Seniors Site

Generally, fibromyalgia is characterized as chronic, severe pain that spreads throughout the body. A person with this kind of disorder tends to have a heightened, painful reaction to even the slightest of touch. Aside from this major manifestation of fibromyalgia into one’s body, a person suffering from this disorder often finds himself experiencing constant fatigue, has trouble sleeping and always nursing joint stiffness and pain (similar to arthritis). Fibromyalgia can also trigger other bodily responses depending on one’s degree of fitness which include difficulty in swallowing and breathing, motor and cognitive abnormalities, irritable bowel syndrome and overall dysfunction of the central nervous system; all of which lead to severe, emotional depression. There are no established criteria for fibromyalgia yet; doctors make assessments based on symptoms that are brought up by the patient together with certain lab tests to rule out other disorders and illnesses.

BUT, if you’re a senior age 60 and above then that’s another story. Apparently, younger adults experience these familiar pains of fibromyalgia while seniors are most likely to suffer from fatigue and tissue swelling. This, in fact, leads to many misdiagnosed cases of fibromyalgia among older adults. Overall, a person suffering Fibromyalgia at age 60 would find fatigue as the most bothersome symptom of the said disorder. Complaints include headaches, anxiety, irritability and discomfort when doing common physical activities.

Causes of fibromyalgia are yet to be determined but experts suspect that it has genetic factor to it thus the disorder could be passed from one generation to another. As pointed out by these experts, stress is a major trigger of the said disorder. As of the moment, there are no generally accepted medications for fibromyalgia. Prescribed medications are given to sufferers to alleviate pain and help subside the swelling, if there’s any. Self-care is also recommended to avoid pain attacks from happening; both methods are advised by physicians to seniors for two reasons:  one is to avoid pain as much as possible and two, is to improve overall quality of life. Other techniques that may help you with your condition are:  exercise, physical therapies, meditation and stress reduction.

This puzzling—almost baffling—disorder indeed affect our way of lives but rest assured that many healthcare providers are working on fibromyalgia and hopefully soon, they would be able to come up with something that will take away the disease forever. As for now, right diet, adequate exercise and natural therapies can help us get through with fibromyalgia.

Hair loss is normal for seniors—even younger adults experience them especially if they fit the criteria for hair loss perfectly such as hereditary factors and misuse of hair products. Many diseases that affect older adults also trigger hair loss; for one, popular treatments for cancer cause baldness to patients, men and women alike. While it is but natural to lose hair when we get old, the number one contributing factor to hair loss is poor hair grooming practices seniors have been applying over the years. As experts have warned, common hair products destroy the natural cycle of hairs which in return cause damage to the follicle and ultimately, result to hair loss.

In general, anything that stresses your hair can cause hair fall. Depending on the degree and intensity of the stress, your hair will react accordingly which means, hair fall could be anywhere between mild to severe. It could also manifest as attacks in which it could stop anytime only to begin again sometime after. Since hair loss is a reaction or response of the body, it is important to know what triggers these attacks and prevent it as much as possible. By improving your hair care regimen, you can protect your scalp from untimely hair loss. Here are some tips on how to take care of your hair and scalp properly:

·    Even if your scalp is so itchy, don’t scratch it to take away the itch. Instead, find a way to take out the source of itchiness. If it’s dandruff, try remedies you can do at home. There are also natural home remedies for dandruff that you must check out. If it’s scalp dryness, switch shampoo at once.
·    As much as possible, try to avoid hair coloring treatments, perming, curling or straightening the hair. Anything that will alter its natural composition could damage your hair and scalp as well. The healthiest part of the hair is the one nearest to the root and the most damaged is the farthest end from the root; cut your hair short if it’s already damaged to make way for healthier ones.
·    Never comb your hair when it’s wet. Let it dry a little before doing so because when the hair is wet, the pores on your scalp is wide open and the hair is a little loose from its sac therefore a little tug could take the hair out of it. Choose a brush that has bristles with rounded ends, and it should be bendable preferably a wide tooth comb.
·    Don’t be fooled by any hair treatments offered by your favorite salon; there is nothing to save your hair once it’s damaged. The reason why it glows after every session is that the chemicals they use coat your hair like a plastic wrap. After it’s shed, the glow disappears as well.

