Tag: Elder Care in St. Paul MN

Have you talked to your mom about her plans as she ages? Does she want to stay in her current home? If so, it’s not unusual. One study found that 88% of older adults stated they want to age at home. You want to respect your mom’s wishes, but how do you make sure she can? It’s important that you have this discussion before an emergency occurs. If you wait, you could end up with your mom being forced into a situation that makes her unhappy. Here are are few things to consider and how elder care can play a vital role in your senior aging in place safely.

Ask Her About Her Goals for Aging

What are your mom’s goals while she ages? Has she talked about downsizing or moving to a different neighborhood to be closer to her friends, local businesses, or medical offices? That should be a priority.

Does your mom want to be nearer to her kids and grandkids? If it came to it, would she be willing to move in with you? She may hate that idea, but it’s worth addressing.

What’s Her Family Health History?

Is there a history of chronic health conditions in your mom’s family? Heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer, are just some of the chronic conditions that run in families. If there is a family history, it’s important that your mom goes for routine screenings.

If she has a chronic health condition, she needs to be honest with others and herself about how much it impacts her daily routine. If she has diabetes, does she struggle to remember to check her sugar levels, carefully read labels in the grocery store, and cook appropriate meals? Would it help her to have elder care helping out?

What Medications Does Her Doctor Want Her to Take?

With many chronic health conditions, your mom may have to take medications. The side effects can impact her daily activities by causing dizziness, drowsiness, or nausea. Would she be more comfortable having someone in her home while she showers, gets dressed, and goes on walks?

Is She Supposed to Drive?

Has your mom’s eye doctor told her her vision is worsening? Is she on prescription medications that cause drowsiness? Is she supposed to drive?

If not, she doesn’t have to stop going out or running errands, she just needs a driver. Elder care aides can drive her around. What she doesn’t want to do is drive anyway and risk a crash that injures herself and others.

How do you schedule elder care visits? Jot down a list of questions that you and your mom have. Use that list to ensure you know everything you need to know. Talk to an elder care advisor, go over your questions, get prices, and complete the call by scheduling caregiver visits.

Sources:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-04-13/americans-over-50-want-to-age-in-place-at-home-but-many-arent-prepared-poll

If you or an aging loved one is considering elder care in St. Paul, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.

Reducing high blood pressure is a way to help seniors get a better quality of life. High blood pressure is a condition in which the force of blood against the artery walls is increased.

High blood pressure can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, which are both dangerous. It is a serious health issue that can affect seniors of all ages. It is also a problem that can be managed with proper treatment and elder care.

High Blood Pressure’s Effect on Seniors

Living with high blood pressure can be hard. The most common symptoms of high blood pressure are headaches, fatigue, and less energy to get through the day. It is also normal to feel more irritable, anxious, and easily distracted.

Seniors who live with chronic health conditions may be more likely to develop high blood pressure, including diabetes, kidney disease, and heart failure. While there is no known cure for high blood pressure, there are a lot of things that your senior can do to reduce the risk.

1. Exercise

Seniors with high blood pressure should get as much exercise as possible. Research has indicated that exercise can lower blood pressure by as much as 3-5 mmHG for people with high blood pressure. The easiest type of exercise is walking. It is low impact, and as long as your senior makes sure their blood pressure is in a safe range, walking is something they can do as often as they want.

2. Losing Weight

Losing weight can help lower blood pressure. This is a bit more complicated than just cutting back on sodium, but it can be done. Most of the time, your senior will need to cut back on sodium even more if they want to lose weight and lower your blood pressure at the same time.

3. Medication

Prescription medications can help lower blood pressure. There are a number of different medications that can help with this condition, and the doctor will usually try a few in order to find the one that works best. Depending on your senior’s health, they may be able to take their medication once a day or it may require a couple of doses.

4. Lifestyle Changes

The final way to manage high blood pressure is to make some lifestyle changes. The best changes are the ones that your senior can stick to for the long haul. If your senior can start walking every day, they should do it. Making these changes, no matter how small, will help them lower their blood pressure.

Conclusion

Living with high blood pressure can be hard, but if you work with your senior to improve their diet, lifestyle and medication regime, you can help them control their blood pressure and live a happy, independent life. Elder care will improve your senior quality of life that lives with high blood pressure by taking the load of both you and your senior. Give us a call today and see if elder care is right for you!

Sources

https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/shaking-the-salt-habit-to-lower-high-blood-pressure#:~:text=The%20American%20Heart%20Association%20recommends,blood%20pressure%20and%20heart%20health.

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/hypertensionaha.112.197780

https://www.healthline.com/health/high-blood-pressure-hypertension

https://www.healthline.com/health/blood-pressure-after-exercise

If you or an aging loved one is considering elder care in St. Paul, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.

The best diet is one that meets goals for fiber, protein, antioxidants, and calcium intake. It’s one where saturated fats, preservatives, and added sugars are avoided. September is Better Breakfast Month. Find out what steps you can take to make sure your dad is starting his day off in the best way. Greens for breakfast is one way to do this.

Why Greens?

Leafy greens contain essential nutrients like beta carotene, vitamin E, folate, and lutein. They include kale, spinach, collard greens, dandelion greens, watercress, Swiss chard, and cabbage.

Greens are packed with antioxidants and may have inflammatory properties, too. A Memory and Aging Study found that people who had a full serving of daily greens every day had slower cognitive decline than those who skipped greens.

That’s just one chronic health condition that may be eased by a daily diet that’s rich in leafy greens. Arthritis and heart disease are others. It’s recommended that people eat two cups of leafy greens raw or cooked each day. By the time you cook two cups of leafy greens, they’ll shrink to a cup but that counts as the full serving.

Easy Ways to Incorporate Leafy Greens in Breakfast Items

Make sure your dad is eating enough leafy greens by starting his morning with a serving. If he’s not a big eater when he first gets up, you could make a breakfast smoothie with frozen blueberries, baby spinach, and cranberry juice that doesn’t contain added sugar. Add kefir or yogurt for a boost of calcium.

If he will eat a full meal, toast a whole-grain English muffin. Saute two cups of leafy greens in olive or walnut oil and add a clove of garlic. Split that over each English muffin half. Place a poached egg on top of the greens and drizzle with a little lemon aioli. It’s a healthier take on Eggs Benedict. If he has to have meat, uncured turkey bacon is ideal.

Make a quiche out of egg whites, chopped fresh spinach, grated low-fat cheddar, green onions, and red peppers. You can make it a crustless quiche or use wholewheat pastry dough.

Finally, you could serve a salad for breakfast. Top leafy greens with fresh peaches, strawberries, and roasted almonds. Drizzle it with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

What are some of the other ways to help your dad stay healthy and happy? Make sure he has companionship. If he’s alone every day, he may feel lonely and bored. That will impact his health. Elder care services include everything from companionship services to meal preparation.

Your dad has an elder care aide to take him shopping, play games with him on rainy afternoons, or cook his meals. A caregiver can make sure he’s starting his day with a filling, nutritious breakfast that contains a full serving of leafy, green vegetables.

Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5772164/

If you or an aging loved one is considering elder care in St. Paul, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.