Care For Your Elder

Getting older is no piece of cake. But if you take care of yourself throughout your life you will have an easier time in your “golden” years. There are many aspects to taking good care of one’s body. Diet and exercise are of the utmost importance in preventing disease and sickness. Preventive care is the best way to live a healthy and long life.

There are certain elderly health concerns that everyone young and old should be aware of. Some of these concerns include hip dysplasia, skin cancer and dementia. Becoming aware of these potential health issues early can aid in lessening the severity of age-related problems later. For older people, it is a good idea to monitor your heart rate, blood pressure and other vital signs.

You hear all sorts of talk about your thyroid, is it working too much, not working enough, is it why you can’t loose weight, why can’t you gain weight.  The thyroid is a butterfly shaped complex gland in the neck just below the “Adam’s Apple.”  This gland is the largest gland of the body and it is main job is to make and store hormones that control your heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and the rate of how your body converts food into energy.  The thyroid uses iodine to make the hormones.  Iodine is commonly found in salt and some other food products such as cod fish, shrimp, tuna, seaweed, milk, navy beans, and eggs to name a few.  A condition where the thyroid is enlarged, commonly called a goiter, is one of the earliest and most visible signs of iodine deficiency. The thyroid gland traps iodine and processes it into thyroid hormones. As thyroid hormones are used, some of the iodine contained in the hormones is released, returns to the thyroid gland, and is recycled to produce more thyroid hormones.  

The aging process has only minor effects on the hormones produced by the thyroid nonetheless; this gland does shrink and shift as you age. The hormone levels may fall slightly but the vital functions changes very little. Thyroid disorders do become more common with aging.  These disorders in the elderly population often are mistaken for symptoms of other diseases or some people just say the symptoms are “old age.”  These disorders, hyperthyroidism (an over active thyroid) and hypothyroidism (an under active thyroid) can dramatically alter the way an elderly person feels and can affect daily living activities.   It is recommended that older people should be screened for hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism by measuring the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone in the blood every year in people over 65. 

Join me for next blog where I will discuss the one of the most common disorders of the thyroid, hyperthyroidism (an over active thyroid).

I want to share some news with you. 

I have formed a partnership with a national company called Senior Citizens Bureau.  I will begin writing blogs for them.  Senior Citizens Bureau is a company whose interest is “Information & Research for Seniors and Caregivers.”  The organization was founded in 1998 as a volunteer organization and provides:

•      Various support services to seniorswho need guidance
•      Assistance with research with products, facilities, and services
•      Assistance to abuse and/or neglect victims
•      Assistance with placement with appropriate facilities
•      Help with grief counseling 
•      Education and continuing education for seniors & care givers

Their mission is “to provide information, support services and personal assistance to seniors, their caregivers, and their loved ones and to provide easily accessible information for free.”

At SCB website users can find helpful links, learn about governmental programs, job training, research for providers, and read senior-related publications.

The SCB also has a 24/7 toll free hotline where elders may listen to pre-recorded journals, topics that are related to senior adults and caregivers, and offer guides on topics such as “How to Handle Osteoporosis.”

Check out this wonderful site. I will let you know when my blogs will begin to post.  These blogs will have different content so you still need to check out my site www.CareForYourElderblog.com and www.SecretsofElderCare.com as well as www.SeniorCitizensBureau.com.

Glaucoma is easily treated with eye drops or pills in the beginning stages and can also be treated surgically.  One of the most important things you can do for your elder is to take them to the eye doctor at least every year to pick up any signs of vision deterioration.  It is so much easier to treat a disease in the early stages rather than play catch up with a full blown vision problem.

Unlike some of the other types of eye conditions there are not any alternative treatments such as increasing a type of food or taking any herbal supplements.

If your elder has been diagnosed with glaucoma, there are a few tricks you can do to help with glaucoma.   

• Do not give your elder large quantities of any type of beverage.  You want them to sip beverages slowly and drink them over the course of the day.  This prevents an increase of eye pressure. 
• Keep your elder from bending over with their heads down such as certain yoga positions as this may increase the eye pressures. 
• Be sure your elder takes all their blood pressure medicine too.  This helps control the eye pressures.