While hair loss is inevitable since its progress depends on many varying factors, one can definitely delay it. Remember that your hair is your crowning glory therefore we should take care of it while we can.

As impossible as it may seem, divorce cases among seniors are steadily gaining in rate during the last ten years. Although it’s quite out of the norm for seniors to undergo this kind of procedure considering the emotional–and not to mention the financial–pain it can bring to a divorcing couple, this time divorce broke all boundaries and conquered seniors marriages now. Apparently, divorces are not limited to the American household only but statistic showed that there are cases in Asia that are quite high in number too. The same goes for other countries worldwide—and that’s excluding unreported cases or those who separated but did not push through with the divorce.

What’s more, these cases are those of seniors ages 60 and above—some even at 80. Reasons why seniors prefer divorce are uncertain and quite contradicting to the popular impression that seniors stick with their families no matter what. Take back 15-20 years, divorces among seniors were unheard of and family squabbles were hidden under tight lids that even their own children wouldn’t know of. Marriage conflicts back then were considered as dirty laundry so nobody would ever dare hanging it outside for the world to see.

Divorce is devastating at any age, but if the decision comes from a senior couple, it gets more painful than it should be. Around this age, most of their friends are looking for someone to love after losing their partners to death while the divorcing person is going through all the hustle and bustle of divorce BUT we should also understand that things happen, even if we want them or not so, divorce might not be the greatest solution to all marital indifferences but it’s an acceptable way out if the marriage can no longer be saved.

If and when you’ve decided to go through with the divorce, you should know that the laws are quite different from what’s applied to younger people’s divorce cases so it is best to arm yourself with the right information on how to go through with it properly. Moreover, there are papers that you’ll need to transfer, arrange and sign. Also, there are properties to share or sell, whatever fits best for the couple.

Apparently with most divorces, storms come during and after the proceedings since these are the hardest phases of a divorce; in fact, seniors are seldom encouraged to undergo such proceedings because it poses great emotional stress to both participants. On the other hand, with increasing life expectancy for seniors, the growing divorce rate is still expected to grow in the coming years.

If there are baby boomers and generation x, y and z, then get ready to meet yet another generation:  the sandwich generation. This generation is not tagged as such just because they love making sandwiches in the morning—which they usually do—but for the simple reason of getting caught between an older generation and a younger generation which he or she must take care of, both at the same time—just like a sandwich.

It seems that this generation is where the tougher ones belong since it is the hardest, most demanding situation a person must face. By definition, a person belongs to the sandwich generation if he or she is caught between caring for an elderly parent and attending to his or her children’s needs—both of which are challenging even on their own. Apparently, this generation is the latest trend in American way of life and surprisingly there are seniors ages 50-60 that fall right into this generation.

Statistics stated that the factors which gave way to the birth of this new generation are the rising number of dependent aging parents and the increase in rate of young adults still living with their parents. This is aside from the fact that most senior ladies opted to get pregnant later in life. Unfortunately, this generation has been experiencing the greatest pressure of them all, emotionally and financially. It can affect the way you live and how you handle things—it can even put strain in your marriage, making everything more cluttered as it is.

There are ways to prevent this from happening but you need to plan ahead and work for it in advance. There are two things that could set you back; one is giving financial support to your aging parent and the second one is supporting your child, just like a good parent should do; but with the economic situation that most Americans are facing today, these obligations are harder to accomplish. Planning ahead includes arranging your parents’ assets, making the money work and generate income to help pay for their future needs. For college kids and even young adults living with you, having a little talk is your best step to take; let them know how heavy it is for you and encourage them to find ways to somehow help you. Take note of the word “encourage” not demand to avoid bitter confrontations. Lastly, get some help.

There are many organizations that lend help to the emerging sandwich generation. It’s good to know that even the government is pushing forward to many senior assisting programs and could somehow ease the burden. Bottom line is, it is never bad to extend help especially to those you love most but in the end, you need to fend for yourself too so don’t forget to set aside a little of something for yourself.

