March 2021

Even as parts of the US start to relax stay-at-home orders, our senior loved ones will still be under very restrictive rules for their own safety. We may not be able to visit with them right now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t send along some things to help keep their minds sharp during these trying times.

Puzzles & Games. In this you want activities which are familiar or simple to pick up. Jigsaw puzzles, old school board games, even chess or checkers sets.

Music. Many of us take music for granted. But for our senior loved ones, it can be very difficult to get their music nowadays. Something like the smpl Music Player & Radio could be a great way to let them have their music again without needing someone else to put it on for them. You can put their music on a USB drive and it will play with the touch of a button.

Hobbies. Anything that can keep them occupied and engaged safely. Knitting. Crocheting. Painting. Photography. Model building. Film study. All of these – and more – can be done in residential facilities using products you can readily have shipped to them.

Keeping the mind active is incredibly important for seniors, and we will all have to learn to encourage that activity remotely.

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From NBC Montana, a look at how broad some places define “mentally ill.”

“Montana Rep. Danny Tenenbaum (D-Missoula), also works as a public defender. About a year ago, a case came across his desk that caught his eye.

“For me, it was a problem I didn’t know existed until a year ago when a case came through our office,” he said. “A person was committed involuntarily to the state mental hospital, and they weren’t mentally ill. They just had Alzheimer’s.”

According to Tenenbaum, about ⅓ of the people currently in the state mental hospital are there for Alzheimer’s or other dementia related conditions. Under the terms of the bill he is proposing, those patients would instead be placed in residential care facilities rather than the state mental hospital. However, the bill still needs sponsors, and will likely not be voted on until the 2023 legislative session.

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Birds are chirping, flowers are budding and the days are longer than the nights. Spring is finally here, and that means it’s time to make sure the senior loved ones in your life are ready for the season. Continuing Covid lockdowns make this particularly difficult for loved ones in residential care facilities, but it’s still important to do as much as possible remotely.

• Make sure they have good quality outdoor clothing & shoes. Seniors are sometimes as bad as children when it comes to over-wearing specific articles of clothing. It’s up to you to make sure those threadbare, worn or even dangerous bits of gear get repaired or replaced.
• Medicine cabinet check. Make sure their prescription drugs are in good supply. Go through their over the counter drugs, supplements and personal care products checking expiration dates. You’d be surprised how quickly those dates sneak up on you.
• Fridge check. The same for their fridge, freezer & pantry; get rid of those old lentils & freezer burned chicken cutlets now.
• Activity time. Make sure they have something new to do during the season. It could be a new game to play, a new show to binge, a new park to walk in. Anything to inject a little newness and variety into their lives.

As always, handle these matters with delicacy & respect. These are your elders, not your children and treating them as such will only turn this into an argument.

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As Covid-19 vaccination rates continue to rise, it’s time to start asking what people who have been vaccinated can do that the rest of us can’t yet. First off, “fully vaccinated” means it’s been 2 weeks since the final dose of the vaccine you’ve received (the Moderna, Pfizer & AstraZeneca vaccines are 2 doses, the Johnson & Johnson one is 1 dose). The following are guidelines from the CDC:

What’s Changed if you’ve been fully vaccinated:

• You can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask.
• You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
• If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
• However, if you live in a group setting (like a correctional or detention facility or group home) and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still stay away from others for 14 days and get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.

What Hasn’t Changed, for now, if you’ve been fully vaccinated:

• You should still take steps to protect yourself and others in many situations, like wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. Take these precautions whenever you are:
• In public
• Gathering with unvaccinated people from more than one other household
• Visiting with an unvaccinated person who is at increased risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 or who lives with a person at increased risk
• You should still avoid medium or large-sized gatherings.
• You should still delay domestic and international travel. If you do travel, you’ll still need to follow CDC requirements and recommendations.
• You should still watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if you’ve been around someone who is sick. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested and stay home and away from others.
• You will still need to follow guidance at your workplace.

Remember that while vaccination rates are increasing, most of the population – the publication time – are still unvaccinated. But that doesn’t mean those who have been cannot enjoy things a bit more. Have a small party or get together. Go out more (while still masking up). But still be responsible when needed. If we all work together we will get thru this.