Since there really isn’t much you can do to prevent glaucoma, let’s talk about the basic vitamins that encourage eye health.  The vitamin with the most impact on the eyes is Vitamin A.  A lack of Vitamin A can actually lead to a loss of vision or blindness.  In ancient Egypt if a person was suffering from night blindness (one of the early signs of Vitamin A deficiency) the “cure” was to eat liver.  Liver happens to be very high in Vitamin A. 

A lack of Vitamin A makes the cornea dry and damages the retina.  The recommended daily allowance for men over 19 years is 3,000 IU (900-1000 mcg/day) and for women 2,310 IU (700-800 mcg/day).

Foods high in Vitamin A or convert beta-carotene Vitamin A are:

Meats/Animal Products - Beef Liver, Chicken Liver, Meat, Kidney, Cod, Halibut, Whole Milk

Vegetables – Carrots, Spinach, Pumpkin, Sweet Potatoes, Winter Squashes, broccoli, and most dark green leafy veggies

Fruit – Cantaloupe, Pink Grapefruit (be careful with this one and check to see if it will interfere with medications), Apricots, Oranges

Remember that too much of good thing can also be bad.  Dosages of Vitamin A around 20-25,000 IU daily can cause headaches, hair loss, vomiting, brittle bones and skin turning a yellowish color.

Acute angle-closure glaucoma (AACG) occurs when there is a sudden or rapid increased pressure of the eye.  If the angle closes suddenly the symptoms are very severe and dramatic.  These symptoms include severe eye pain, blurred vision, headache, rainbow haloes around lights, nausea, profuse tearing, and vomiting.  This type of glaucoma usually occurs in one eye.  Urgent treatment in an emergency room is needed as the damage to the optic nerve occurs within hours of the blockage.  The blockage in acute-angled closure glaucoma usually requires surgery to remove the blockage.

People who are farsighted (hyperopia – where people can see real far away and need glasses to see up close) have an increased risk for acute angle-closure glaucoma because the chambers in the back of the eye are shallow and the angles are narrow.  As with other forms of glaucoma AACG elderly people in their 60’s and 70’s are more at risk.  Fewer than 10% of all glaucoma cases in the USA are acute angle-closure and in Asia it is more common than open-angle glaucoma. Other risk factors include a family history of AACG, having glaucoma in one eye, and previous injury to the eye.

There are not any preventive measures that you can take to reduce the risk of AACG.  The outcome is good for people who seek immediate medical treatment.  Vision loss can occur without prompt treatment.  Since you can’t tell if you have narrow angles, it is most important to have annual eye examinations. 

If your physician deems that you are of very high risk for developing AACG there is a laser surgery that may be helpful.  This video explains that surgery.

The most common type of glaucoma is called chronic open-angle glaucoma (COAG) increases greatly with age and accounts for 80% of all the types of glaucoma. COAG oftentimes runs in families but may not affect all family members. Many times COAG skips generations. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the elderly affecting 3% of all elderly people.  People of African descent are 3-4 times more likely to have chronic open-angled glaucoma than whites.

 The angle in open-angle refers to the angle of the drainage tube in the eye.  This tube gradually may become clogged as a person ages and the aqueous fluid in the eye does not drain from the eye properly. Because of this drainage problem within the eye, pressure builds up painlessly and without symptoms. You cannot visibly see any blockage in the tube. Somewhere in the tube there is resistance in the tubing restricting the flow and results in the pressure increase.  This resistance could be caused by a previous eye injury, inflammation, reaction to medications, or just the normal aging process.  The increased pressure causes irreversible optic nerve damage.  Furthermore, since the resulting loss of vision starts on the side (peripherally), people are usually not aware of the problem until the loss is seen in their central visual area and permanent damage has occurred.

Treatments for COAG are best if started as soon as you notice a change in vision to prevent more damage.  The most common treatment is in the form of eye drops.  The eye drops are a blood pressure medication in liquid form that keep the eye pressure lowered by either reducing the amount of fluid produced by the eye or the drops increase the eye’s ability to drain.

Another treatment option comes in the form of oral medication.  These medications tend to have side effects in approximately 50% of the people.  These oral medications are very effective in many cases.

If your elder or you are diagnosed with glaucoma there are some medications that should be avoided. As a general rule, people with glaucoma can safely use most medications. However, there are two common types of drugs that should be avoided.

