Home Instead Senior Care Austin - Providing home care for elders and seniors. Call (512) 347-9207.

January is “National Oatmeal Month”? The makers of Quaker Oats says that more individuals consume oatmeal during the month of January than any other month during the year. Maybe because it warms us up so well on cold mornings! So, add more oats to your diet for a healthy heart!

What makes oats so healthy?

Oats are a whole grain food containing fiber, both insoluble and soluble. The insoluble fiber keeps us “regular” by moving foods through the digestive system. Most beneficial are the beta-glucans, a type of soluble fiber shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels, particularly the LDL “bad” cholesterol. High LDL levels are considered a risk factor for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Scientists have compared oats to tiny sponges that pick up cholesterol and carry it out of the body.

Oats are so healthy that foods containing a specific amount may carry a health claim approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1997. An example of an approved food label statement is: “Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include soluble fiber from oatmeal may reduce the risk of heart disease.” The part about a diet “low in saturated fat and cholesterol” reminds us that a bowl of oats won’t make up for a diet of premium ice cream and brownies.

You can top a bowl of oatmeal with old brown sugar and milk, or add dried fruit like raisins or cranberries, fruit-flavored yogurt, fruit preserves or fresh fruit. In January, National Oatmeal Month, make oatmeal-containing foods like this tasty granola from the Quaker Oats Company a tasty and nutritious part of your diet.

http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/newsrelease/2003/010903/03prairi.htm

• Oatmeal Facts
        
  According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), oatmeal lowers total and LDL-cholesterol levels. In turn this helps reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
        
  Heart disease is the number one cause of death in men and women in the United States.
        
  The No. 1 most popular oatmeal recipe is oatmeal cookies. The next most popular recipe containing oatmeal is for meatloaf.
        
  Quaker® Oats was the first brand to put a recipe on a product label. In 1891, Quaker displayed a recipe for oatmeal bread on its packaging.

Here’s a great oatmeal recipe for you given to us by Sandra McElvaney, Real Living Lifestyles Realty.

http://www.realliving.com/Sandra.McElvaney/NewsArticle.asp?article=OatmealMonth&issue=109

Home Instead Senior Care Austin - Providing home care for elders and seniors. Call (512) 347-9207.

Winter can be a dangerous season for older adults. Some of the risks they face are injuries due to falls in ice and snow, difficulty driving in inclement weather and other seasonal dangers.

Here’s what you need to know to protect your older loved ones from falls this winter. It’s very easy to slip and fall in the winter. To lower the odds of a fall:

• Carefully shovel steps and walkways to your home or hire someone to shovel for you
• Do not walk on icy or snowy sidewalks; look for sidewalks that are dry and have been cleared
• Wear boots with non-skid soles so you do not slip when you walk
• If you use a cane, replace the rubber tip before it is worn smooth. You might also buy an ice pick-like attachment that fits onto the end of the cane to help keep you from slipping when you walk with the cane. (You can find these at medical supply stores)

Injury while shoveling snow: When it’s cold outside, your heart works extra hard to keep you warm. Working hard by shoveling snow, for example, may put too much strain on your heart, especially if you have heart disease. Shoveling can also be dangerous if you have problems with balance, or “thin bones” (osteoporosis).

You should:

Ask your healthcare provider whether it is safe for you to shovel snow or do other hard work in the cold. More Senior Tips.

Conflicts happen, and are a normal, healthy part of any relationship; but dealing with them constructively is what helps families prevent estrangement when they do occur. Young or old, family members need to make sure they maintain their important family relationships and remain in each other’s lives by using the following tips.

• Apologize – whether or not you feel you were wrong, apologize for the role you played in the conflict

• Be Sympathetic – let your relative provide their perspective, and remain objective and sympathetic to their feelings

• Put Yourself in Their Shoes – discussions will go more cordially if you treat them the way you, yourself would like to be treated. Listen to what they have to say, and be respectful

• Forgive – often people say they forgive each other, only to bring up the conflict again later down the road; once you say you’ve forgiven your loved one, really make the effort to let it go

• Seek Help – if you really can’t get past the problem, consider using a professional mediator to help you work through the problem with your family

• Stay in Touch – even after the conflict has been resolved, make the effort to remain in each other’s lives.

Call each other, if not regularly, at least on holidays and special occasions; send photos of yourself with your family; and keep them informed about the important milestones and events taking place in your life.

Home Instead Senior Care Austin - Providing the most trusted elder home health in America! Call us today at (512) 347-9207.

Our caregivers know how appropriate and healthy communication can make or break the important relationships that they come to form with the seniors that they care for. They try not to pay attention to the common stereotypes that come with aging, and instead learn about who they are and what’s important to them.

