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Poor hygiene in the elderly, seniors who won’t bathe

As individuals begin to age and their health starts to deteriorate family members may see a dramatic change in hygiene habits. Things like changing their clothes on a regular basis, bathing, combing or fixing their hair, lack of make up for the ladies who always fixed themselves up may start to show up in little ways. It starts with the notice that grandmom or mom didn’t put her lipstick on today or her hair is not fixed well. When you ask about it, the answer you may receive is oh I just didn’t feel like it today. If that answer seems odd to you, it should, there may be something going on that the person is not sharing.

Things like eye sight worsening, arthritis acting up, a physical pain in the body or possibly the beginning stages of memory impairment may be occurring. Often what happens is the person starts to rationaliz their behavior or lack there of by making excuses that are in general terms such as just didn’t feel like, didn’t have enough time, etc.

Like anyone who would say that to you, you want to give the person the benefit of the doubt but you should keep an eye to see if it happens again, the frequency of how often and if there is a pattern to it. Maybe it is only on rainy days when the person’s arthiritis is acting up and causing the person much pain. The person may not tell you how bad the pain is. The key to identifying if patterns of behavior are changing is to watch, listen and document. Keep a little note on your calendar at home or in your wallet, this date, saw mom and hair not done, said didn’t feel like it. This documentation may come in hand later to show a doctor the patterns or to determine how and when possible memory impairments began.

Reference is made to the start of memory impairments because often people who begin to suffer from dementia can lose the sequencing or patterning of how to do a certain behavior. He or she may not remember the steps of how to put lipsticks on, throw a possible eye sight problem on top of that and the person will just stop putting the lipstick on completely. It is much easier to just generalize and say oh I don’t feel like it than to verbalize they are scared that something is wrong and they can’t remember the steps of how to do it or see it.

Bathing is often a behavior that memory impaired individuals will not do. They resist the bathing or showering completely, often becoming angry or aggressive if you bring it up. This can be a combination of many reasons why. Again they can forget how to do it, be ashamed to let anyone see them without clothes, not be able to see the depth of the water in the tub, as a clear water against a white tub bottom and poor eye sight is a dangerous combo, if you can’t see how deep, you won’t get in, thinking you might drown, putting a color on the white bottom like dark blue mat sometimes helps if it is an eyesight problem, getting in and out of the tub physically can be a major problem for people so they stop doing it because it hurts too much and causes them pain. There are many reasons why people will not bathe. Sometimes we want people to bathe on our schedule in the morning when in fact they bathe all their life in the afternoon or evening and for memory impaired individuals who are actively reliving the past, they know they bathe in the evening. If you force them to do it at another time, they will resist. Sometimes sponge bathing is your best answer and showering with a shower chair, safety bars and a hand held shower piece can be done once a week.

Changing clothes often becomes an overwhelming experience for people as well. They will wear the same clothes for several days or wear only like 3 outfits when they have tons of clothes to choose from. We need to remember the goal is to keep people clean and healthy. If we can get a sponge bath and clean clothes whether it is one of the 3 outfits they always wear, they are bathed and clean. Keep your expectations low. They don’t have to wear all the clothes in their closet, they just need to be clean and healthy. Let them wear what they want as long as it is clean.

When you find yourself getting overwhelmed and frustrated, it may be time to bring in outside help. Often people respond to the aide who comes in to bathe them and they will do it for the aide because she is coming specifically to do it and leave. Sometimes the person sees the aide as an authority figure and will comply with the request of the aide to bathe. It is worth a try to see if it works. We need to be creative with our elderly folks not manipulative. Try different things to help them stay healthy and clean. Keep your goal and expectations for them low. They do not live their lives like younger people. Poor eyesight, aging, pain, physical disablity can make anyone feel like why bother putting the lipstick on. It is easy to rationalize it away. Aging is a process and we need to go through the process with them on their terms not ours. For more information, go to www.comfortkeepers.com

