Diagnosis of Dementia A diagnosis of dementia mostly associated with cognitive impairment and memory loss can be such a terrifying prospect that many refuse to confront that reality at all. They prefer to say that confusion is just part of getting older or that everyone forgets things. They blame their forgetfulness on stress or mild…
Awkward Discussion We talk a lot about how important it is to have those serious end-of-life discussions with your elderly loved ones as they enter their golden years. It’s so important to hash out their preferences for care while they are still fully cognizant, before any decline in mental capacity. We also know that under…
Did You Know there is a Disorder that Makes the Winter Difficult for Many? Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) was formally described and named as a component of depression in 1984 by Norman Rosenthal, M.D. and his colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health. It is estimated that as many as 9 percent of individuals living…
The winter months are a difficult time for the elderly. The usual stresses of making trips to the grocery and eating healthily, getting to appointments, visiting with friends and family, and avoiding slips and falls become intensified as the weather and road conditions worsen. Ensuring the health of your aging loved one during this time…
There are many studies on stroke victims and their recovery. However, it is important to keep in mind their primary caregivers – mainly their spouses. Being a caretaker of a stroke victim can be very stressful and require a large amount of time, energy and devotion. We must remember that the spouses of stroke victims…
They are quips we hear often enough—when you forget a well-known name or where you left your keys: “I’m having a senior moment,” or, “My Alzheimer’s is setting in!” As we age, the body changes, including the composition of the brain making the elderly more prone to mild forgetfulness. Sometimes these memory slips are nothing…
It’s not easy to be a parent. However, it is often difficult as well to be the child of parents who can no longer care for themselves. Most aging parents obviously want to live at home for as long as possible. This often means that they will need in-home elderly care to make that happen. The…
Recruiting Doormen & Staff in” the Army” Doormen are now being enlisted to fight the growing problem of elder abuse and neglect. The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale has devised an ingenious idea to combat elder abuse by utilizing those friendly attentive people that greet…
Incontinence Embarassment Incontinence is a tricky disorder to manage. Unlike many other conditions whose effects can go undetected, the inability to control one’s bladder function can become public knowledge very quickly. The appearance of moisture on clothing and the presence of urine’s distinct odor make it obvious. In the US, nearly 3.5 million Americans deal with…