Senior Vision Health Tips

Many seniors in today’s society are living longer, happier lives because of the contributions that non-medical home care has provided them. While most seniors are able to stay in their homes longer and maintain their independence, many seniors have vision issues that persist as they age. Below are a few helpful tips and suggestions to maintain healthy eyesight in seniors:

Schedule regular eye exams for yourself

It is crucial for everyone to have regular eye exams, regardless of age. However, this is especially important for senior citizens. Vision can worsen in a short period, and that prescription you received only a few months ago could be much different than your current level of vision.

Be sure to protect your eyes properly

When you are outside, you must do what you can to protect your eyes from the harsh sunlight. It is particularly ideal to do so during the summer. Wear a hat and some sunglasses with adequate UV protection to keep your eyes from being damaged by UV radiation from the sun.

Take multivitamins daily

A multivitamin provides a great balance of nutrients that you will need for many things, including good vision. By taking them every day, you will ensure that your body has the right amount of nutrients to improve the chances that your vision will be maintained.

Eat the right amount of vegetables and fruits

Be sure to eat a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables. That way, you will get a rich variety of vitamins. Studies have shown that there are many benefits to senior citizens eating a diet with an abundance of these foods, especially when it comes to vision.

Quit smoking

People who smoke can have their blood flow to their eyes restricted. This may contribute to eye conditions.

Use enough light when reading

If you are going to be reading or doing something that requires you to use your eyes a great deal, it is important to have adequate lighting to avoid strain.

Do not strain your eyes

Take frequent breaks from watching TV or using electronics. Be sure to do this before your eyes begin hurting.

Do your best to maintain a high quality of life and follow these tips for your vision. As you become older, these strategies will be extremely valuable to you. Consult with your elderly living specialist to learn more about vision health or to have a vision health cheat sheet constructed for your reference. 

Reviewing 3 Services of Home Care Agency Always Best Care

When loved ones become senior citizens and are confined more and more to their home as they become more medically fragile, the services of a home care company such as Always Best Care are invaluable to both the senior and his or her family members. The client receives the assistance with everyday tasks needed to remain at home and independent while family members gain peace of mind knowing that their loved one is being taken care of when they cannot be present themselves.

Three Always Best Care Senior Services

There are a variety of services provided for seniors by Always Best Care to serve their needs. One of these is a remarkable free service called Always in Touch. Offered to anyone in the US and Canada through application, this is a telephone program designed to reassure seniors that they are not alone and to make sure that those who live alone are okay on a day-to-day basis. Designed for the isolated and homebound disabled adult or senior citizen, this weekday "safety check" gives the client an opportunity to socialize and have contact with a friendly person so they don't feel so alone.

Always on Call is a telemedicine service offered to clients who use five or more hours of monthly in-home care. The client or a family member can call a physician 24/7 for non-emergency medical issues, for prescription refills (non-narcotic only) or when their primary physician is not available. The client does not have to leave home, wait, or pay a doctor. Six free consultations are available per year, with more available for a small fee.

Always Safe is a way to combine in home care services three times a week with a 24/7 fall prevention and detection coverage free of additional charges.  Fall prevention is a key safety concern in the homes of seniors and early fall detection and assistance is critical to a good recovery.

This comprehensive plan begins with a 35-point home inspection to identify hazards and make home safer for the senior. The caregiver works on fitness and strength to help the client remain active and mobile. The client is monitored through Lifeline with AutoAlert, which automatically calls for help when a fall has been detected.  Help is immediately available and emergency response can be called if needed. This provides 24/7 protection for the client and peace of mind for the family.

Like many other home care agencies, Always Best Care offers some great services that seniors utilize on a regular basis. If you or somebody that you know or love is in need of home care services, it may be well worth your time to consider Always Best Care. 

Tips for Caregivers of Dementia Patients

When you are called upon to care for a person with Alzheimer's disease or some other form of dementia, you must bring two key qualities with you to the task. One is a positive attitude and the other is patience.  For many caregivers, this is their opportunity to lovingly give back to someone who is important to them.  For others, for whom their relationship with the patient has been problematic or hurtful in the past, it may be particularly trying to offer empathy and kindness during patient care so a great support system will be vital for them.

