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1. Nutrition and Hydration problems
2. Personal Hygiene and Home Maintenance begins to slip
3. Medication errors are occurring and causing problems
4. Undiagnosed medical problems due to missing appointments with doctors
5. Home Safety is in peril due to clutter or poorly maintained home systems.

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If you were not able to attend our Women and Power Series with Anita Zucker, CEO of The InterTech Group last week, grab your favorite beverage and find time to watch the interview. Jennet Robinson Alterman, Executive Director of The Center for Women, interviews what the Financial Times named as one of the 50 most prominent business women in the world.

Are your aging parents in good spirits?

Are your aging parents having difficulty getting around?

Johns Hopkins Health Alert

Making the Distinction: Parkinson’s or Essential Tremor
For many older adults, the involuntary shaking of the hands, head, or any other body part conjures up fears of Parkinson’s disease — a progressive and incurable movement disorder, the most recognizable symptom of which is tremor. But the more likely explanation is a condition called essential tremor. While Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor both share the symptom of tremor, that’s just about all they have in common.
The nature of the tremors of essential tremor is quite distinct from that of the tremors of Parkinson’s disease. “Parkinson’s tremor is a resting tremor — it comes on when the hands are completely rested and goes away with directed movements,” Zoltan Mari, M.D., assistant professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins and the Director of the National Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, explains. “On the other hand, essential tremor goes away when the hands are rested and comes on when your hands are in posture or during movement, such as lifting a cup or using a fork.” Tremor with Parkinson’s disease usually begins or is more prominent on one side of the body, while essential tremor tends to affect both sides equally.
People with essential tremor also have none of the other prominent symptoms that accompany Parkinson’s disease. These include unusual slowness of movements (bradykinesia) and increasingly stiff and rigid muscles, a condition known as cogwheel rigidity.
The causes of Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor also are likely dissimilar. Parkinson’s disease stems from a deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain.
While the exact cause of essential tremor remains unknown, it’s thought to be the result of a distortion of neurological impulses somewhere in the brain. This, experts think, leads to oscillations that cause the tremor.
Still, for reasons that are unclear, people with essential tremor are at higher risk for developing Parkinson’s disease later in life.
Essential tremor often worsens with age, but a change in the character of the tremor can indicate the early onset of Parkinson’s disease. That is a rare occurrence, however. “Oftentimes, with advanced age an essential tremor patient’s hands or head may not shake in a rapid, fine-movement pattern as it did before, and the tremor will become slower and coarser,” Dr. Mari notes. “This can make the tremor seem more prominent, causing many people to think they are developing Parkinson’s while it’s really only a worsening of essential tremor.”

Posted in Healthy Living on February 23, 2011

Medical Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute for the advice of a physician

Here are some detailed warning signs to look for:

· Spoiled food that doesn’t get thrown away
· Missing important appointments
· Lost documents—tax information
· Unpaid essential bills—electric, water turned off for non-payment
· Unexplained bruising = falling!
· Trouble getting up from a seated position
· Difficulty with walking, balance and mobility
· Uncertainty and confusion when performing once-familiar tasks
· Forgetfulness –forgets to call you; forgets to take medications; forgets to eat.
· Unpleasant body odor; infrequent showering and bathing
· Strong smell of urine in the house —dirty dishes piling up—pet needs not met
· Noticeable decline in grooming habits and personal care —wears soiled clothing
· Dirty house, extreme clutter and dirty laundry piling up
· Stacks of unopened mail or an overflowing mailbox
· Late payment notices, bounced checks and calls from bill collectors
· Poor diet or weight loss—lives on sugary and other empty foods
· Loss of interest in hobbies and activities—becoming a hermit
· Changes in mood or extreme mood swings—angry outbursts, overly weepy
· Forgetting to take medications – or taking more than the prescribed dosage
· Unexplained dents and scratches on a car –must not be ignored!
· Diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer’s
· Refuses to go to doctor. Breaks appointments after weeks of waiting.