Living with someone suffering from dementia: you are not alone

If you live with someone suffering from a memory impairment, know that you are not alone. As the disease progresses, the person suffering from the illness will eventually need full time care either from a family member who lives with him or her or a paid caregiver. The disease progresses at different rates and it is often hard to determine when to have the person move in with you or to have a live in caregiver move in. Often times, a crisis precipitates the decision such as the person’s wandering, forgetting to eat and losing alot of weight, mismanagement of the pill box and/or some combination of the decrease in daily living skills. Once a family decides to have a loved one move in with them or vice versa, the whole dynamic in the house can change. If you have a house where the kids are still growing up, the tasks of trying to be attentive to the kids needs, activities and tasks can be overwhelming and to add a loved one suffering from memory impairment can be like adding another child to the mix. The memory impaired person can begin to take away time and even become the focus of the family’s attention and activities to the point that life revolves around the memory impairment. I can’t go to my daughter’s dance recital because there is no one to stay with mom or if I go to the recital and someone stay, I worry while I am there and think about it alot.

Having a memory impaired person living with you after the kids are grown can also be very taxing and can even result in anger and resentment on you part. Maybe this is the time you planned to be free from all responsiblities, take trips, start a hobby and along comes this illness that keeps you from doing what you planned. Or maybe it is not you that feels that way but rather your spouse. A person who is always like your memory impaired person, been willing to help out but now feels he or she is robbed of the retirement time with you.

If you have experienced any of this, you are not alone. It is a common feeling among caregivers. There is no one answer for how to fix your situation. The best thing to do is sit down and identify where the stress is. Is the stress, you cannot get out of the house? If so, sit down with your calendar and plan out every tues you will go out from 9 to 12pm and then hire a company like Comfort Keepers to send a caregiver out to stay with you memory impaired person. It will do wonders for you.

If the issue is with your spouse, the feelings of anger and resentment, then plan date nights and maybe have your grown adult son or daughter stay with your memory impaired person. If you belong to a faith group like church or synagogue often these places with have senior ministries or volunteers who will come and stay with love one for couple hours. You need a break sometime and that is okay. You need to take care of yourself and your marriage or the memory impairment, not your loved one, will have a significant impact on the relationship and its future.

To see more info on Comfort Keepers and in-home companion services, go to www.comfortkeepers.com

Visiting with your seniors and elderly loved ones at holiday: ways to decrease stress

As the holiday grows nearer and we make our plans to visit or invite our loved ones over, stress begins to build over things like how will this year go? Last year was a challenge with my mother’s memory impairment or my father’s physical abilities to get in the car, into the house,etc. Other stressful things such as people not getting along, a mother or father who is critical and a sibling who thinks they know better than the caregiver can also increase stress and make the holidays sometimes and unwanted event.

To decrease some of this stress, the first thing is give yourself enough time. Everyone is hurried, traffic increases, time seems to shorten and our stress level goes up and over the top. If you are planning on having an elderly love one come over for the holiday events, arrange to have a family member who is reliable and may not have as many responsibilities as you to go and pick up mom or dad and bring them over. A newly divorced sibling, a single grandson or grand daughter or your sibling who volunteers. Often caregivers take too much on, not wanting to impose on others or sometimes falling into the trap that it is much easier to just do it myself. If you have an offer take the person up on it. It will save you some stress and it also is good practice to let someonelse do it. Often caregivers feel guilty like they have to do it all. Mothers and fathers can sometime lay the guilt on by making comments such as you are not letting so and so come and get me are you? why are you not coming? Don’t let the guilt get to you. Guilt is something we feel when we fell like we are doing something to someone that is bad or will negatively impact him or her. By having another family member pick up grandma is not doing anything negative, in fact it is a postive thing. Your stress level can be so high by the time you get there that all you do is argue all the way to back to the house.

Once the person arrives at your home, plan ahead of time what chair he or she will sit in, it may have to be a sturdy chair that is higher than others so the person can rise from it easily. The person might be in a wheelchair so plan for that at the dinner table. The person might need help cutting up food so maybe make his or her plate prior to sitting down at the table so the person does not have to be embarrassed that someone has to cut up food for him or her and also it saves you from being preoccupied with the who, what, when’s at the dinner table. Who is going to help grandma cut up the food, what should she eat, maybe she is diabetic and where will she sit, next to me or another family member? Maybe discuss with family prior to sitting down who can sit next to her. You, the caregiver do not have to. Even though you think it is your responsibility, it is okay to ask for help or take an offering. If your sister-in-law offers to sit next to grandma and help her, let her. You don’t have to be everything to everyone.

