Is it just "Getting Old" or is it Dementia?

Have you seen the new advertisement by the Alzheimer's Society to raise awareness of dementia?  (See it here) .  As our population grows older the single biggest health risk is dementia which is a progressive decline in major functions i.e. memory, reasoning, communication and skills for daily living.  Of course there are other reasons for memory loss and as soon as you feel that something is not quite right, it is best to get some advice, help and a definite diagnosis as early as possible.

Helping Someone with Dementia with Medication

It's very common for people with dementia who have other health conditions as well to have to take a  number medicines at various times of the day.   This can become very confusing and, if they live alone, a source of anxiety for their family too, who worry if they are taking thier medicines.. Here are a few tips to help people with dementia who live on their own to take their medicines correctly.

Buying a Mobility Scooter - Tips from RentMobility in Rugby

Have you seen a mobility scooter and wondered if you could benefit from having one?  I went down to RentMobility in Rugby who have a vast selection of scooters and chatted to the owner of the business, Suzanna, about how to go about buying a mobility scooter. Here are some of Suzanna's tips.

Why Use a Community Alarm?

A lady who looks after her mother was telling me about her mother's experience with the Community Alarm, which is a telephone based system with a pendant with a button which is pressed to summon help in an emergency. Her elderly mother was most reluctant to have any form of monitoring and hated wearing the pendant. One day the lady had to go to another town to visit a relative and made sure before she left that her mother was wearing the pendant in spite of her mother's protests. As it happened, the mother had a nasty fall during the day and luckily wearing the pendant, she was able to call for help and medical assistance. She is a lot happier to wear her alarm now. This story highlighted to me how important it is for elderly people to have a community alarm and I spoke to Sheila Field, the Supported Housing Co-ordinator, at the Warwick Response Control centre in Leamington Spa about how the system works.

Survival Tips for Carers - Carers Week 13-19 June 2011

It's Carers Week between 13 - 19 June 2011 and an opportunity to recognise the great work which is done by our country's six million carers.  Many carers give up employment, income and pension rights to take on their caring role. It can be a 24-hour exhausting responsibility  with little practical or financial help.  Most carers are also so concerned about the welfare of the person (or sometimes "persons"!) that they look after that they forget to look after themselves leading to exhaustion, ill health, anxiety, depression and permanent disabilty for themselves as well.    If you are a carer who has not had a holiday or a break for as long as you have been caring, and recognise any of the above then you are probably a victim of what is known as "carer burnout".

Personal Care : Washing and Dressing

Assisting someone with Dementia with personal care is one of the most common tasks which care workers are asked to undertake.  Many people resist having assistance with personal care as it is a reminder that they are not as able as they used to be and they  feel that they are losing control of this most intimate part of their lives.
However, care staff  are there to help not to take over and we encourage the client to do as much as possible for themselves.  The emphasis is always on maintaining everyday life skills and facilitating the client to remain independent for as long as possible.  Here are some tips to ensure that washing and dressing are as stress free both for the person with dementia and the person assisting them.

Five Easy Ways to Communicate with Someone with Dementia

As Dementia progresses the part of the brain which deals with speech and understanding starts to become affected.  It  becomes increasingly difficult for the person with Dementia to make sense of the world around them.  The ability to process information decreases, concentration reduced and they become unable to recognise what is being said to them or to articulate what they want.  It's all too easy for carers to become frustrated and angry when their loved one seems to have difficulty with even simple communication.  Here are five easy ways to ensure that communication with someone with Dementia is not a continuing battle.

The Truth about Handwashing

In recent years there has been a rise in the sale of hand sanitisers, antibacterial soaps and wipes etc and it is easy to become confused as to what is the best way to prevent infection. The easiest and best way to prevent infection is to wash your hands frequently and properly.

Keeping Safe and Well at Home

Looking after an elderly person at home is rewarding and maintains independence but keeping him/her safe at home can be challenging.  This post gives some tips on  ensuring that the elderly person is safe and well at home and reducing stess for carers.

What Carers should know about Incontinence

I remember many years ago the shock of discovering that my elderly mother had become incontinent. It just seemed an impossible situation and looking after her as a carer, I wish I'd known then what I know now. The majority of people who suffer incontinence are over sixty and older people are much more liable to become incontinent because of weakened pelvic muscles, enlarged prostrate glands in men, recurrent uniarary tract infections or simply that they have slowed down and cannot get to the loo quick enough!

Four Ways to Help Someone with Dementia to Eat Well

If you are looking after someone with Dementia you may find that he/she  is no longer interested in food or  forgets to eat regularly or drink enough fluids. . Many people with dementia experience poor appetite and this can greatly affect their health and well being.  Not eating properly can  result in weight loss, increased infections, greater confusion and a lack of energy.  To eat well and healthily the person with dementia should have  a wide range of nutritious food, enough vitamins and minerals, enough fibre, plenty of fluids and very importantly too,....choices which make eating an enjoyable experience.

How to Find Good Homecare Part 2 - Getting a Good Service

Once you have a list of likely companies  do some background research - do they have a website or any literature they can send you?  Find out as much as you can about the companies on your list and then make a shortlist of  2-3 companies you think would be able to potentially provide you with a good service within your area.  Invite them to come and see you in your home (where they will be working), ask them to tell you more about their services and how they operate and ask for a quote for a likely schedule of care for a week (you don't want any surprise bills!).

How to Find Good Homecare Part 1 - Finding a Care Service

What do you do when you think that you may be needing some assistance in the home?  Perhaps  you have had an accident or just come out of hospital after an operation.  Perhaps you are finding that as you get older that those regular  heavy jobs around the house (lifting a basket of washing or carrying the hoover upstairs) is just getting a little too much.  Maybe you have an elderly relative who has been diagnosed with a long term illness and can no longer take care of the house and also needs help with personal care but doesn't want to go into a residential home?  Where on earth do you start? 

Celebrating our 1st Birthday

It's hard to beleive that we are one year's old!  And what a year it's been!  Our first hurdle was to get the registration of our sevice with the Care Quality Commission  - that took eight weeks - but we got there and they passed us as fit for duty!  Then we got our spot contract with the Local Authority which took another few weeks and then we were good to go! 

VAT Increase and Home Care

The dreaded increase in the rate of VAT came into force today and many of us will be wondering if the new prices of goods truely reflects  the increase or if retailers and service providers  are taking the opportunity to hike their prices as well.

Homecare  thankfully is exempt from VAT and therefore there will be no immediate "hiking" of prices for our services.   This will be good news to many elderly people on restricted incomes who depend on social care services to continue to live at home independently.