Caregiving for Dementia Patients

Receiving the diagnosis of Alzheimer's may be harder on you than your loved one as time goes on. As their condition progresses, it may be necessary to gently remind the person that they have Alzheimer's as they question why you will not allow them to do things they used to do themselves (cook while alone, drive and use power tools, for example).  Simply refer to the person's "memory problems" as the source of the changes. Be prepared to patiently repeat something you have already said again and again, as the person will not remember it.

Learning to communicate both verbally and non-verbally is critical. Your positive attitude is vital as dementia patients are very able to read and respond to body language, positive or negative. Let the person know you heard their question and answer it, even if it has been asked three times already. That is the nature of the disease. If a request is irrational or inappropriate, do not argue or try to change their viewpoint, but gently redirect to a more appropriate way or topic. Offer lots of love and affection, if this has been natural in your relationship. Otherwise, be patient. Be positive in responding to the patient.

As the disease progresses, a person in senior care with dementia needs certain behaviors from their caregivers. These include:

• Respecting their worth and needs as a person: love, human contact, gentle touches, being spoken to-just as a baby responds to a caregiver, so too will a dementia patient. If treated poorly, they feel grief, rejection and emotional pain.
• Accepting their declining capabilities: Remain patient, calm and supportive while having flexibility in your care plan.
• Managing behavior problems: Aggressiveness, forgetfulness and wandering are symptoms of the disease and not to be taken as personal attacks against you. Medication may be of assistance in some cases.
• Accepting that this is harder on you than it is on them: You are fully aware of the person's declining condition. Mercifully, they are not.
• Having a steady caregiver: Seek a support group and/or supportive friends to help you through this time of grief and strain. Take time out and have home care help for a day or two each week to allow you to recharge yourself for your own well-being.

Above all, practice maintaining your patience when offering a dementia sufferer senior care at home.  The dementia patient is not aware of their memory loss or how it is affecting you, so be prepared for repeat behaviors. Always remember that they can still respond to your smiles and touch.

Home Care Visits Lessen Need to Be Hospitalized Again

The results of a recent study conducted at North Shore University Hospital clearly indicate that patients who receive follow-up home care from a nurse practitioner following cardiac surgery were less likely to need readmission to the hospital within 30 days of their initial stay, and also achieve a higher survival rate than patients who do not.  In fact, patients who had no assistance at home after their surgery were re-hospitalized at triple the rate (almost 12 percent) of those who do have in-home assistance (almost four percent).

The Advantages of In-Home Care

According to Dr. Michael Hall, who is NSUH's Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery, the nurse practitioners who cared for the patients in their homes had also cared for them during their hospital stays and so were familiar with their conditions and their particular needs.  The NPs visited their patients at home for the first two weeks following discharge twice weekly.  During these visits, the Nurse Practitioner's job was to:

• Provide the patient with a physical exam
• Provide management of the patient's medication
• Serve as a liaison for the patient with his/her family doctor, cardiologist, pharmacist, others
• Contact social service agencies for future needs, if necessary

The NPs participating in the studies had special smart phones that were encrypted for patient information privacy to allow them to send the surgeons patient data, vital signs and photographs of patients' surgical sites for care instructions. The patients continued to receive the latest in updated care for these weeks following their surgery even though no longer being supervised in a hospital setting but enjoying the comfort of home.

Additional Findings of NSUH Continued Care at Home Study

As summarized by the May 2014 article on this study in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Hall also spoke of some of the problems the NPs dealt with while working with the patients in the study that are indicative of the reasons patients without care at home fare poorly and must return to the hospital for further care. These are:

• Failure to fill new prescriptions due to cost issues
• Substituting their old prescriptions instead to save money because they erroneously believe they are still good or appropriate, when they are not
• Not following up with seeing doctors in the community for lack of transportation

Nurse practitioners were able to help patients with these and various other issues on an individual basis because they could respond within that patient's community to his or her needs once they visited them in their home.