If we still keep our elders at home, they are happier, and often healthier, but more at risk psychologically, socially, physically and emotionally.

Often, Caregivers are unaware that they indeed are Caregivers. “Oh, I just help my mom eat.” Or, “I help bathe and dress my father.” While we do help those we love with activities of daily living (i.e. bathing, dressing, and feeding), it is important to be aware that we become Caregivers for seniors when doing these activities on a daily basis. Once we do this, we can then work towards receiving help.
Caregivers are spouses, children, parents, workers, volunteers, grandparents, and anyone who helps another person is a caregiver. These tasks can be quite time consuming.
Caregivers themselves run the risk of burnout as well. Some profit and non-profit agencies provide respite or day away programs for senior care. This alleviates the burden or providing the quality of care that our seniors deserve.

Family Caregiving Roles

• Bathe their loved ones
• Wash, dry, and brush their loved one’s hair
• Brush teeth; clean dentrues
• Shave loved ones legs, underarms, and/or face
• Do laundry
• Shop for groceries and then cook/prepare meals
• Run errands
• Drive loved ones to appointments
• Administer medications; give shots
• Make sure loved one is safe
• Provide emotional support

The family caregiving role can be quite time consuming, not allowing Caregivers to take notice of how they are feeling. In order to be effective Caregivers, it is important for us to recognize the signs of stress. Then, we are able to relieve some of this stress and perhaps stop stress before it creeps up on us.

Signs of Family Caregiver Stress

Withdrawal
Caregivers may withdrawal from family and/or friends. They may also stop doing activities that were once enjoyed, such as knitting, reading, or walking.
TIP: Look to family and friends for support. Sometimes we just need to vent our feelings about the current situation. Even if you don’t feel like going out with family/friends, try to force yourself to get out of the house. You deserve a break!

Sleeping Difficulties
Caregivers may have a hard time falling asleep and/or staying asleep.
TIP: If possible, take short naps throughout the day. If your loved one lives with you and has a nap, lie down as well. Try not to think of all the things you have not done. Those things can wait. Your health is more important than running to the store for some milk.

Exhaustion
Caregivers for seniors may be overly tired from all the caregiving for seniors tasks, such as running errands, cooking, and cleaning. They may feel that there is not enough time in a day to do everything they need to do.
TIP: Try not to overload yourself each day. Make a list and stick to it. Prioritize your list with the tasks that are most important. You know your limit the best, so if you find yourself getting tired, stop and relax.

Lack of Concentration

Caregivers have so much on their mind that I call it “brain overload.” The mind may be wandering, thinking about what else has to be done.
TIP: Take things one day at a time. Again, make a list and check tasks off as soon as they are complete. Hang a calendar on the wall, so you can see what appointments you may have and also to prevent you from making more appointments on that day.

Weight Loss/Gain
Family caregivers may find that they are gaining weight due to emotional overeating. Or, Caregivers for seniors may not eat due to not enough time or no appetite.
TIP: Being healthy is very important. It will give you more energy during the day. If weight gain is a problem, consult your physician.

Does Diabetes Increase Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease?
In a study at Uppsala University in Sweden, Diabetes in mid-life was found to be associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s in later life. The study tested more than 2,000 men for blood glucose levels at age 50 and then tested them again approximately 32 years later. Those with insulin problems at age 50 were almost 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than those who did not have insulin problems, even when factors, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, education level and body mass index, were controlled. The association was strongest among those who did not carry the ApoE 4 gene variant that has been associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s.

Links have been found between Diabetes and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as well. In a study by the Mayo Clinic, rates of Diabetes were similar among people with MCI and people with no cognitive impairment; however, those with MCI were more likely to have developed Diabetes before age 65, had Diabetes for 10 years or more and had insulin treatment and/or diabetic complications.

In a study by the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, researchers tried to identify a molecular basis for the interaction between Diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Their conclusion was that blood glucose levels and levels of beta amyloid in the brain interacted in such a way that damaged the brain’s blood vessels.

