Dr. Mauk’s Boomer Blog
Each week, Dr. Kristen Mauk shares thoughts relevant to Baby Boomers that are aimed to educate and amuse.
Dr. Kristen L. Mauk, PhD, DNP, RN, CRRN, GCNS-BC, GNP-BC, FAAN
Guest Blog: Addressing Senior Malnutrition
When it comes to consuming sufficient amounts of vitamins and minerals, turns out many seniors aren’t. Chronic disease, dietary restrictions, limited income and access to food, reduced social contact, and other factors can increase a senior’s risk for malnutrition. There are simple solutions however for addressing the problem – don’t miss this quick guide:
Should Seniors Take a Multivitamin?
While the research on the need for multivitamins in the average American adult’s diet goes back and forth, when it comes to senior health specifically, experts can agree on some things. With older age often comes diminished appetites, decreased digestive functioning (which can affect nutrient absorption), as well as less energy, bone loss, and reduced muscle mass.
While seniors should invest in core diet staples like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and lean proteins, they may also want to talk to their doctor about nutritional supplements like multivitamins.
Multivitamins for older adults can vary. Some multivitamins with added calcium and vitamin D are ideal for active women over 50, for example, while others may come with herbal ingredients that offer memory or energy improvement.
Easy Ways to Boost Nutrient Intake
While it might seem like nutrition shakes are the simplest solution for undernourished seniors, there are also fairly simple ways to incorporate more whole foods into a daily diet.
A high-powered blender is the ultimate nutritional tool a senior has at their disposal. These hi-tech devices process food at super speeds, helping to easily blend even the toughest ingredients like nuts and seeds. They are especially handy if you are a senior who struggles with dysphagia, the inability to safely swallow foods.
- High-power blenders allow you to mix loads of healthy ingredients like fresh fruits, veggies, beans, greek yogurt, nut butters and more into smoothies, shakes, soups, stews, and dips. This simplifies the process of putting a meal together and is a much healthier alternative to processed, packaged and frozen meals.
- Recruiting help from a care network can also help boost a senior’s nutritional intake, ensuring regular round-the-clock meals that offer variety in addition to nutrients. Free, online tools like CaringBridge.com and TakethemAMeal.com allow family caregivers, neighbors, or simply friends to coordinate a digital calendar where people can sign up to help a senior with meals.
- Local nonprofit services may be an alternative as well if a substantial care network is not in place. Meals on Wheels, for example, has chapters nationwide that deliver daily meals to seniors in need, and free senior transportation services are available in many regions and can help seniors get to the store to buy groceries or pick up food.
Guest Blog: 3 Prostate Cancer Warning Signs
About 13 out of every 100 men will get prostate cancer. The older you are, the more at risk your body is to getting prostate cancer. Luckily, there are some clear signs and symptoms you can watch out for to seek treatment early.
Keep reading to know exactly how prostate cancer changes your body so you can catch it at its earliest signs.
Experience Frequent Urination
Feeling like you need to use the restroom every five minutes? This could be a warning sign of prostate cancer. There are other reasons you could be having to urinate more often but if you have a healthy daily routine and the problem persists, you may want to consider the possibility.
The urge to urinate is even worse at night. You might find yourself getting up to go to the bathroom several times in the middle of the night.
This all happens because of how close the prostate gland is to your bladder and urethra. If a tumor is growing on your gland it will cause pressure on your bladder, making you feel like you have to pee more often.
This can also cause difficulty when you’re actually trying to go. You might notice you don’t have as much control over starting and stopping.
If the problems continue over a period of days you’ll want to set up an appointment with your doctor.
New Onset of ED
Another warning sign of prostate cancer is the onset of erectile dysfunction. You might have been performing just fine the week before, but all of a sudden you can’t seem to get the job done.
Prostate cancer will push against your groin and urethra, causing the flow of blood to the area to be blocked. Normally, erectile dysfunction starts happening to men who are around the same age as men who get prostate cancer.
The two aren’t always going to be directly linked so you’ll need to get a consult from a medical professional to determine the actual cause.
Discomfort When Sitting
When you sit down do you experience a bit of discomfort? Maybe you even feel a significant pain when you sit down. If you do, consider the signs could be from a more serious condition.
As the prostate gland becomes enlarged due to the abnormal growth, it will cause a pain in your groin area when you sit down. The gland is putting too much pressure on the other areas of your body, causing them to be sensitive when they are squished together while sitting.