You are allowed to enjoy your holiday too. Let other people help you. Even if you don’t think they can help as well as you or they did it the way you would have, it’s okay for one day. You are allowed to have a day off from caregiving and all the guilt and stress that comes with it. Grandma will be taken care of, maybe not up to the standards you set for you but she will be cared for adequately and for one day that is okay. Often caregivers fall into the trap that they are the only ones who know how to properly care for their loved one. The expectations for care get very high and no other caregiver can meet these standards. This is the result of falling into the caregiver trap. The caregiver trap is a word I use to describe that emotional place that caregivers often find themselves in that is a codependent relationship with their elderly loved one. The caregiver begins to become one with the elderly person, sometimes losing where the caregiving stops and starts. Once you have lost the boundary of where it stops and starts, you become one with the elderly person and then no one can do a good a job as you, no one can do it right, no one can save the elderly person as you can.

It is a trap, a codependent caregiving trap and when a caregiver falls into it, it is hard to get out. Signs such as not wanting anyone to help, having standards for care so high no one can meet them, feeling like you cannot leave the person or that you could never hire outside help is dangerous and very unhealthy.

Be careful of the trap at the holidays, under stress it gets harder and harder to recognize the trap and allow others to help. It is okay to let others help. To read about getting outside help go to: www.comfortkeepers.com

Comfort Keepers Southeastern PA

Comfort Keepers is a provider of in-home assisted living type services to anyone over the age of 18 who is sick, disabled or elderly. Our services include but are not limited to:

 

Assistance with Bathing and Grooming – showering, brushing teeth, denture care, shampoo

Assistance with Toileting and Incontinence – assist with or change depends, adult diapers

Support to Hospice Medical personnel and families of those suffering from terminal illness

Light Housekeeping and Laundry including sheets and clothing

Meal Preparation – make and serve meals or prepare for client to warm up later

Transportation – assistance in the grocery store, escorts to doctor, dialysis, appointments

Medication Reminder

         

Our local service area includes Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. We are a provider for the County Office Services of Aging (COSA) in Delaware County and have had two of our Comfort Keepers win COSA’s prestigious John F. Bauer Direct Care Worker of the Year award in 2006 and 2007.

 

Comfort Keepers is an international company with over 550 offices in the U.S. and abroad. Comfort Keepers provides assistance in the private home, hospital, nursing home, assisted living center, nursing home, apartments, over 55 communities, rehabilitation centers and other settings.

 

Our clients have experience everything from short term injuries such as falls or injuries at work, accidents at home, medical procedures from outpatient surgery, plastic surgery or illness such as pneumonia to long term aging issues such as dementia, Alzheimer, blindness, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, mental health issues and other conditions which result in the inability to perform daily living skills.  Comfort Keepers clients range from the high functioning individual who is unable to drive and make meals to the moderately impaired individual who may need reminders to take medications, help in the shower, light housekeeping and laundry to the severely impaired person who is unable to be left alone, bedridden, a wander risk or in a hospice setting.

 

Clients can receive care on an hourly basis or can have a live-in caregiver. Our assessment team member meets with the family and client to identify what the client needs are and the services that will be rendered. Each plan is tailored made to the client and may change as the client’s needs change. The goal of our company is to keep clients as independent, safe and comfortable in their own home as long as possible.

 

Our caregivers are employees, bonded and insured, covered by workman compensation insurance and have passed criminal, vehicle and work reference background checks. Our Registered Nurse supervises our staff and works to coordinate the care of our clients with their families.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read about Comfort Keepers. Feel free to give me a call if you have any questions or if you would like a FREE in-home assessment for your loved one. We hope you will share this information as well with your co-workers, faith and social groups as well as neighbors and loved ones. For more info, go to www.comfortkeepers.com.

