight.
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Source: Minding Our Elders - May 4, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
10 Tips to Ease Alzheimer's Sundowning
Many people who have Alzheimer’s disease experience times, generally as daylight fades and evening approaches when their symptoms intensify. This phenomenon is called sundowning. It’s thought that sundowning stems from a combination of factors such as disorientation due to lack of light, natural fatigue and abnormal disruptions in the body clock. While there’s no cure for sundowning some medications can help. Lifestyle changes can be a vital part of managing sundowning behavior, as well. Below are some tips that may help you and your loved one cope with this often frustrating end-of-day behavior:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - May 3, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Ancient Technique Shown to Alter Brains of People with MCI
In an example of ancient meeting modern, researchers at UCLA and their colleagues tested whether or not yoga and meditation could alter the brains of some people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to help them think more clearly. MCI is often a very early stage of Alzheimer's disease. Their answer was yes. A technique using a yoga pose while meditating was shown by modern methods to be as effective as memory enhancement training (MET). The results of the practices were scientifically proven by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.
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Source: Minding Our Elders - May 2, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
The Aging Digestive System: Maintaining Gut Health As You Age
People of every age experience digestive issues from time to time, but as we get older, annoyances like constipation, diarrhea and gas can become increasingly common. Aspects of our physical health change naturally with age, but poor diet, reduced digestive enzymes, and unbalanced gastrointestinal flora can wreak havoc on both our digestive and immune systems.There are countless products on the market right now to help improve gut health and immune function, but do any of these actually work?
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Source: Minding Our Elders - May 1, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Is Mom Being Over-Medicated In a Nursing Home?
Dear Carol: My mother has had bipolar disorder for most of her life, though medications have helped her stay fairly balanced. She also has diabetes and severe breathing problems so she’s recently entered a nursing home. Mom knew that the move was necessary for her safety and started out quite happy. The staff is great and the home offers a lot of activities for when she’s felt up to it. Lately, though, she’s been so lethargic that I’ve inquired about her medications. It seems that the doctor, who is a geriatrician, has changed them significantly. I realize that Mom has a tricky combination of health problems that r...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 30, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Elders and Heat-waves Can Be a Dangerous Combination
The heat-wave we’ve been having in most parts of the country has made many people a bit crabby. Even those who like heat tend to wilt when there is no break. However, for many elders, extreme heat can be much more than uncomfortable. Extreme heat can kill. One of the many clues that my mother-in-law was ready to move across the avenue from her condominium to a wonderful nursing home was her response one hot summer to an intense heat wave we had here in the Dakotas (yes it gets hot on the prairie). She would have every window shut tight and her fan and air conditioner turned off. No circulation. No cool air. N...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 29, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
6 Potentially Reversible Conditions That Can Mimic Dementia
When dementia symptoms appear it’s natural to fear that the person affected has an incurable form of dementia. Rather than reacting with panic, however, it’s far better to try to remain calm and have a specialist make the determination. Many forms of dementia are incurable, of course, but other conditions can present symptoms that resemble those of dementia but are in fact reversible.
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Source: Minding Our Elders - April 29, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
8 Entertaining Summer Excursions for Elders and Their Caregivers
Summer is a time when it’s generally easier for elders to be out and about than when snow and ice are an issue. Even if our loved ones have dementia, severe arthritis, lung issues or a combination of ailments, there are things we, their caregivers, can do to relieve a sense of being left out of life that can affect people in their situation.
Think about the personality of your ailing elders and consider excursions or entertainment that they may enjoy. A short outing of some type can leave a lasting memory, or it can simply mean that there were some enjoyable moments, but either way, you’ve done someth...
Source: Minding Our Elders - April 28, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
