The Aftermath of Long-Term Caregiving: Is Stress the New Normal?
Often long-term caregivers wonder if their lives will ever return to normal. The short answer is no; at least for most of us. There will be changes in your personality, both positive and negative, so what you view as normal will change.
Each day as a caregiver (to some degree) hinges on the health and welfare of our care receivers. After months or years of caregiving, stress can become a daily companion. I believe caregivers often recognize one or more triggers that symbolize this stress.
For me it was the blinking message light on the home phone. Though the multiple elders I cared for are now deceased, to this day...
Source: Minding Our Elders - August 18, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
An Older Adult Skips Bathing? Maybe there ’s a Reason
A common complaint about older people, especially those who have health challenges, is that they “smell” or have other signs that they don’t shower or bathe often enough to stay fresh.
Some of this may be driven by ageist stereotypes, but some of it can be based in truth. If you have a parent or other older adult in your family and you feel that poor hygiene is a realistic issue, the first thing you should do is try to determine why the person isn't keeping up with self-care.
Understand that we aren’t talking about someone who wasn’t smelling too fresh one day when you stopped in. There could be many rea...
Source: Minding Our Elders - August 17, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
An Older Adult Skip ’s Bathing? Maybe there’s a Reason
A common complaint about older people, especially those who have health challenges, is that they “smell” or have other signs that they don’t shower or bathe often enough to stay fresh.
Some of this may be driven by ageist stereotypes, but some of it can be based in truth. If you have a parent or other older adult in your family and you feel that poor hygiene is a realistic issue, the first thing you should do is try to determine why the person isn't keeping up with self-care.
Understand that we aren’t talking about someone who wasn’t smelling too fresh one day when you stopped in. There could be many rea...
Source: Minding Our Elders - August 17, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
How Common Has Private Currency Been?
Lawrence H. WhiteRecently, an investment advisor and Bitcoin proponenttweeted the claim that “[f]or most of human history” the “[s]eparation of money and state was the norm, even if the state stamped their ruler’s face on the coin.” Some strong disagreement (and some strong support) followed the tweet. The mostcategorical criticism asserted: “Money is and always has been a creation of government. ” A somewhat milder challenge asserted that “Private moneys have seldom been main media of exchange.”First, let ’s clarify the object of the discussion. If we define “money” the way that economist...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - August 16, 2022 Category: American Health Authors: Lawrence H. White Source Type: blogs
People Living with Dementia May Fight Bathing: Compassion, Education Can Help
Many older adults may not bathe as often as younger people think they should, but what about people living with dementia? Here lies a much greater challenge.
People living with Alzheimer’s, or another type of dementia will often refuse or even physically lash out when pushed to shower or bathe. This behavior frustrates well-meaning family caregivers to no end. They worry that their family member may have increased urinary infections or even skin infections when regularly bathing doesn’t happen. Understandably, too, they would like their loved one freshened up, not only for themselves but also for others.
Making...
Source: Minding Our Elders - August 16, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Spouse Criticized for How He Cares for Wife with Dementia
Dear Carol: My wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s eight years ago. While it hasn’t been easy keeping her home with me, it’s been her choice – and mine. Neither of us is young, but I’m healthy and strong so I see no reason why people keep criticizing my decision to keep her in our home. The criticism’s gotten worse since she became incontinent. I’ll be the first to admit that there are extra challenges when you add incontinence to the already substantial job of caring for someone with dementia, but we make do. How do I respond? - KR
Dear KR: Most family caregivers do their best. Of ...
Source: Minding Our Elders - August 15, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Adult Child with Snowbird Parents Worries about Long-Distance Care
Photo credit Maller Lotte Meijer
Dear Carol: After my parents retired, they moved south to enjoy the year-round heat. Dad’s since had a heart bypass and mom had a hip replacement, but otherwise, they seem well enough. Still, these are red flags. We’ve tried to convince them to move back home, but they say they are home. They take care of each other now, but with worsening health, or when one of them passes, things will need to change. How do we prepare for that time? – PF
Continue reading on Inforum for tips on planning for potential parent care when they live far away:
Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share ...
Source: Minding Our Elders - August 14, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
People Living with Dementia May Fight Bathing: Compassion, Education Can Help
Many older adults may not bathe as often as younger people think they should, but what about people living with dementia? Here lies a much greater challenge.