Kegel exercises are famous among pregnant women; doctors even advise women to train their pelvic floor muscles thus preventing post pregnancy incontinence from occurring. When Dr. Arnold Kegel developed this exercise in 1948, he only had post pregnancy incontinence in mind. Nowadays, the famous method is also applied and well-recommended for seniors having incontinence problems.

Both elderly men and women suffering from minor to severe incontinence are advised to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles therefore improving their urethral and rectal control. Kegel exercise will help you control bothersome incontinence from happening but one must stick to the exercise regime and should train the right muscle which is, more or less, the largest obstruction to successfully do the exercise method.

Take note, I said hardest but actually, it is easy enough to find which means the whole procedure is a piece of cake and if you happen to successfully master Kegel exercises, you’ll be amazed how efficiently it works for your body.

Finding that elusive pelvic floor muscle should be done consciously and with full concentration; one should be able to isolate the said muscle all by herself since literally, no one can point it out to you. Training wrong muscles can only worsen your condition so be careful in selecting which one is the right muscle to train.

The most basic technique that will help you find the right muscle is by testing it while urinating. Usually, when your pelvic floor muscles are good, you’ll be able to stop the flow of the urine at any time. Try stopping it at midstream without contracting all those surrounding muscles such as thighs, abdominals and buttock muscles. Take note of the only muscle that held up the flow—that’s the muscle you need. Repeat this procedure many times until you feel you got the right muscle contractions for Kegel exercises.

Kegel exercises are done 3 times a day with 10 repetitive contractions of pelvic floor muscles. This is done by alternately relaxing and tightening of the muscles slowly while lying down or sitting over a potty. Marked improvements are noticed after 3 months of regular training. However, if at some point you feel pain or discomfort, you are probably training the wrong muscles. You must stop at once and try to isolate the muscle once again. On the other hand, if you are having a hard time locating your pelvic floor muscles on your own, inquire about it in your next appointment with your doctor since there are medical techniques that can be applied to help you.

Senior craft fair is a popular affair for creative seniors and senior artists wanting to give something back to the society. Younger adults—even the kids—marvel at seniors’ craftsmanship during these occasions but what makes it really great is that, for once, spending won’t give you that usual guilty feeling, instead it’s somewhat uplifting to participate in a senior craft fair knowing that you’re somehow helping the community.

Senior craft fair is an event best held annually. It can also be done on a weekly or monthly basis depending on the community’s level of interest in supporting such events. Events like this are usually organized to support charitable organizations that will benefit seniors. It can also stand for showcasing artistic talents of senior citizens living within the community; this is especially true if a notable artist happens to be a local. This is the best way to raise funds for benefits and causes the community provides for. Small craft fairs could be a stand-alone or be held together with bigger events such as festivals and expos.

If you are interested in giving your community their very first senior craft fair, here’s what you should do:

·    Select the best location for your craft fair. This location should be accessible to all kinds of seniors. The facility should be wheelchair accessible and well-ventilated. It should be big enough to accommodate booths, craft fair activities and expected number of participants and guests. Ample parking is also a must.
·    After choosing the best location for your senior craft fair, try to get the facility’s blueprint or if this is not available, get its measurement so you will be able to properly map out where to put the food section, sellers’ area and display section. Set fees and application forms for sellers. You can also invite organizations to put up their own information booths especially if the community supports them.
·    Apply all advertising strategies you know. Some of the successful events were advertised six months prior to the event itself; you can also do that by spreading the word anyway possible. Take advantage of social media sites to promote your craft fair.
·    A week before your event, make necessary follow-ups to participants. Confirm the event’s time, place and date to avoid confusion. Assign someone to be the consulting person if and when a question needs to be answered during the fair itself; the best person for this job is you.

To make your senior craft fair more interesting, hold workshops for kids such as pottery, scrapbooking and quilt making. Include other forms of entertainment as well to keep the ball rolling.

Regular screenings for seniors are highly recommended so that their doctors would be able to assess their health status and apply all necessary precautions even before an illness sets in. In fact, screening and other preventive measures are included in the government initiated program Healthy People 2010 for seniors. Among the most effective screening methods—and most recommended too, for colon cancer—is the colonoscopy.