• Cold and allergy medication -People with angle-closure glaucoma should avoid taking over-the-counter cold and allergy medications.  These drugs can cause the pupils to dilate and, in rare instances, can cause people with chronic angle-closure glaucoma to have an attack of acute angle-closure glaucoma. This could lead to an increase in eye pressure.
• Corticosteroids - Corticosteroids are used to treat inflammations. If used for prolonged periods, they may raise eye pressure in people who suffer from any form of glaucoma.

As always a yearly eye exam for your elder is the best preventative measure you can take to help them keep their vision.

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that silently steals vision and is the second most common cause of blindness. The elderly are at risk for glaucoma as it occurs in 1 out of 10 people over the age of 80, and it affects 1 in 200 under the age of 50.  People of African descent are more likely to develop glaucoma at an earlier age and are much more predisposed to go blind than people of the other races.

Damage to the optic nerve is so gradual that the vision loss is not noticed until the disease is at an advanced stage.  Once this damage is noticed, the vision can not be restored.  The optic nerve, which is at the back of the eye, is slowly destroyed by very high pressures in side of the eye.  This intraocular pressure usually causes the optic nerve damage.  The pressure becomes high due to a blockage in the drainage system of the eye.  You can think about this type of pressure build up like a garden hose that has the water on and then you kink the hose to cut off the flow.  Eventually the hose will not be able to hold the water pressure and will spring a leak or burst the hose.  The same thing happens with the drainage system of the eye over long periods of time, years for some, the optic nerve will become damaged and the result is vision loss.

Some risk factors that are associated with glaucoma are people with:

• Diabetes
• A family history of glaucoma
• Who are nearsighted (people who need glasses to see far away)
• Who have had a previous eye injury
• Who use steroids for long periods of time

For those people who are loosing their vision they may see blind spots in the peripheral vision, cloudy or halo vision, a gradual failure of side vision (objects in front may be clear, but objects to the side can’t be seen), tunnel vision or total blindness.

Here are a few photos I found that show how a person may see if they have glaucoma.

Photos courtesy of  http://www.glaucomaresearch.ca/en/about/images/tunnel_vision.jpg  

Tunnel Vision

http://www.milanoeyecare.net/images/glaucomaAdvanced.jpg

Advanced Glaucoma

Come back on Thurdsay for the next blog as I will be discussing the different types of glaucoma.

One of the factors that most people seem to forget about when it comes to skin care, especially elderly skin care, is fiber.

Fiber, a non-digestible form of carbohydrate found in certain plans, cannot be digested or absorbed by the body, making it beneficial for a host of whole-body health concerns. Dietary fibers absorb water, stabilize blood sugar levels, lower blood cholesterol and remove certain toxic heavy metals from the body.

Fiber is also useful for alleviating constipation, contributing to our bowel health and regularity, and certain forms of fiber may help rid the body of fat and curb the appetite, thus making them useful to dieters. Because blemished skin may be linked to an improperly functioning digestive system, an adequate intake of fiber can help support healthy and clear complexion.

I wanted to write a quick thank you blog for all the wonderful people who have made my blog a wonderful success this past year.  And who are those people?  You of course.  I could not have had a blog without all my loyal readers.

I can’t wait until the new year.  I have so much planned for you.  I can’t wait to let you in on the new partnerships that will be forthcoming with Secrets of Elder Care.  These partnerships will bring you so much information you will be amazed and thrilled. 

I hope each and every one of you have a safe and happy New Year’s Day and also a bountiful, healthy and wonderful 2010!!  Gosh, it will be strange when you write those dates and have to remember it starts with a 1 instead of a 0.  Welcome 2010!

Mary Davis

Anna, Mary & Joan

Wishing you a Happy 2010!

The generation of Americans born between 1946 and 1964–also known as the baby boomers–make up approximately 26% of the United States population according to recent statistics. Baby boomers are expected to live longer than any previous generation of Americans in history-the majority of the first members of this generation that were born in 1946 can expect to live 20 more years-or more. By 2020, more than 20% of the U. S. population will be over 65 years of age, compared with about 13% today.

Some of this longer life expectancy is due to medical advancements and readily available health information, but adoption of healthier lifestyles by the baby boomer generation is responsible for a great deal of it as well.  Unlike their parents before them, baby boomers can track their cholesterol and keep a blood sugar log, have access to the most cutting-edge methods of smoking cessation and nutritional information, and can buy sophisticated exercise equipment for their own private use. It’s good to be a baby boomer!