How do Shingles Affect the Elderly and the Immunocompromised?
Simply put, Shingles is an attack on the body's immune system. Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a viral infection that causes a painful skin rash which often include blisters. The blisters most commonly appear in a stripe like pattern, entering at the roots of nerves and follows them to the skin. Shingles is caused by a reactivation of the varicella zoster virus, also known as chicken pox. The chicken pox virus lies dormant for years, sometimes even decades, waiting to be reactivated.
Approximately one in three Americans will experience Shingles in their lifetime. Typically, Sh ...... Read More
Choosing the Right Cemetery
As aging seniors approach their final years of life, they are confronted with the task of choosing their final resting place. Most are unsure where to start when it comes to the cumbersome task of picking the right cemetery because of the many options involved in the decision-making process. Unfortunately, many do not prepare well enough in advance leaving their families behind with the difficult responsibility of deciding on the arrangements. This responsibility is often complicated by the emotional stress of losing a loved one. Consequently, it is important to prepare in advance.
Types ...... Read More
May is Stroke Awareness Month
May is National Stroke Awareness Month. For this incredible month, health organizations across the globe like the NIH, CDC, SOPHE (Society for Public Health and Education), and more team up to help educate the public on stroke risk factors and warning signs.
Our mission at Foundational Homecare is to provide your family with the knowledge and support they need to help maintain the health and comfort of loved ones. This means learning to prevent strokes, understanding when to take action, and how to navigate the long road to recovery.
What Exactly Is a Stroke?
Though many of us underst ...... Read More
Three Reasons Seniors are Failing to Cope in Their Final Years
February 12, 2021 | by Thomas Day
If a senior or a senior couple is relying on investments and savings to augment income such as Social Security or pensions, and for various reasons those retirement accounts did not produce the anticipated results, many seniors find themselves in a bind in their later years where they are unable seek employment to make up the difference.
Income might also not be keeping pace due to an unwanted accumulation of debt, particularly credit card debt. For whatever reason, banks have been particularly liberal about issuing credit cards to older individuals ...... Read More
Understanding Sundowners Syndrome
January 27, 2021 | by the National Care Planning Council
If you know or care for someone who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, you may notice regular behavioral changes at certain times of the day. Doctors refer to this as Sundowners Syndrome, 'late-day confusion', or 'sundowning', as symptoms occur late in the afternoon or when the sun sets. Symptoms tend to alleviate by morning. More than 60% of adults who suffer from late-stage Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia experience a certain set of sundowning (neuropsychiatric) symptoms, which include:
Confusion
Disoriented
Ir ...... Read More
7 Tips to Work With Seniors Living With Dementia in Newton and Boston
There’s a senior in your life that relies on you to take care of them in Newton or Great Boston Area . Dementia can make things more challenging, but the reward lies within the beauty of what they are able to do.
Acknowledge their reality.
This is the first and most important aspect of caring for anyone living with Alzheimer’s or a dementia-related disorder in Newton and Boston.
When you encounter a situation where someone is saying something that doesn’t make sense or is saying something that is not true, this is their reality. This is what they believe is ...... Read More
Strategies for Successful Aging
November 13, 2020 | by Thomas Day
Aging and death are an inevitable consequence of being part of an earthly existence. But not all people are the same when it comes to aging. Some people are "old" well before their time and well before that magical and totally arbitrary age of 65. Others remain active and healthy well into their 80s and 90s. Many would argue those who age prematurely and who die early do so because of the genetic disposition that dictates the outcome. In some cases this may be true. In many cases this is not true. There are a number of factors that affect the health and ...... Read More
Three Things You Need To Do Before Arranging In-Home Senior Care
If you’ve been watching television news reports lately, one of the main topics of discussion is the growing population of seniors, and given the way modern medicine has helped prolong people’s lives, it’s easy to see why we have more elderly men & women than we have before. As such, it should be no surprise that one of the prominent changes in health care has been the rise in in-home senior care.
Less people want to spend time in a hospital or other medical facility. Issues pertaining to hospital politics and a lack of compassion, for example, have combined to make anyone ill ...... Read More
5 Alzheimer’s Home Care Decisions You Should Make Before You Have To
Families having to work though the ins and out of Alzheimer’s home care dealing with things they would never wish on an enemy. Alzheimer’s disease is such a devastating diagnosis because hearing it means you may have to watch a loved one go through a physical & mental breakdown that’s hard to watch. Still, no matter the prognosis, families having to work through the details of Alzheimer’s home care so that their loved one is getting all of the care they need at every step of the way.
That said, this isn’t always easy. No one wants to see a family member slowly (other times ...... Read More
Diabetes in Elderly Adults – Symptoms, Signs, and Health
July 27, 2020 | by the National Care Planning Council
14 million older adults living in the U.S have diabetes. This disease corelates with serious complications in the body, such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-limb amputation. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Below is some information and tips on how to manage and prevent diabetes. [i]
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes means your blood glucose (often called blood sugar) is too high. Your blood always has some glucose in it because your body needs glucose for energy. But ...... Read More
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