Your entire pelvic area could swell if it turns out to be prostate cancer and you haven’t done anything about your pain. The gland will continue to get bigger as it progresses, causing you even more pain.
If your discomfort continues over several days you need to take action to prevent anything worse from happening.
Prostate Cancer Warnings
Your body will give you several warning signs and symptoms that you might have prostate cancer. You may experience ED, discomfort when sitting, or a frequent urge to urinate. If you do, consult a medical professional and set up an appointment as soon as possible
Guest Blog: 5 Frugal Retirement Living Tips for Seniors
White clock with words Time for Action on its face
A 2015 survey revealed that Americans fear to get broke during retirement. 55% of the 1000 respondents confessed they fear not having enough money for their needs. It is a fear many newly retired folks experience hence the need to adapt to a frugal lifestyle. Here are some tips how:
1. Do Away with Unnecessary Insurance Policies
While car and homeowner’s insurance policies remain vital for many retirees, other types may not be worth renewing after retirement. A life insurance policy is not as important, especially if you are debt-free.
2. Track Your Expenses
It is essential to keep track of all your expenses after retiring. A budget helps avoid dipping into your retirement savings more than you need to. You also get to control your spending habits in terms of choices. The more effort you put into tracking your spending, the easier it gets to determine areas you need to cut back on spending.
3. Identify Ways to Reduce Property Taxes
Retirees can keep their property taxes from increasing to grow their monthly disposable income. Some states offer property tax rebates for older residents. You should do your research so you can take advantage of these opportunities.
4. Shop Smart
Some hotels, drugstores and other services offer senior discounts. The qualifying age may vary from one company to another, but it’s worth a try.
5. Vacation Less
It’s natural to treat yourself to a vacation. Sadly, these costs add up pretty fast cutting into one’s retirement savings. Retirees receive discounts and special offers for travel and local outings, giving them more cash to spend without dipping into their savings excessively.
The tips discussed should help you formulate strategies for frugal living after retirement. According to Jane Byrne of FirstCare Kildare, always be realistic about whether your finances will allow you to maintain the same standard of living. Whether you have saved a reasonable amount, living on a fixed income requires you to reduce spending.
Guest Blog: Why Seniors Should Consider a Memory Foam Mattress
As we age our bodies begin to change sleeping patterns which result in abnormal sleep cycles. These changes impact our ability to fall asleep as well as increase the number of sleep disruptions we experience at night.
Sleep disorders such as insomnia and mental health issues can increase sleep deprivation as higher levels of stress and anxiety can cause fear and worry that are often associated with the inability to sleep.
To promote better sleep, it is important to create an environment conducive to sleep. This may include black out curtains, temperature regulation and a fan, light music or white noise machine. Additionally, one of the most beneficial ways to improve senior sleep is to consider a memory foam mattress.
Here are five reasons why seniors should consider a memory foam mattress.
Relieves joint pressure
As we age our joints begin to show wear from decades of activity. For some people this may mean replacement or alignment surgery. However, for most having a mattress that helps to provide support to your body’s joints. Without proper support, your joint pain can worsen. Memory foam mattresses align to your body’s shape and provide exceptional contoured alignment for your joints.
Helps to align the spine
Your spine helps provide support for the rest of your body. With poor spinal alignment you are prone to poor posture, less strength and overall protection, as well as a high potential for muscle and joint pain. With traditional mattresses as they age the mattress begins to form a pocket in the center of the mattress, essentially swallowing you as you sleep. This not only provides inconsistent support for your spine, but also makes it more difficult to get out of bed. A memory foam mattress won’t sag in the middle and forms to fit your body while also providing your spine natural support.
Provides edge support
Falls are one of the biggest risks for seniors. So, it is important that while you sleep you are not at risk of falling out of the bed. Edge support is how a mattress helps to prevent you from falling off the edge of your bed and onto the floor. Poor edge support makes it more difficult to get in and out of bed, while strong or stiff edge support will almost propel you from the bed if you get too close. Due to the form-fitting support of a memory foam mattress it applies the perfect edge support that allows seniors to get in and out of the bed without struggle, as well as keeps you well positioned to avoid falls.