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An interesting study in Medline showing a link between clinical depression and lack of improvement in patients with psoriatic arthritis.

“Our study demonstrated that the presence of symptoms or a diagnosis of depression/anxiety significantly reduced the probability of achieving sustained minimal disease activity in psoriatic arthritis patients, and this was independent of disease severity as measured by number of damaged joints or medications used,” the researchers wrote.

Potential reasons for the consistent association of depression/anxiety and inability to attain low disease activity including a heightened sensitivity to pain, which may “lead to avoidance, inactivity, deconditioning, and social isolation,” Chandran and co-authors continued, adding that the association with fibromyalgia “may be due to persistent pain that contributes to both the tender joint count and the patient-reported pain and disease activity scores.”

Depression is such a difficult disease to live with for so many reasons, and now you can add “it makes it tougher to treat another chronic, debilitating disease” to the list.

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When caring for an elder loved one, some conversations are unpleasant but necessary. One of those conversations is often about alcohol consumption.

To be clear right off the bat: this isn’t about alcoholism or addiction. Those are distinct conditions, which have to be addressed on their own.

What we’re talking about here is ‘casual’ or ‘social’ drinking. A beer in the afternoon. A couple of glasses of wine at dinner. A cocktail with their friends. The sorts of activities an older person may have engaged in regularly for most of their lives. But the body of a 70-year-old is not the body of a 25-year-old or a 40-year-old. Metabolisms change, organs and systems don’t heal up as quickly as they used to, and ‘minor’ impairments are more likely to lead to significant injuries. But this doesn’t mean your senior loved one needs to become a teetotaler.

This is one of the core messages you should convey: no one is taking away all of your drinks. Simply telling an elder loved one “you can’t drink anymore” is a fast way to ensure they drink more often and more irresponsibly, going forward.

Try to schedule alcohol consumption in advance. Much the same way, dieting goes better when you have regular “cheat days” to look forward to, and a moderated alcohol intake regimen also works better when there are clear and frequent breaks. Bloody Marys at Mother’s Day brunch? A bit of the bubbly at their daughter’s birthday party? Those are great, so long as it’s not an everyday occurrence.

Family members should also try – whenever possible – to make sure alcohol consumption is done in conjunction with meals and nonalcoholic beverages. Mix in some juice or iced tea in between drinks. One of the biggest dangers of alcohol consumption comes from dehydration, and the elderly are more susceptible than most to that complication. Slowing the absorption of alcohol by eating while you drink, and consuming nonalcoholic drinks will help stave off dehydration.

Some studies show that moderate, regular alcohol consumption can have medical benefits, including improved bone density and better overall cardiovascular health. But those benefits are obliterated once the drinking moves to “excessive” levels. As a caregiver, part of your role is to find ways to allow your elder loved one to have the occasional drink while preventing overconsumption. It’s not an easy task, but a necessary one.

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From the Washington Post, a story about the power of music in relation to memory, and how some forward-thinking professionals are using that link to help patients with memory issues.

The upbeat song “Sweet Caroline” often prompts listeners to sing and dance. But when music therapist Alaine Reschke-Hernández played the song for an older person, the song evoked a sad memory and tears. That patient’s surprising reaction highlights how music, and the memories that come with it, can influence emotions, even years later.

Strategically using music can improve well-being, particularly for older people, says Reschke-Hernández of the University of Kentucky in Lexington. “Music is so connected and integrated with so many different elements of our life,” she says. From joyful celebrations to solemn ceremonies, music is part of meaningful events throughout life and becomes strongly associated with memory.”

Reschke-Hernández teamed with neurologists to really measure the effect of music on memory. The results were clear: music has such a deep association with memory that it can even transcend profound memory loss to make a connection.

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Dinnertime can sometimes feel like wartime when caring for the elderly. Dietary & medical needs, cognitive issues, dexterity problems and complex emotional relationships combine to create a minefield which has to be navigated for everyone’s health and well-being. Here are some tips for making sure meal times can be safe and calm for everyone.