Do you think you know how to recognize the symptoms of flu? What is your FLU IQ? Click here to answer questions.

Of the approximately 350,000 hospitalizations annually in the U.S., due to hip fractures alone, a strikingly high ninety percent (90%) are the result of falls. Among the elderly, only one in four recovers completely and/or sufficiently enough to return to their usual routines.

Forty percent (40%) will require skilled nursing facility care and may never return to their former lives or activity levels. Fifty percent (50%) will need a cane or walker to support ambulation and increase safety when moving about. The death rate for hip fracture patients is higher than for other people of the same age who do not sustain the injury. The grim statistic is that 24% of those over age 50 will die within 12 months of the injury.

Extensive studies show that the danger of falls in the elderly are shocking in their outcomes and are giant red flags to the elderly and their families to assure falls precautions are taken. It is helpful to have a pair of objective eyes assess the safety of the home and whether the elderly person needs a walking stick or walker to assure safety when ambulating.

Devastation of family life due to the care needs of the person who has fallen and fractured a hip can occur. Everyone in the family is impacted. The extra expense of providing care in the home following hospitalization, that possibly included surgery and subsequent rehabilitation in a facility can wipe out cash reserves in a short time.

Although modern orthopedic care and surgical technology assist satisfactory bone healing, most hip fracture patients require extended periods of rehabilitation. Most who previously lived independently will require assistance from their family or home care. Forty percent of hip fracture patients 65 and older are discharged or transferred from hospitals to long-term care facilities. All hip fracture patients require walking aids for several months after injury, and nearly half will permanently require canes or walkers to move around their house or outdoors.

The current annual cost to the U.S. health care system for acute and convalescent care for patients with hip fractures is more than $12.6 billion. That’s an average of $37,000 per patient.

The expected hospital stay is almost two weeks. Continuing care, including nursing homes, paid caretakers, and assistance from family members, etc., greatly increases the expense of hip fractures beyond that of hospitalization and surgery.

Adult children with careers outside the home are particularly affected when their aged loved one is recovering from a hip fracture because they often must take time off from work to provide hands-on care, attend doctors’ appointments and, generally assure that their loved one is safe at home with proper hydration and nutrition.

Employers of family caregivers definitely feel the effects in lost productivity due to that employee’s absences, tardiness and distraction at work that prevents their focusing on the work at hand. Some corporations are beginning to recognize the needs of employees who are caregivers, and are developing partnerships with care managers and homecare agencies who offer assistance at home but also provide information of grants and benefits that many qualify for to aid with the costs of homecare.

Share The Care TM is a niche program designed and implemented locally by Care For Life to serve as a vehicle to provide work-life solutions to employees through consultations and educational workshops. Employees find it difficult to maintain their high level of productivity in their careers while carrying the burden of eldercare alone. Eldercare gets added to already overwhelming schedules. Many employed baby boomers are still rearing school-aged children when an aging parent suddenly becomes chronically ill, has a stroke and is impaired, is diagnosed with dementia or involved in an injury that incapacitates them even for a short term.

Here are steps from the CDC website that you can take to protect your loved one’s independence and reduce their risk of falling There is no perfectly safe environment, but they can: Exercise using programs that increase strength and improve balance. Review all medicines with a medical professional to reduce side effects and interactions. See a vision specialist at least once a year. Improve the lighting in the home. Have a professional assessment by a geriatric care manager of falls hazards in the home. Remove clutter and clear walkways.

Hire a professional geriatric care manager to assess your loved one’s home and review the daily routine. Begin to put into place every possible preventive measure you can in order to empower and enable your elderly parent to remain at home safely and independently for as long as possible. Every family has its own dynamics and ways of communicating. Preventing injuries, distress and costs caused by falls is a smart place to start a conversation. It might even save the life of your loved one. Time is of the essence.