Colonoscopy is considered as the best screening method for colon cancer. Not only it detects and pinpoints the problem accurately, but also it provides the doctor the opportunity to take out suspected polyps and other abnormalities at the time of the procedure itself. Samples found and taken out are then sent to laboratory for analysis and further tests.

A few years back, guidelines for colon cancer screening clearly state that colonoscopy should be done when a person reaches the age of 50. The screening should be repeated every 10 years after, and that is for the remainder of the person’s life. Furthermore, there is no existing guideline when colonoscopy to seniors should not be done and when it should stop so most of the doctors resolve to this screening procedure once they see signs of colon cancer.

Apparently, a new study revealed that colonoscopy may even aggravate seniors’ health after undergoing this kind of screening method especially those with heart problems. Seniors who fall right into this red line are those belonging to age 85 and older while colonoscopy still stays as the best choice for all other age groups. Considering the age and the degree of illnesses a senior’s body holds, complications are never too far from them; these include bleeding, infection, and perforation of the intestine. While these complications are almost non-existent to younger adults or even to younger seniors ages 50-85, older adults are more susceptible to them and therefore the study concluded that maybe older seniors are better off without colonoscopy and may have to seek other alternative for colon cancer screening such as FOBT or fecal occult blood test. Furthermore, the study suggests less invasive types of screening to be done for seniors at risk since the procedure may do more harm than good. If colonoscopy cannot be avoided in a senior’s case then at least consider the method as a cure—something like a last resort, not as simple screening procedure that it usually is.

When doing a colonoscopy, it is best to assess the patient’s current health status first. It should be determined if he would be able to recover fast after the procedure with no apparent complications and unexpected reactions that will only make a senior’s life even harder. For seniors and caregivers, seek second opinion as you deem fit.

In our never ending quest for the best exercise for aging bodies like us, we’ve stumbled upon Pilates. Actually, Pilates and Yoga are two of the most recommended exercises for seniors because they provide health benefits for the mind and the body.

Pilates being a low-impact exercise makes it perfect for seniors; aside from the fact that Pilates can even take away those chronic back pains and joint aches that are very common to older adults. Best of all, Pilates routines are adjustable to suit every person’s needs so no matter what fitness level you are in when you start doing Pilates, there’s always room for you in this exercise method. As you improve overtime and so does your fitness level, your Pilates routines will be appropriately adjusted as well.

Pilates promotes and improves balance, body alignment and proper posture. It stretches and elongates those superficial muscles that most of the time, are quite hard to reach with simple exercise routines such as walking and weight training. It can also improve your stamina and gain strength when you do the routines on a regular basis. Marked improvements in flexibility and muscle tone are noticeable. Pilates also helps calm the mind, making you adapt a happy, healthy disposition.

Pilates has been gaining popularity among seniors because of its ability to naturally take away back pains—a common problem for seniors and unfortunately, with no cure as of the moment, other than alternative methods like this. Joseph Pilates, the founder of Pilates exercise method, developed it and was used in rehabilitative purposes for war soldiers during his time. The reason why Pilates has been very effective in treating body aches and pains is that it is based on the anatomical composition of the body. Joseph Pilates believed that our body should follow certain alignment and due to our lifestyle, somehow the proper alignment of the body goes bad. Without strong spine support, that’s when back pains develop. As we age and with no strong core, back pains also worsen. Pilates, being a targeted exercise method, strengthens the core or torso first namely: the back, chest and pelvic.

Pilates can be done at home. When doing it at home, you will need instructional materials like books and videos; however, it is not recommended to start your Pilates routine alone because you will still need a live Pilates instructor to explain the basic principles of Pilates and to guide you with proper positioning of your body when performing a Pilates routine.

Classes are also conducted in studios and gyms. These settings are much better because they have Pilates equipments you can use while doing routines plus there’s an instructor to guide you with proper training. Most of all, it is a great way for seniors to gain new friends when doing Pilates in groups.