We know that some members of society see seniors as having a low continued value, since they may no longer work and have children who are grown. However, our caregivers focus upon the many contributions that they do make, instead of what they don’t. We like to learn about and help seniors get involved in the community through local volunteering, help them make preparation to donate to important causes, and love hearing the stories about spending times with their grandchildren and families.

Instead of treating seniors differently, we talk to them like people; we know that regardless of physical or cognitive difficulties, children aren’t babies, and they deserve respect too. However, our caregivers have learned it’s not helpful to go overboard either; while we appreciate the knowledge and experience that their advanced aged provides them with, we know it’s better to treat them as we would any other adult, regardless of age.

After years of professional experience, we’ve refined our communication skills with seniors, and encourage families to do the same.

Dr. Jake Harwood, Professor, University of Arizona

Home Instead Senior Care Austin - Providing the most trusted elder home health in America! Call us today at (512) 347-9207.

Seniors can become depressed when their holiday plans don’t go the way they hoped.  However, they don’t need to watch from the sidelines while the holidays happen around them, by taking control and implementing a few simple tips into their lives they can find themselves surrounded by family and friends while making the most of the holiday season.

• Adjust expectations – seniors may set unrealistic expectations with regards to their holiday plans. By speaking with family and friends before the holidays begin, seniors can get a grasp on how things will go. By planning and setting realistic goals, there is little room for disappointment.

• Monitor stress – seniors should be receptive to the signs that their bodies are providing when the stress of the season gets to be too much. Any activities that are overwhelming or stressful should also be limited, or seniors can ask for help from friends and family to assist with cooking, cleaning, shopping or decorating.

• Remain in touch – seniors should try and get together with friends and family by attending gatherings and holiday events. Even if it’s not possible to get together in person, the holidays are a great time to make use of the phone and email to let loved ones know they’re being thought about.

• Attend community events – many communities have holiday shows, plays and musical functions which can be free or relatively inexpensive; this is a great way for seniors to get into the spirit of the season

• Join a group – social or support groups can be a great way to combat loneliness over the holidays and meet new people

• Volunteer – giving back to the community can be very rewarding, especially during the holidays, and is a way to socialize with other people. Consider volunteering at a shelter, soup kitchen, toy drive or gift wrap station.

• Remain healthy – keep up a routine of healthy diet and exercise, which can help maintain good spirits

• Adopt a pet – seniors can get their own holiday present, by adding a pet to their household, which also staves off isolation

• Avoid vices – drinking too much can increase depression, so try and keep it to a limit!

Source: http://www.4therapy.com/consumer/life_topics/article/5558/599/Seniors+and+the+%22Holiday+Blues%22

There’s no denying that family caregivers have a tough job. Managing life with caregiving can be a difficult balance to attain. You may feel as though you are obligated to care for your aging loved one forever since you have committed to care for them for a time, however, sometimes it’s just better to let someone else take over. You need to consider a number of factors, relating to the health of the senior, your relationships and your lifestyle. Take a look at the following points below, to learn why caregivers step down and it if might be time for you to do the same.

Health

• The caregiver is beginning to feel under qualified in their caregiving duties, since the senior’s medical needs are growing
• The caregiver feels overwhelmed by all the responsibilities and is having problems keeping up with the demands; the senior may not be fed on a regular schedule, changed when required, or brought medications on time
• The overall condition of the household has declined since the caregiver started taking responsibility

Relationships

• The caregiver and care recipient have had problems with adjusting to their role changes. For example, an adult child providing care for a mother may find that her mother cannot accept that she is now under her daughter’s care.
• The relationship between caregiver and care recipient is becoming tense
• The caregiver may feel like he/she has lost the family relationship with the senior he/she once had; it could feel more like a business relationship than a family bond
• The caregiver’s relationship with other family members, like a spouse or children have been impacted negatively by the caregiving responsibilities

Lifestyle

• The caregiver can no longer find time for his/herself
• He/she has no opportunity to relieve stress or relax doing enjoyable activities
• The caregiver is unable to accomplish goals and dreams because of the overwhelming responsibilities
• The caregiver is becoming resentful or blames the senior for the drastic lifestyle changes

Home Instead Senior Care Austin - Providing the most trusted elder home health in America! Call us today at (512) 347-9207.

Home Instead Senior Care Austin - Providing the most trusted elder home health in America! Call us today at (512) 347-9207.

After my mom’s stroke, I began pursuing various treatment options to help improve her skills and increase her self-esteem which was greatly compromised by her declining abilities. I had always been hesitant about pursuing alternative therapies, because I didn’t see hw non-medical methods could possibly work. But my thought was; what could it hurt? So I began researching holistic and alternative treatments, including music therapy, to see how they might benefit her.