 

Click here to see why Jackie Albert, Comfort Keepers, loves what she does and hear her talk about winning the National Comfort Keeper of the Year Award. She was selected from nominations submitted by 550 offices nationwide. For more info: www.comfortkeepers.com

Attractive and Active in 2008: Being a senior can be vitalizing experience

Just because you’re getting older doesn’t mean you have to look it. With a little bit of effort, you can keep your youthful appearance. And what’s nice about looking good is that it’s going to help you feel good, too. It’s not going to cost you a lot either. When it comes to living healthier, it’s never too late to start, and the sooner you start, the sooner people are going to notice. So let’s get going!

Getting fit

As far as getting fit goes, what’s important is to be realistic. Of course, before you begin any fitness routine, you definitely want to discuss with your health care provider your capabilities and your limitations. Remember, everybody is different and so is every body.

When it comes to staying active, options abound! You’ll definitely be more likely to stick with your exercise routine if you’re doing things that you enjoy. But be careful because doing the same type of activity over and over can lead to boredom. Having a homecare helper is one way to facilitate getting to and from excercise classes and doctors appointments to allow for diversity in your routine. Once you get bored, you’ll find plenty of excuses for not working out. So make sure to vary your exercise routine.

When it’s too cold (or too hot) to go out, think of some indoor activities you enjoy. Here are a few ideas. You could find a partner and take a dancing class or get a group together and go bowling. When the weather’s nice outside, you could go walking, kayaking, or golfing. Even gardening is a healthy option.

If you’re having trouble getting your exercising routine started, just try adding more steps to your day. If you can, walk up and down your stairs. When you shop, park further away from the store’s entrance. If you have a pet, put on a leash and take your pet for a walk. It’s something you’ll both enjoy. Once you’re willing to put forth the effort, it’s really not that hard to get your heart beating and your blood circulating.

Eating better

As far as eating better, you don’t have to go out and buy healthy eating cookbooks or clear your cupboards. Again, start simply by adding a fruit or vegetable to every meal. Add a banana to whole grain cereal. Fix yourself a salad with dinner (just be careful with the dressing!). Make a big pot of vegetable soup that you can eat every day for lunch. With minimal effort, you’ll be providing your body with the nutrients it needs to function more efficiently.

There are other ways you can improve your diet, if you’re willing. For example, you can choose leaner cuts of meats and snack on nuts instead of potato chips. You can cut out (or cut down on) sugary drinks and alcohol. You can stop taking seconds and learn about portion control including what a serving size really looks like.

When it comes to eating right and increasing activity, this is just the tip of the iceberg. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on menu planning, health spas and the like. All you need to reap tremendous health benefits is the right outlook. To read more go to www.comfortkeepers.com.

 

Health Literacy:Understanding Medicare, Medicaid, your doctor and other healthcare professionals who work with the elderly, seniors

Nearly half of all American adults have difficulty understanding and using health information provided to them by doctors, specialists, pharmacists and insurance companies. Low health literacy can often lead to harmful and even deadly mistakes. 

 

The term “health literacy” refers to a patient’s ability to obtain, process and understand health care communications ranging from test results to prescription instructions. The complex text that is common in health information can often be very difficult to understand.

 

Seniors who have a working understanding of health information have the ability to understand the writing on prescription bottles and appointment slips, and understand information provided to them by their medical team.

 

In contrast, patients with low functional health literacy often:

 

o       Do not understand the written or oral information provided to them by a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or insurer

o       Can not navigate the health system in order to obtain necessary services

o       Acquire higher health care costs

o       Receive health care services through publicly financed programs

 

According to the National Academy on an Aging Society low health literacy impacts both the cost of health care as well as the physical costs for seniors in our community. Billions of dollars are spent every year for unnecessary doctor visits and hospital stays because of low health literacy among seniors.

 

“Our caregivers have also found that many of our clients are endangering themselves by not understanding the treatment plan prescribed by physicians,” said Clark Bongaardt of the Springfield and Wayne Comfort Keepers, a provider of in-home services for seniors. 

 

“We train our caregivers to be health literate and to promote stronger health literacy among all of our clients.  We help put our clients’ worries at ease by coordinating their care with other healthcare professionals.”