Conducive to sleep
We all buy mattresses in hopes that it will help us improve our sleep. Memory foam mattresses are designed to provide the support and protection that aligns to the way you sleep. A traditional mattress that is too soft will sag and not provide adequate support while a hard mattress is too stiff for a lot of people to sleep without disruption. Memory foam mattresses work with your body to provide the perfect level of comfort which is conducive to promoting a quality night of sleep.
Memory foam mattresses are designed with support in mind to promote good sleep habits. For seniors, memory foam mattresses help to provide support for your joints while keeping the spine aligned and ensuring safe movement while asleep.
Guest Blog: Home Improvements to Benefit Senior Living
According to the Administration on Aging (AOA), simple home repairs, improvements, and modifications can help seniors move around their home more easily and avoid accidents such as slips and falls. Some of the easier home improvement projects that seniors can undertake with the help of home care aides to improve their lifestyle include:
Replace High Pile Rugs
Unlike low pile rugs, high pile rugs have longer threads that give them a luxuriant and aesthetically appealing look. However, high pile rugs tend to impede the movement of seniors who rely on walkers or walking canes and even worse, can increase the risk of trips and falls, which in turn increases the risk of injuries. In fact, data from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)( http://www.aaos.org/Research/ ) shows that 90% of hip fractures in seniors are caused by falling. Moreover, 50% of patients with hip fractures remain dependent on a walker or cane, whereas 20% die within one year of falling. With this in mind, seniors could enlist the help of their senior care aides to replace high pile rugs with low pile rugs.
Installing Handrails and Grab Bars
Seniors can easily trip and fall when using the stairs or even the bathroom. Fortunately, installing handrails and grab bars can reduce this risk significantly. Inside the bathroom, grab bars should be installed on the walls. On the other hand, appropriate handrails should be installed along walls or suitable surfaces that run parallel to staircases.
Improve Mobility inside the Bathroom
Seniors can enlist the help of home care aides to install slip-resistant rugs on slippery floors such as the bathroom floor. This is in addition to installing a curb less shower to reduce the risk of falling while attempting to get inside the shower area. Remember, the elderly may have difficulties accessing bathroom areas that are elevated even slightly.
Replace Doorknobs with Lever Handles
A common problem that seniors face, especially those suffering from diseases that affect body joints such as arthritis, is turning doorknobs. Luckily, this problem can be resolved by replacing doorknobs with lever handles. Doing so would also improve safety because an elderly person would easily be able to open doors and escape in the event of an emergency such as a fire outbreak.
Replace Traditional Light Switches with Touch or Rocker Switches
Another problem that some seniors face is turning on/off traditional light switches. Seniors generally experience vision and mobility problems, meaning it becomes increasingly difficult for them to locate and turn on/off toggle switches. Nevertheless, seniors can resolve this issue with the help of home care aides by replacing the problematic switches with touch or rocker switches.
Lighting
Poor lighting can cause accidents such as falls with injury. Additionally, elderly may also injure their arms and hands while reaching for items stored inside poorly lit kitchen cabinets and drawers. An effective way of resolving these issues is by installing recessed lighting to illuminate kitchen workspaces and cabinets. Furthermore, it is wise to install suitable lighting to illuminate corridors, verandas, and outdoor walkway. This will make it easier for the elderly to move around or access whatever they need with relative ease, especially at night.
Some of the easier home improvement projects that seniors can complete with the help of senior care aides include installing handrails and grab bars, replacing high pile rugs with low pile ones, installing recessed lighting, replacing door knobs with lever handles, as well as replacing traditional toggle switches with touch or rocker switches. If you find yourself needing reliable in-home senior care, providers like Seniors Helping Seniors (http://www.seniorcarebrentwoodca.com/ ) are always there to help.
Guest Blog: Tips for Caregivers Helping Seniors with Anxiety
Taking care of seniors with anxiety requires special attention and understanding. As a caregiver, providing the necessary support and creating a nurturing environment for seniors to manage their stress effectively is essential. This article offers practical tips for caregivers to help seniors cope with anxiety and improve their overall well-being.
Understanding Anxiety in Seniors:
Various factors contribute to anxiety in seniors, including health issues, life transitions, loss, loneliness, and cognitive changes. Understanding these causes can help caregivers identify potential triggers and provide appropriate support. Anxiety in seniors may manifest through physical symptoms (e.g., restlessness, fatigue) or emotional signs (e.g., excessive worry, irritability). Recognizing these signs enables caregivers to intervene and provide appropriate assistance. Empathy and effective communication create a safe space for seniors to express their concerns. Caregivers should listen attentively, validate their emotions, and show understanding to build trust and facilitate open dialogue.
