The Top 5 Major Safety Tips for Seniors

As seniors get older, the factors that make them vulnerable to these types of accidents pile up. This includes:

Physical limitations such as frailty, mobility issues, impaired vision, and hearing.
Health conditions or medications that affect their thinking.
Environmental factors, like loose rugs and slippery floors
Whether they are living alone or inside the best Carlsbad assisted living community, caregivers and family members should still double their effort to ensure the safety of seniors.

To help you make their living space a comfortable and safer place, here are five important safety tips that you should follow.

Fall-Proof Their Home
Falls have the reputation of being the leading cause of injuries for older adults. Protect your loved one from such accidents by fall-proofing their home. This includes:

Remove clutter. Organize their space by prioritizing convenience and functionality.
Replace rugs with one that has a rubberized backing to avoid slippage.
Make sure that all cords and wirings are organized and safely tucked away from walk paths.
Encourage the senior to exercise and stay active.

Remove Fire Hazards
Fire is another major safety risk for seniors, especially those living alone. Prevent fire and other related accidents by removing potential fire hazards, such as:

Damaged appliances, devices, and electrical cords.
Removing candles and flammable items in your loved one’s home.
Avoiding the use of space heaters.
You should also install smoke detectors and keep a fire extinguisher handy. Moreover, you should instruct your loved one on what to do (leave the place and call 911) and where to go (emergency exits) in case of a fire.

Keep a List of Emergency Contacts
Make sure to list down all the emergency numbers on a piece of paper and place it where your senior loved one can look through it quickly.

Some of the most important numbers to write down include 911, poison control, the local fire department’s number, a close family member’s number, and the nearest hospital and healthcare provider’s number.

Consider Installing Assistive Devices
Even if your loved one has no history of fall accidents or mobility issues, you should still consider installing assistive devices in their home. You can opt to have it installed in places prone to accidents, such as the bathroom and stairs. Safety-proof their home by:

Installing grab bars in the shower and toilet area. Also, putting rubber mats in the bathroom and just outside the door.
Consider a bathing chair, handheld shower, or a raised toilet seat.
Installing a nightlight in the bathroom. Also, you should assess the lighting situation in their home.
Considering stair lifts, motion sensor lights, and grab bars in other rooms of the house.

Protect Against Criminal Activity
Inform your loved ones about online safety and scams that usually happen to seniors. Instruct them to keep their doors and windows locked at all times and to never let a stranger inside their home.

If you think their safety and security are compromised, then you can encourage them to move into the best Carlsbad assisted living community.

Managing asthma during summer for seniors

Managing your asthma can become more difficult especially when you have allergic asthma due to humid weather.It may be because in summer, your body needs more oxygen. It attempts to cool itself. As a result, your lung has to work hard.

Asthma in senior citizens has a major influence on quality of their life. It may concur with different conditions like weak immunity, obesity and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Consequently, it may not be easy to spot asthma among the seniors. So, it may be undertreated and can become a problem to properly diagnose.

Symptoms of asthma among seniors:

Shortness of breath
Feeling fatigued
Cough
Allergies
Pain in chest
Feeling uneasy
Difficult to sleep
How to deal with asthma during summer for seniors?

Among elderly, the most common symptom of asthma is cough. You should be aware of managing your asthma especially during summer season as it is very critical. This may assist you avoid symptoms of asthma.

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Few tips which you should keep in mind to control this disease include:

Stay indoors

You should try to avoid direct sunlight as much as possible. It is best for you to stay indoors. Sudden change in the weather may bring asthma attackamong the seniors. When you have togo out, make sure that you are ready with your asthma pack along with all the medicines. You must also check weather forecast beforehand.

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Be in cool place

Seniors should not put themselves in the condition where they have to inhale hot air. Whenever it is possible try to spend your hot days in air-conditioned place. This can also help to stay away from pollen. You can also go for an energizing swim.

Keep your home clean

Excess dust can worsen your asthma. Pollen and dust can be mixed together and be in the air for long time. Don’t open your windows and do vacuum regularly by wearing a mask.

Be always prepared

You should always keep your relief inhaler and controller medicines handy, mainly when you go out. Try to keep them in a cool place, away from direct sunlight. No matter what the weather is, you may feel asthma attack anytime. You should take your medication and inhaler without any delay.

Stay hydrated

In order to reduce asthma, it is important to drink plenty of fluids and stay hydrated all the time. During the time of summer, there is dry air which includes pollution or pollen. You should always keep your airways hydrated. Always breath from your nose and not from your mouth as it helps in filtering the air before going into your lungs.

Do regular physical activities

Early morning is the best time to do physical activities. Go for a regular walk, jogging, and swimming in the early morning. Try to avoid doing exercise during the noon as you may find it difficult to breath because of poor air quality.

Be cautious in the pool

Swimming is an essential exercise to patients who have asthma. It also helps lower down your chances of being overheated. But for few people,asthma during summer can be raised up by the chloride. This is normally added to most of the pools. In that case, you should go for other exercise.

Seek doctor’s advice

When you are aware that your asthma gets worse during summer due to rise of humidity, you should take the advice of your doctor regarding its treatment. You should know what is right for you. It can be treated with two kinds of medicines, i.e., long term control and quick relief medicines. You can also go for immunotherapy.

Conclusion

Always speak to your asthma specialist and improve your diet by eating healthy and nutritious food. You should avoid direct sunlight before it becomes out of control. When you have asthma, you should take always take preventive measures in order to help you to manage this and enjoy your life.