The most important thing between a senior and his or her caregiver is their communication. With the demands and stress that come with the relationship, sometimes it becomes hard to establish connection–or for some situations, reestablish one–for both caregiver and the receiver.

Demands for great communication skills on the caregiver’s part are not only for his or her ward, it is also needed when talking with the patient’s doctors, health care providers, elder care providers, lawyers and even to their pharmacists. Caregiving will not only take up your time, energy and physical effort but it will definitely take a piece of you as a person. When giving care to someone, you build relationships—whether you intend to or not. Caring for seniors is different from caring for babies; although it has its own rewards, most of the time, it’s quite heart breaking for the caregivers.

A successful caregiving practice will depend on how well you connect with your care receiver. You will never know what your care receiver desires if you don’t know him that well. You, as the caregiver, should be able to understand your ward even before he opens his mouth. This is the same reason why longtime, loving spouses are the best caregivers because they can read their partners’ mind and know exactly what will calm him down or make them happy. For all others, especially those who are not trained for the job, you should always remember that seniors have their own mature minds and they know what they want—there’s no point in treating them like kids or else your relationship is in danger!

As living, breathing humans, it is not uncommon for us to feel frustrated and sometimes, rejected by our wards. Let’s just put it this way, seniors have their own issues and most of the time, what they do is not personally attacking their caregivers but working out their personal issues. Trust, for one, is also an issue for some seniors and they can be quite defensive and weary in front of strangers. However, we can avoid these problems if we know how to calm ourselves, if and when the need arises.

When faced in a difficult situation like this, avoid confrontation as much as possible, especially if you are still at the height of your emotions. Take time out, and breathe. You don’t need to lash out or attack the senior in front of you; if it’s his fault, he knows it. If he is resisting, try listening with both ears and try not to be too judgmental about it; if what you are saying is true, he knows it too. By tactfully explaining things to him and backing off after, you are giving him time to think about it and decide for himself. Bear in mind that you are just assisting this person, not taking over his life. Bonding with your ward is the best thing you can do to establish relationship that will make him feel safe and secure in your company. Get to know the person you are taking care of and you are sure to have a lasting relationship that is quite comfortable for both of you.

Nowadays, seniors retire not because they are compelled to do it for health reasons or they need to slow down; in fact, it was found out that seniors are healthier than ever! They do it because they want to try other things especially now that they are free from family obligations. Seniors are free to do whatever they want, whenever they want; this is the time when everything you do is solely for yourself and anything you give is purely optional. Retirement is, in some way, liberating. It’s all up to you how you would spend your “retired days” as fulfilling as it can possibly be.

Unfortunately, retirement comes with growing medical bills and sometimes we find ourselves a little bit short on funds. This is not uncommon to a senior’s life and it can be very frustrating to seniors ready to take on life’s challenges without “9 to 5” job interference. Retirement is supposed to be turning over a new leaf and not something that will hold us back. Somehow, we must make it work—on our own terms!

If for whatever reason you find yourself anywhere near 50 and looking for work, it’s good to know that there are some companies that hire seniors. This means, we should no longer worry about age limitations and such. These reputable companies also offer trainings, full-time and part-time jobs, and even seasonal jobs for seniors. This also includes benefits, just like any other hired employee—young and old. Local and global organizations team-up with companies to collaborate particularly for senior citizen employment opportunities. These organizations also do job placement services for their members that will match your capabilities and expertise according to job orders they received from member companies. This way, you don’t have to go through the tedious steps of looking for work and you can even choose the position you desire. Of course, through these seniors organizations, it is easier to get hired especially if you have met all the companies’ requirements. Some of the companies that hire seniors are Home Depot, Border’s Group Inc., CVS Caremark, and Staples.

The best thing with these companies is that they will make employment policies that will work for seniors such as job sharing, and flexible work schedule. This will allow seniors adequate free time to do other things aside from working. It need not a “9-5” job; some older adults who just cannot stop working usually find 2 more part time jobs just to fill in the time. This way, their work loads are more manageable than a fulltime job they’re used to. If you are interested in working after retirement and seeking employment opportunities, check local companies and organizations for job openings.