According to some sources, there is further research being conducted into the specific benefits upon stroke patients, since it recalls recall and recognition of auditory patterns, researchers are hopeful that music might help rebuild the cells impacted by the stroke. That was all I needed to read to start incorporating music into my mother’s regular routine. I wasn’t ready to invest in a musical therapist, but tried to recreate the benefits at home with the help of her full-time, professional caregiver. 

I purchased some classical and Broadway music CD’s that I knew my mom would enjoy. I would put one on every time I came by to visit and encourage her to sing, clap and move to the music. Sometimes it felt a little silly dancing around her home and belting out some of her favorite show tunes, but I lost my self-consciousness once I began to see the benefits upon my mother with my own eyes.

I can’t attest to the impact it’s having upon her mind and body, but I can tell you what it was doing to her overall well-being. She was happy and carefree both during our musical times together and on a day-to-day basis. I knew it took her away from the concerns in her mind, and that she came to really enjoy the time we spent together doing these activities. I can see that my mom is more relaxed and has a smile on her face more often; so even if the music therapy benefits her in no other ways, it’s worth it; because what can be better than knowing you can make your mom smile?
 
Sources: http://www.artsforhealing.org/seniors.php
               http://www.musicworkswonders.com/html/seniors.html

Prevalence of Elder Abuse

Unfortunately many seniors in Austin and the United States have been victimized by elder abuse. The abuse may be physical, emotional, or sexual and can include exploitation, abandonment and neglect.

The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study suggested that more than 500,000 to 1,000,000 Americans aged 60 and older are subject to elder abuse each year and 84% of these cases remain unreported. Often even seniors who are able to report the abuse they’re experiencing do not, either because they’re afraid of retaliation from their abuser; nervous that no one else will want to care for them; and often they are ashamed or feel like they are partially to blame.

Seniors who do choose to come forward have many resources that are available to them and their families. The Eldercare Locator and Administration on Aging can assist with finding people and organizations to seek justice for the senior; which may include setting them up with an ombudsman or legal council. Seniors who are experienced elder abuse can also benefit from attending relevant support groups that will help them understand that while others experience it too; they are not to blame.

Elder abuse is a prevalent issue in the senior community; seniors and their families need to take advantage of available resources and inform themselves so that abuse can be detected and rectified.

Source: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/elder_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm

This year, our family is getting together at my mom’s house. I know that usually when she has visitors over the holiday, she goes all out with meals, décor and gifts. This year, as I know she is concerned about her finances, I am suggesting a new approach to holiday celebrations that won’t cost her a fortune, and she is on board!

At my suggestion, instead of buying new holiday decorations, like she often does every year, her grandchildren are going to help her make some new ones out of twigs, pine cones and walnuts. We’ve chosen some paints and other art supplies in seasonal colors to suit my mom’s theme and the kids are so excited to get started. It will be a fun bonding experience for a grandmother with her grandchildren, and will help get us all in the holiday spirit.

Since we have such a big extended family, when my mom hosts the Christmas day celebrations, she won’t be cooking or catering this time; she has asks everyone to bring a dish for our meal.

My mom has gotten so into the spirit of saving, she’s even encouraging the rest of the family to give homemade gifts instead of bringing store bought items. So for the holidays this year, our family is focusing more on enjoying time spend together than consumerism.

Sources: http://50plus.com/Money/BrowseAllArticles/index.cfm?t_offset=3&documentID=15693
http://www.settlement.org/sys/faqs_detail.asp?faq_id=4000236

Home Instead Senior Care Austin - Providing the most trusted elder home health in America! Call us today at (512) 347-9207.

Let us help you keep mom and dad at home!

There are a variety of options available to senior citizens and figuring out which one is best for your parents will mean asking a range of questions about their medical, physical, and emotional needs. The four major categories out there for elderly assistance are:

1. Home Care- can be adapted to most levels of need. More seriously impaired adults can benefit from the services of adult day care, personal assistance, or health assistance. Home modification services, transport, and nutrition services (delivered meal programs) are available for more active adults who prefer to stay at home. To meet the emotional needs of seniors who still live at home, there are also telephone reassurance services which schedule calls on a daily or weekly basis. Senior centers are also great resources giving seniors access to communities.

2. Independent Living Communities- are best suited to more active senior citizens. These communities generally provide meals, activities, house-keeping.  Adults in these communities are generally able to live alone but want the security and comfort of readily available transportation, meals and activities.

3. Assisted Living- is available for seniors who require more involved services such as personal care or medication taking in addition to basic homecare needs.Available as a single home shared by several residents, apartment-like complexes, or more institutional settings, these centers come in a variety of forms to suit specific needs.

4. Nursing Homes- provides medical attention and is best suited to those with disabilities or chronic medical conditions which require monitoring.