Importance of friendship for seniors

Studies show that agood friendship boost aging hearts and also improves immune system.People who have good or close friends are in better health than who have only casual friends or no friends.Let us talk about thebenefitsof friendship for senior citizens.

Good for the mind and body

Seniors feel lonely in case one of the spouses dies early or they have no family nearby. In such a situation the seniors feel depressed and anxiety so friendship works like a miracle to get rid of all this.Research shows that seniors who are socially active have better health than those who are not socially active and live alone.

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Elderly who are more socially active, despite having a complex condition their outcome is better.They could have diabetes, heart issues or other chronic disease,still they are doing very well due to their improved mental health.

Loneliness can hurt our health,but friendship gives incredible results for health.Socialization improvesour immune system. Seniors recover quickly from illness,lower blood pressure,risk of heart disease reduces,sharpen the memory and improves sleep. People who have strong connections with family and friends live their life more than who do not have these types of relationship also read: Shocker of a Second Wave!

Healthy habits

There are friends and family who care about you and reminds you of things that are very important for you to do like mammogram or colonoscopy or routine check-ups.If you have hearing or vision loss,then they are able to notice and get you realize.If one of your friends goes to the gym to maintain their body or goes for a walk in the morning,then you too can learn all this from them and try to bring them into your routine.We can also learn further what we should eat to remain healthy. When seniors aresocial, they get a chance to meet different kinds of people and can learn something good from everyone and try to take it in theirlife.

Love with life

When you receive regular texts or calls from friends then you feel so good and you think how many people care about us.When you regularly go to lunch, dinner or on vacation then it makes a difference in your aging life. This kind of change brings excitement in your life and you start loving your life.Nurturing friendship is required at any age especially at an elderly age.

It helps you to involve in society and it joins in your routine and you get busy and start having an important feeling yourself.Because of this you get to realize the value of your life and you look at your life from a very positive perspective.By being in the midst of friends,we are able to reduce our stress.Despite you not being on your own,friends do not make you feel lonely.And because of being physically and mentally fit,you can go a long way in your life more than those who live alone.

Conclusion

Friendships play a significant role in the senior citizens’ lives. It is one of the best ways to eradicate their solidarity and loneliness. I would like to say one thing in the end that you must make friends to make your life more beautiful and increase the enthusiasm in it.

Causes of sleep disorders in the elderly

It enhances the possibility of developing many chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart and lung diseases.Smoking can increase the normal process of aging.Cigarettes have various toxic chemicals which are harmful for our bodies.

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It can increase the level of your blood pressure and heart rate.Elders who do excessive smoking take longer time to recover from an injury and after an operation.No matter what your age is, if you quit smoking, your body begins to cure from its injury.

How is the body of elderly affected by smoking?

There are a range of harmful chemicals present in the tobacco products.It damages your body, especially lungs and can kill you slowly. The largest reason of excessive smoking-related fatality for people above 60 years is lung cancer. At older ages the mortality rate can also be from cardiovascular diseases. It may possibly develop dementias, both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

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There are different dangerous chemicals which are available in the cigarettes which is injurious especially when you age. These are:

Nicotine: It is powerfully addictive chemical which is available in tobacco plant. Once a person becomes its user, it is very hard to quit.
Carbon monoxide: It is poisonous. When it gets into the blood from lungs, it blocks the oxygen to move to the body cells.
Lead:It is highly toxic metal and can lead to serious effect onbrain and nervous system.
Formaldehyde:It is a toxic chemical which causes cancer in the nose and trachea. It is normally used for carpeting.
Health effects on elderly

Smoking has an extreme health impact on elderly people’s life. It can cause the following diseases:

Diabetes

Smoking leads to type 2 diabetes 30 to 40 percent more.The diabetes occurs when your body is not able to generate enough insulin and all the sugar dissolves in your blood.

It increases inflammation in your body. Inflammation happens when the harmful chemicals of cigarette damage cells. It causes swelling and oxidative stress. Both these may lead to diabetes. It becomes hard for the blood to move throughout your body, when you smoke.

Heart diseases

Cigarette smoke can cause cardiovascular diseases in the elderly as it can damage your heart and blood vessels completely. It can be fatal result of smoking. It can lead to diseases such as:

Heart attacks
Strokes
Coronary artery disease
Cardiomyopathy
Irregular heartbeat
CVD happens when there is growth of plague in the blood vessels. The plague generally comes as cholesterol. Smoking can enhance the levels of bad cholesterol inside your body. It also increases the chances of blood clotting.

Increase in blood pressure

How does tobacco impact the blood pressure? It increases your blood pressure. Your blood vessels become narrow and damaged because of the nicotine present in the cigarettes and various tobacco products. It stresses your heart and can cause strokes, heart failure, kidney and coronary artery disease. Smoking can also lead to dementia.

Cancer

Smoking causes different cancers. Cigarette or tobacco has cancer-causing chemicals. When you smoke, lung tissue begins to change immediately. Most of these cancers start as you age. Few cancers which are caused by smoking are:

Lung cancer
Liver cancer
Stomach cancer
Kidney cancer
Mouth cancer
Gum and tooth diseases

Smoking weakens elders’ immune system. It makes it difficult to fight with the gum infection. This makes your gum damage and leads to many gum diseases, bad breath and plague. It becomes hard for the gum to heal. This is because when you smoke, the oxygen does not move to your bloodstream.

Besides these, smoking can also cause eye and skin damage, respiratory problems, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases such as coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing and so on.

Conclusion

It is never too late to quit smoking. It can significantly reduce your risk of death and can give you long lasting benefits. If you are a senior citizen and trying to quit smoking, you should get in touch with your healthcare professional.