Routine, routine, routine. I make this point a lot in these blogs, but I cannot stress enough how beneficial a firm – but not totally inflexible – routine can be. Having a designated time and place for meals not only helps improve seniors’ sense of time, but it also allows their bodies proper time to digest. These routines should not be immutable – if you want to go out with friends, do so, even if it means eating a bit earlier or later – but by keeping to this schedule most of the time, you substantially cut down on meal-related disagreements and flare-ups.

Ergonomic & Safety Tableware. Even the mechanics of eating can be difficult for some seniors. Arthritic hands can’t always hold a knife and fork very well, much less bring a full glass to their lips. There are tools you can use to make mealtime less of a struggle.

• Flatware with ergonomic grips, which are typically larger, rounded & textured.
• Smaller, lighter & shatterproof drinking cups.
• “Move-resistant” plates & bowls. These typically are either heavier or have ‘grippy’ undersides, to prevent them from sliding around the table. This can also be accomplished with textured placemats.
• Plates & bowls with lips. These not only make them easier to grip and lift, but they also give you a surface to push food against.

Make sure they have a diet they can live with – Almost all of us “are on a diet,” and that includes seniors. Dietary restrictions tend to accumulate as one ages, and keeping them all in mind when meal planning can be a daunting task. But a diet which is indistinguishable from prison food helps no one. If your senior loved one has a particularly challenging set of dietary restrictions, you really may want to consult with a nutritionist. They not only can tell you what to avoid, but they can also help select foods to replace those you’ve cut out. Most of us are not professional cooks, and even a little guidance can help make mealtimes fun for everyone in the home.

Do not infantilize your senior loved ones – Reading all of these suggestions, it sometimes sounds like feeding an elder loved one is no different than feeding a child. But it’s critically important to remember not to treat them like children. They see the similarities too and are almost certainly quite sensitive to that comparison. Seniors suffer a lot of indignities, but being treated like an infant by people they very likely raised is one they should never have to deal with. No matter how difficult or frustrating mealtimes become, you must treat them with respect and dignity. In other words: how you would expect to be treated.

Limit alcohol and caffeine consumption. While you don’t necessarily have to cut alcohol and caffeine completely out of all senior diets, their systems are particularly vulnerable to those substances. Alcohol tolerance diminishes greatly as we age, including decision making sectors of the brain. Multiple bodily systems which handle caffeine – including the liver and kidneys – have a harder time dealing with it, and your neurological tolerance similarly changes as you age, so it’s effects seem amplified.

These are just some of the things you can do to help keep peace at the dinner table.

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The snow on the ground is starting to melt – at least, it is in some places – and you can almost get the hint of flowers on the wind. This means it’s (another) perfect time to talk with your senior loved one about their financial health.

• Examine credit card & bank statements for recurring charges. Many seniors have services they signed up for ages ago, which they no longer use. Sometimes they’ve forgotten about the charges or just never found the time to cancel the service. Taking the time to compile a list of these charges, and to cancel the unused ones, will be worth the effort.
• Check credit reports. – Seniors, in particular, are frequently the target of identity thieves. A quick, occasional look at their credit report can help spot identity theft before it gets out of hand. You may want to consider helping your senior loved one to lock their credit. This will prevent new lines of credit from being opened without their explicit OK.
• Assemble & organize their regular payments. – Make a list of their principal, monthly payments, and assemble the most recent bills with their associated canceled checks or charges on a credit card statement. You may be surprised how many bills may slip through the cracks, or possibly be double-paid. Spending a couple of hours making a spreadsheet of these charges can help prevent a financial disaster down the road.

These sorts of financial checkups should be done every 6 months to a year, with more comprehensive checks done every few years.

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Gordon Ramsay made a career as a tough-talking TV chef & restaurateur. But a recent diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis means he may have to take a step back soon.

“I’d never heard that word in relation to me before. He told me I needed to start slowing down,” Gordon told the outlet: “It was a case of ‘Imagine you’ve got 1.5 million steps to run over the next 30 years…pace yourself.'”

This is a reminder that all of us are human, and pacing yourself is usually a good thing. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.

Brought to you by smpltec.com, Technology for Seniors News.