Tag: In-Home Care in Plymouth MN

What is an “invisible disease?” If you have no idea, you’re not alone. That’s the goal of International Red Shoe Day. It’s an awareness day designed to educate people about the invisible diseases that often have no noticeable symptoms at first, which makes them easy to overlook.

So, what is an invisible disease? It’s a disease like chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia, and Lyme disease that are easily overlooked but can cause severe illness in people. Put on a pair of red shoes on July 25th and better understand these invisible diseases.

Understanding Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome, CFS for short, is a health condition with no known cause. Symptoms include extreme fatigue that has no known cause and lasts for over six months. A person with CFS may not have the energy to do anything. Insomnia and chronic pain are other symptoms. It makes it impossible to complete routine chores like housework, daily exercise, or engage in social activities.

If your mom has CFS, you’ll find that in-home care services offer a lot of the support she needs. She has someone to do the housework, complete laundry, cook meals, and run errands for her. She’ll have someone available to take her to doctor’s appointments.

Understanding Fibromyalgia

Around four million Americans have fibromyalgia. It’s more common in middle-aged or older adults and affects more women than men. Unexplained pain throughout the body, headaches, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, insomnia, and depression are all signs.

As the pain can make it difficult to function, in-home care is essential. Your mom has someone to help her cook meals, keep the home clean, and move around the home when the pain is extreme.

Understanding Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is caused by the bite of an infected deer tick. You can pick up a tick walking through a field, the woods, or even while gardening in your yard. You may not realize you’ve been bitten, especially if the tick bites a hard-to-reach area like the small of the back or buttocks. If the tick feeds for over 24 hours, Lyme may spread.

If you have Lyme disease, the main symptoms are fever and aches, which are very similar to the flu, so you may not even realize you have something more than the flu. If it goes untreated, it can cause severe joint pain and affect the heart.

Showering after working in a garden or walking in the woods is important. You want to remove the tick before it has a chance to bite. Bug repellant helps keep them away.

Your mom has Lyme disease. Make sure she takes all doses of medications prescribed by her doctor. Medication reminders from an in-home care aide may be necessary to ensure she takes every dose.

In-home care aides provide the help your mom needs to manage her invisible disease. Talk to a home care specialist to learn more about hiring caregivers.

Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/fibromyalgia.htm

 

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

Many people see the elderly as having nothing but time on their hands, so they don’t have to worry about them having a hobby to keep them busy. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. With the right in-home care activities, older adults have the opportunity to maintain healthy cognitive function and prevent the onset of cognitive impairment.

What is Cognitive Impairment?

According to NIH, cognitive impairment is a gradual decline in mental function that can include memory loss, language difficulty, and a decline in reasoning and judgment. It’s common among older adults, but it’s not inevitable. Most people who experience it do so as a result of several conditions, including age, stroke, and other diseases.

Maintaining a Healthy Cognitive Function

For many seniors, cognitive impairment is inevitable. However, with the right activities, they can enjoy their golden years without losing their mental faculties.

It is important to remember that the brain is a muscle that requires exercise in order to stay healthy. By engaging in various activities, older adults can prevent the onset of cognitive impairment and avoid living in a state of depression.

What Kind of Activities Should Seniors Participate in?

Maintaining a healthy cognitive function is important for those who are looking to maintain their independence. Maintaining cognitive ability can result in a better quality of life and can also help to prevent the onset of chronic illnesses. By participating in a wide variety of activities, seniors can stave off cognitive impairment and maintain independence.

1. Exercising the Brain

Exercise is one of the most important things that seniors can do to maintain a healthy cognitive function. With the right exercise, seniors can prevent the onset of cognitive impairment and stave off depression.

Neurodegeneration is the loss of brain cells and the death of neurons due to various factors. As a result, the brain is incapable of producing new cells and is unable to recover from the effects of stress and aging.

Physical activity helps to prevent neurodegeneration by increasing blood flow, which is essential to the brain and to the body. In addition, physical activity increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is essential to the health of brain cells.

2. Hobbies

One of the best ways to ensure that people of all ages stay active is to encourage them to engage in various hobbies. Hobbies can be beneficial in many ways, including helping to fight depression and keep people active.

By encouraging seniors to engage in various hobbies, they can maintain their independence and prevent the onset of cognitive impairment.

3. Healthy Diet

Eating a healthy diet is just as important for your senior’s body as it is for their brain. Eating a lot of processed food can impair their cognitive functions. There are some studies that show that drinking small amounts of alcohol can actually protect the brain from the effects of aging. But drinking too much alcohol can actually lead to cognitive impairment.

Conclusion

In-home care will keep your seniors active and healthy while keeping their independence. We offer the best available care to your seniors! Give us a call today!

Sources

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/cognitive-health-and-older-adults

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4587595/

https://www.cdc.gov/aging/pdf/cognitive_impairment/cogimp_poilicy_final.pdf

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