People living with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia will often refuse or even physically lash out when pushed to shower or bathe. This behavior frustrates well-meaning family caregivers no end. They worry that their family member may have increased urinary infections or even skin infections when regularly bathing doesn’t happen. Understandably, too, they would like their loved one freshened up, not only for themselves but also for others.
What to do...
Source: Minding Our Elders - August 13, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Cohabitation with Parent Working Except for Incontinence Battles
Dear Carol: My mom has lived with us for several years and it’s been going pretty well up to now. Her dementia is worsening, which we expected. What we didn’t expect was to have so much trouble managing incontinence. This seems like a small thing when we consider the many challenges of dementia care, but with help from a geriatrician, I’ve learned how to respond to most situations in the recommended manner (most of the time). Except for the incontinence problem. Mom’s ruining the furniture with her need to be “independent” and none of the tricks that I've learned are helping. If the mess were confined to ...
Source: Minding Our Elders - August 12, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
The Macro View – Health, Economics, and Politics and the Big Picture. What I Am Watching Here And Abroad.
August 11, 2022 Edition-----It is hard to go past just how bad the level strategic stability in the world seems to have gone backwards with the war hardly stopping, Nancy Pelosi poking Chinese bears. The UK imploding economically and Europe on the brink of collapse.I have never seen it this bas and many senior commentators agree. Really very worrying!-----Major Issues.-----https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/newspoll-record-electoral-satisfaction-rating-for-anthony-albanese/news-story/6ad1f681586961423e3eb75a05b99949Newspoll: Record electoral satisfaction rating for Anthony AlbaneseSimon BensonJuly 31, 2022Anthony Alba...
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - August 11, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Dr David G More MB PhD Source Type: blogs
Coping with the Stigma that Accompanies Dementia
Photo credit Angels Vicente
People stare. Most are not unkind; they are just curious. But when someone "different" from the norm becomes part of their environment, they often gawk without thinking about or understanding how this affects others. Anyone who has cared for a disabled child or has a visible disability of their own knows this. However, people who care for an elder with dementia may have more difficulty coping with the stares of the public because the person they are caring for was once their dignified father or charismatic mother. The pain of seeing others stare, not knowing how this person was robbed of his or...
Source: Minding Our Elders - August 11, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Siblings Who Feel Shut Out of Caregiving: Yes, It Happens
This article offers a glimpse into another perspective on caregiving: that oft maligned long-distance siblings may actually be excluded by primary caregivers.
Continue reading on Agingcare for discussion about why some caregivers would (sometimes legitimately, other times not) rather go it alone:
Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. “I hold onto your book as a life preserver and am reading it slowly on purpose...I don't want it to end.” ...Craig William Dayton, Film Composer
Discover the Difference. EGOSAN - the Top-Rated incontinence brand from Italy. Now Available on Amazon.
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Source: Minding Our Elders - August 8, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, August 8th 2022
In conclusion, aging research will benefit from a better definition of how specific regulators map onto age-dependent change, considered on a phenotype-by-phenotype basis. Resolving some of these key questions will shed more light on how tractable (or intractable) the biology of aging is.
Does Acarbose Extend Life in Short Lived Species via Gut Microbiome Changes?
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2022/08/does-acarbose-extend-life-in-short-lived-species-via-gut-microbiome-changes/
Acarbose is one of a few diabetes medications shown to modestly slow aging in short-lived species. Researchers here take a...
Source: Fight Aging! - August 7, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Husband with Dementia Talks to His Long-Deceased Parents
Dear Carol: Though my husband was diagnosed with dementia four years ago, he’s had symptoms for much longer. I’ve learned a lot from reading your column and joining a support group, but I’m still struggling with some of his behavior. What’s going on is that he sees and/or talks with his long-deceased parents. I’ve told him that they are waiting for him in heaven, but that upsets him because then he thinks they just died. When I tell him that this happened long ago, he argues and gets agitated. Sometimes I even wonder if this behavior means that my husband’s not long for this world. I’m torn between just leavi...
Source: Minding Our Elders - August 7, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Caring For Those in Chronic Pain: How Spouses Cope
Photo credit Justin Follis
Traditional marriage vows generally contain the words "through sickness and in health." For some couples, chronic sickness in the form of a painful disease can come close to defining their lives. I set out to see how these caregivers coped with this change, chronic pain, in their marriages. Research first led to Lynn Greenblatt, a family caregiver for her husband who was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in July 2008. I began by asking Lynn how she provides the care that her husband needs.
Lynn's Story: "My husband Seth has been in constant severe burning p...
Source: Minding Our Elders - August 6, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
