December 5-11: Handwashing Awareness Week Handwashing Awareness Week might seem trivial. However, at this point, we can all see how critical this issue really is.Some fun facts: 400 BCE The ancient Greek historian Thucydides is the first to suggest that disease can spread from one person to another. 1546 Italian scholar and poet Girolamo Fracastoro suggests that epidemics…
November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month Unfortunately, we all seem to be touched by the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease. Virtually everyone knows someone who has either suffered from this disease or a caregiver of someone suffering from it. Sadly, we often feel so overwhelmed and powerless when we think about the whole thing. Alzheimer’s disease…
October is Healthy Lung Month October is Healthy Lung Month. As such, I thought it was worthwhile to review how that essential organ can impact the elderly if it is not functioning properly. The most common elderly diseases associated with the lungs are asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and cystic fibrosis. Of note, asthma…
August is Summer Sun Safety Month After being cooped up for so many months, most of us are ever eager to get outside and enjoy life again. Our senior loved ones have especially borne the brunt of this. The simple joy of getting out in the warm summer air has never been more appreciated. There is nothing…
July is Healthy Vision Month It’s not uncommon for seniors to experience vision loss. Sadly, these changes can cause both physical and emotional hardships. They may feel a loss of independence, an inability to do the things they love and a disconnect from the world around them. Beyond these discomforts, with the loss of vision,…
Geriatrician — Another Specialist As specialists go, we have all heard of cardiologists, gastroenterologists, endocrinologists, but how many of us really consider or have even heard of geriatric specialists or geriatricians when we think about care for someone 60 and older? As we age, the health challenges we face become more complex and the…
Summers often mean “Road Trip”! However, getting seniors to give up the keys to their car is no small task. Frankly, I am quite sympathetic to the seniors. After a lifetime of independence, it is yet another degradation they must endure as they age and their faculties wane. Only with this one, it can feel…
They used to not be this way. How many times have you heard someone say their father or mother was fine before he or she fell? In essence, for many older adults, an unexpected fall can touch off a series of events that end in serious or fatal complications. Unfortunately, it can lead to extended…
Many might think that social media is the exclusive domain of the younger generation. However, many of our older adults have enthusiastically adopted it to keep up with the times as well as their old acquaintances and younger family members. Grandparents are becoming proficient in alien things like Skype and Facebook and liking it. It…
Some Statistics “About 70 percent of people over age 65 need some type of long-term care during their lifetime. More than 40 percent need care in a nursing home for some period of time,” says the National Institute of Health (NIH). According to the NIH, what is termed long term care (LTC) can actually last…