 

According to a 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy conducted by the Institute of Education Sciences, adults age 65 and older had lower average health literacy scores than adults in younger age groups and are considered a very vulnerable population.

 

“We see many clients that are faced with the difficult task of making multiple treatment decisions,” added Clark Bongaardt.  “They receive treatment options from different physicians often including their family practitioner and several specialists. Evaluating that information for credibility, comparing advice, interpreting test results and analyzing all of the possible risks is very overwhelming for a person who is struggling to understand it all.”

 

There are many ways for families to help.  If you know of a senior or have a loved one dealing with medical issues, offer to attend doctors’ appointments with them.  Be sure that they understand their treatment plan and encourage them to keep notes at their appointments and to log questions for the next appointment. 

 

You can also help them understand their prescriptions and create an easy system that ensures they take medication at the right times.  These few steps will go a long way to helping the seniors you know and love stay safe from the risks of confusion.

 

About Comfort Keepers

Founded in 1998 by a registered home health care nurse and her husband, the Comfort Keepers franchise system has grown to over 550 offices worldwide. Comfort Keepers has ranked as one of the top three franchises in senior care Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 for the past four years. For more information about Comfort Keepers, visit www.comfortkeepers.com. Each office is independently owned and operated.

Activities to do with loved one suffering from dementia or Alzheimers during the holidays, christmas, new year and other days

If you have a loved one who is suffering from dementia or Alzheimers, you may notice that during the holiday time, their illness seems to get worse and they often get easily agitate and stressed.

If you are wondering why this might happen, you only need to think about yourself and you how you a person with a healthy brain feels during the holiday season. Do you find yourself getting more stressed during the holiday season? The traffic gets heavier, the weight of worrying about the meal for the big day, the shopping, who will you buy what for, will they like it?, the chaos that can ensue when you have a house full of kids and family members, some you wish would make up excuses so they cannot come. If you feel this way, then know that your dementia or alzheimers loved one feels it too.

Routine is one of the best things we can give our clients with memory impairment. Doing the same exact thing, the same exact way with little distraction and simple or basic instruction often tend to be the most successful way of getting them to do something. Well when we throw in a holiday and everything from church service times to dinner to visiting changes dramatically, we see our loved ones get more agitated, stress and even combative.

Often I hear adult children say that their loved one goes into the other room and does not want to particpate in conversations, acitivities or family things when everyone is together. Please understand that it is not that the person does not want to or is being rude. the reality is the person with dementia cannot process what is going on around them and it becomes too overwhelming so they need quiet time. Sometimes it is just their brain not being able to process the words they hear and make sense of it. Add a hearing impairment, a hearing aid, a vision problem or some other health problem and you have a person who has a multiple of things going on inside of them but cannot communicate that to you.

Some things that you can do to decrease a loved one’s stress at the holiday is: keep them in their own environment. I know we all feel bad that so and so will be alone, etc. but a person with a memory impairment who goes to their daughter’s home where they have been a million times, can get very agitated, want to go home and be unpleasant simply because he or she is confused by the environment. Many elderly people eat early and so visiting a loved one around 2pm to have a good meal might be an option for you.

If you have a person who is in early stages, things like looking through photo albums or pictures can be a great acitivity. I suggest that you use statement questions such as I was so cute in my little santa suit…instead of asking the person question like, when was this picture taken? Who gave me that suit? Where did you buy it? People even in early stages can get confused and agitated in your home, with alot of other people, and lots of noise.

For people who have severe memory impairments and cannot be left alone, I suggest that you consider a small quiet get together at your home. Keep music soft and lower the volume. Often clients like to dance slowly to music, will respond to lyrics if you sing and may be able to participate in small basic acitivities such as eating cookies and tea with you. Keep it simple, quiet and easy. If you need a break and want to go and visit loved ones, arrange to have help on the holidays. This can be done by contacting a company like Comfort Keepers. www.comfortkeepers.com

They can send in a person to stay with your loved one for couple hours while you go and visit. You will feel better knowing someone is with your loved one that can eat with him or her, sing some songs and keep them safe. You deserve a break, its better to have someone stay than try and take your loved one with you. Don’t let guilt make you feel like you should not have a good time or be with your loved one all the time. Your loved one has an illness like any illness and it’s okay for you to have a break for couple hours. Even though your loved cannot tell you, he or she appreciates the fact that you do not expose him or her to the loud, noisy, often chaotic environment of the holidays. Elderly people and seniors like it quiet. It is easier to process what is said and going on around them.