Can Preventing Diabetes Reduce Alzheimer’s Risk?
Maybe. Researchers at Columbia University found that keeping blood sugar levels in check can lessen or possibly stave off even normal age-related cognitive decline in those that have Diabetes and those who do not. Their theory is that blood glucose levels affect the hippocampus, a part of the brain associated with memory, emotion and motor skills.

Although more research needs to be conducted to further clarify the relationship between Diabetes and Alzheimer’s, it seems clear that preventing or controlling Diabetes could be very good for your brain. How does one go about reducing the risk for Diabetes? Interestingly, a healthy diet and plenty of exercise are essential components of a Diabetes prevention or management program — two lifestyle factors that have also been shown to be good for the brain.

Source: http://alzheimers.about.com/od/whatisalzheimer1/a/diabetesandad.htm

75 years old lady lives next door to me. She lives alone though she has 43 years old son but he has his own family and lives far ?wawy from his mother. They installed new eNeighbor system that consists of motion detector that old lady wares all the time with her and monitors with central monitoring system that controls detector’s moving and can automatically call 911 if there is no movement for a long time.

Happily my neighbor has no diseases that normally belong to her age – she has no Alzheimer’s or Dementia, she can do most things to care about herself and she is making Sunday cookies for neighbor’s children.

Last week I’ve seen 911 rescue team cars near my old neighbor’s home late night. Motion detectors in lady’s bedroom and bathroom registered that she had not left the area in her usual pattern and relayed that information to a central monitoring system, prompting a call to her telephone to ask if she was all right. When she did not answer, that incited more calls — to a neighbor, to the building manager and finally to 911, which dispatched firefighters to break through her door. She had been on the floor less than an hour when they arrived.

Those newest devices are quite expensive and that’s why remain largely unproven and are not usually covered by the government or private insurance plans. Doctors are not trained to treat patients using remote data and have no mechanism to be paid for doing so. And like all technologies, the devices — including motion sensors, pill compliance detectors and wireless devices that transmit data on blood pressure, weight, oxygen and glucose levels — may have unintended consequences, substituting electronic measurements for face-to-face contact with doctors, nurses and family members.

Source: Julia Anna Alison. Choice Eldercare

Before you consider long-term care as a solution, there are things you can do to keep your loved ones in their homes.

According to the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP), nearly 20 percent of those who are 55 years and older have mental disorders that are not part of normal aging. Some of the most common illnesses are anxiety, severe cognitive impairment and mood disorders.

Jeffery Lafferman, M.D., a psychiatrist at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital’s Partial Hospitalization Program and Outpatient Services, says that too often mental health illnesses are underreported. “As people age, their health needs become more complicated. Medical problems, such as high blood pressure and arthritis, are common and can mask the emotional challenges that the elderly face, until it has reached a critical stage.”

But there is help and hope available. One of the ways to keep an elderly loved one at home for as long as possible when they are experiencing depression, dementia, agitation and other emotional challenges is through day treatment programs.

“Some adult day services programs are specifically designed to help elders relearn how to again be a useful part of their communities. The programs have group and individual therapy sessions in a stimulating environment. In addition, participants can reminisce with people their own age, take part in activities designed to renew their enthusiasm for life and be in their own homes in the evening,” says Dr. Lafferman.

Many people do not understand that clinical  elderly depression and other mental illnesses are treatable. Some of the symptoms to look for are a change in personality, a decline in memory, isolation from friends and family, excessive feelings of guilt or hopelessness, frequent crying, sleep problems, unexplained physical illnesses, loss of function, changes in appetite, loss of interest in personal hygiene and irritability, and anxiety.

However, Dr. Lafferman advises, “Before you entrust your loved one to any program, try to visit to see with your own eyes what the program is like. Although your elder loved one needs supervision, his or her dignity must be preserved. In addition, check to see if there are medical professionals on site, and if there are different therapies to engage them.”

When a loved one is experiencing emotional issues, it can also affect the whole family, so giving caregivers a break during the day is also important.

Source: LifeBridge Health