Creating a Calm and Supportive Environment:
A. Establishing a routine and predictable schedule:
Seniors benefit from a consistent routine that provides structure and reduces uncertainty, which can contribute to anxiety. Caregivers should create a schedule that incorporates regular activities, meals, and relaxation time.
B. Providing a safe and comfortable living space:
A peaceful and relaxing environment is essential for seniors with anxiety. Caregivers should ensure that the living area is organized, clutter-free, and offers security.
C. Reducing environmental stressors and promoting relaxation techniques:
Caregivers can minimize ecological stressors, such as excessive noise or bright lights, and encourage relaxation techniques like deep breathing exercises, meditation, or gentle music to help seniors relax and alleviate anxiety.
Active Listening and Emotional Support
Caregivers should actively listen to seniors, paying attention to their verbal and non-verbal cues. Showing empathy and understanding validates their feelings, fosters trust, and encourages open communication. It is crucial to create a safe space for seniors to share their anxieties and worries. Caregivers should encourage them to express their emotions and actively engage in supportive conversations. Seniors often seek reassurance during anxious moments. Caregivers can provide validation, empathy, and gentle reminders of their strengths and abilities to help alleviate their anxiety.
Encouraging Social Engagement and Support
Physical activity has proven benefits for mental health. Caregivers should encourage seniors to engage in exercises suitable for their abilities, such as walking, gentle stretching, or chair exercises. Regular physical activity releases endorphins, reduces stress, and promotes overall well-being.
A balanced diet is essential for controlling anxiety. According to carers, seniors should have access to nourishing meals that contain a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and healthy fats. Additionally, caregivers should encourage seniors to stay hydrated as dehydration can exacerbate anxiety symptoms. Promoting adequate sleep and relaxation techniques. Sufficient sleep is essential for seniors’ mental health. Caregivers should help establish a bedtime routine that promotes relaxation, such as avoiding stimulating activities before bed and creating a comfortable sleep environment. Additionally, caregivers can teach seniors relaxation techniques like deep breathing exercises, meditation, or listening to soothing music to help them unwind and reduce anxiety.
Providing Cognitive and Behavioral Strategies
Seniors can quiet their brains and lessen worry by engaging in deep breathing exercises, meditation, and mindfulness practices. Seniors can be assisted in using these strategies by their carers, who can also gently remind them to do so when their anxiety levels are at their highest.
Seniors can question negative beliefs and reframe them more positively and realistically by using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approaches. Seniors can receive caregiving support by being encouraged to recognize destructive thinking patterns and swap them out for more powerful and positive ones.
Seniors can benefit from the problem-solving and stress management skills that carers can teach them to deal with worry. Seniors can be given the tools they need to take control of their anxiety and discover practical coping mechanisms by being encouraged to recognize stressors, break difficulties down into manageable stages, and investigate viable solutions.
Seeking Professional Help and Support
Caregivers caring for seniors need to recognize when elderly may require professional intervention for their anxiety. If anxiety significantly interferes with daily life, causes distress, or persists despite other efforts, caregivers should encourage seniors to seek help from mental health professionals.
Self-Care for Caregivers
To effectively help elderly patients who are experiencing anxiety, carers must put their health first. Maintaining physical and mental health requires engaging in self-care practices, including exercise, relaxation methods, and hobbies, and asking for help from other carers or support groups.
Connecting with other carers who have gone through similar things may be a great support system. Insights may be shared, help can be sought, and carers can feel more at ease knowing they are not making this trip alone.
Caregivers should recognize and manage their stress levels by implementing stress-management techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, or engaging in enjoyable activities. Allocating time for personal well-being helps caregivers recharge and approach their caregiving responsibilities with renewed energy and compassion.
Conclusion
Ongoing support and understanding are crucial in helping seniors manage anxiety. Caregivers can create a nurturing environment that fosters seniors’ mental well-being by being attentive, patient, and compassionate. Elders’ life can be significantly improved by carers’ efforts, who play a crucial role in helping elders who are experiencing anxiety. Carers may help seniors who suffer from pressure by using these suggestions and techniques to show compassion and improve their general well-being.