Other things you can do with your loved one depending on his or her illness is basic puzzles either ones you put together might have to be a kid’s puzzle with like 12 pieces that are big, for men it might be taking something apart and putting it back together again. The object needs to be something with large parts that only has maybe 3 to 5 steps depending on the progression of their illness. Sometimes people like to pack for trips or they like to open mail. It’s okay let them. The more you try to stop the behavior, the more agitated they get. Cleaning out the closet is one that seems to be a favorite.

You need to watch your loved one and see what they can handle and enjoy. If it’s nothing, than visiting might be your only option. Again keep conversation basic, statements and try to avoid questioning. It only frustrates them and gets you all worked up. Take time to enjoy the holiday with your loved one. Their illness will eventually progress and it will get harder each year to communicate and sometimes deal with them. If you need a break, call a company like Comfort Keepers to help you out. They are national company that has offices all over the country. www.comfortkeepers.com

The New Juggling Act: Work and Caregiving, Coping With Double Demands of taking care of kids, children and your elderly senior parents

Caring for an aging parent is never an easy task, but this task is made much more difficult when trying to juggle caregiving with a career.  Managing both these tasks can often increase stress while decreasing a person’s capabilities on one or both of these. 

 

According to a national study conducted by MetLife and AARP, employees caring for family members aged 50 or older are widespread and increasing.  Nearly 25 percent of all households have at least one adult who has provided care for an elderly person in the last 12 months.  In addition to their caregiving responsibilities, about 64 percent of these family caregivers are employed, creating a ‘juggling’ act between work and caregiving.

 

Comfort Keepers, an international franchisor provides companionship and other in-home services on an hourly, daily or weekly basis with tailored packages customized to an individual’s needs.  Packages include companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping, grocery shopping, incidental transportation, laundry, recreational activities, and more.

 

Founded in 1998 by a registered home health care nurse and her husband, the Comfort Keepers franchise system has grown to over 500 locations in 45 states, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Ireland. Comfort Keepers has ranked as one of the top three franchises in senior care Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 for the past four years.

 

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Unfortunately, most family caregivers often underestimate the time required for caregiving and the impact of their obligation on their work. 57% of employed caregivers have had to leave work early, arrive late or take time off to tend to their caregiving responsibilities at home. This has caused American businesses to lose between $11 billion and $29 billion each year due to employees’ needs to care for loved ones. Caregiving obligations can often mean missing out on promotions at work, a loss in wages, reductions in savings and spending and a toll on personal health.

 

One solution for caregiving support is to hire a caregiving agency, such as Comfort Keepers. Comfort Keepers provides in-home care at a fraction of the cost of moving into an assisted living facility or nursing home. Comfort Keepers is available 24/7, catering to an employee’s varied work. All Comfort Keepers caregivers are also fully screened through credit and criminal background checks and are fully insured and bonded.

 

CK Franchising, Inc., an international franchisor that offers companionship and other non-medical services primarily for seniors under the COMFORT KEEPERS® brand, is bringing its annual convention for its more than 500 national and international owner/operators to Columbus.  The convention is scheduled for June 22-24, 2006, and will be held at the Hyatt Regency.

 

Through the support of a caregiving agency, workers can now balance their career and caregiving responsibilities while minimizing the stress for the caregiver and the person being cared for.

 

About Comfort Keepers

Founded in 1998 by a registered home health care nurse and her husband, the Comfort Keepers franchise system has grown to over 550 locations in 45 states, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Portugal and Ireland. Comfort Keepers has ranked as one of the top three franchises in senior care Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 for the past four years. For more information about Comfort Keepers, visit www.comfortkeepers.com. Each office is independently owned and operated.