Seniors Site

Years of driving may have put your old self into confidence and comfortability when on the road that it is not impossible to overlook some of the basic safety tips when driving. While road mishaps are still very much rampant, most of it can be avoided – actually almost all of it could be avoided if only the drivers were more cautious of their driving habits. The sad truth though is that many innocent lives were taken just because of such carelessness- accidents that could have been avoided.
Let’s face it, as our own bodies conspire against us and aging takes toll, we are more and more becoming a life threat, not only to ours but to others as well. Below are some of the most practical tips to maintain safety on the road, even if you are already a senior:
· Take breaks whenever your body calls for it. Anytime you feel the need to stop, do so. Not only you are doing yourself a favor but you are preventing an accident from happening as well. Suddenly dizzy? Pull over and let it pass. Acknowledging what your body is trying to tell you is the key to safety on the road.
· Check the weather. Road visibility is very important especially if you are struggling with poor eyesight to begin with. Avoid driving when it’s raining as the roads are probably slippery and considering your reaction time, you might have problems navigating the roads.
· Slow down at night – or not drive at all. The problem with night driving is that it impairs your visibility effectively. Also, headlights coming toward you can cause problems , as they can be blinding.
· Drive with company. Like I always say, 2 pairs of eyes are better than one even if they are both impaired. Your company can be your extra eyes. Also, they are most excellent when you are trying to consult a map or if you need to reach for something while trying. In other words, it will allow to you focus your attention to driving and not anything else.
· Use your signal lights. You know the problem when driving is that you are unable to communicate with other drivers realtime. That is, you cannot possibly say to the one in front of you that you would like for him or her to go a little faster or whatnot so the best thing to do is at least use your signal light to let the driver following you to know where you’re planning to go and prepare him for what comes next.
· Use your brakes wisely. Did you know that the most common cause of vehicle accident is breaking abruptly? This is because drivers don’t expect you to just do that hence they are not prepared to suddenly brake when following you.

Safety issues are surely not the ones you would like to discuss in Sunday dinners with your aging parents. You just don’t go straight on asking your parent if he or she has already decided on which assistive community to move into or if they have already installed the grab bars in their bathrooms. Understand that while it is important for you - as their concerned kid - to know, this makes them feel threatened – like they don’t have the capacity to decide for themselves.
Just think of it this way, when you were younger and your parents were the wiser beings, you didn’t like it too when they nag on you and tell you what to do all the time right? Just imagine what you felt and how it made you furious even if you know they were right then imagine yourself being told by your kid, that doesn’t feel really good, does it?
It is also important to start with your right foot forward just so you won’t be considered by your senior parents as the enemy in the picture. You might want to be their confidante, not the enemy as this will only make your intentions harder to do. Remember that when you are viewed as the bad guy, everything that you’ll ever say will surely be met with an argument, no matter how sensible your suggestion is. You may find your parents a little hesitant but that’s just because they are frightened.
To be able to find a common ground, better to discuss everything with an air of practicality. Your suggestion should sound as the most practical thing to do given their situation – however, they must not feel, in any way, that you consider them as a threat to their own safety.
It is also important for them to feel that they also have a say in their situation. Don’t push too hard no matter how pressing their situation is. Having a successful dialogue with your aging parent regarding their safety requires perfect timing. Allow them some time to think then ask again another time, you would know if they are ready. If you really have to make some changes now and your feel your senior is still refusing to cooperate, then seek help from people who you think they respect and believe in, like a pastor or a preacher, or their own mom perhaps? It will not be easy to make your senior “just” follow your decision since they were the ones making all the decisions for you when you were younger. What’s more important is that you earn their trust – enough trust to make them feel comfortable with your decisions over their wellbeing. Surely nobody would trust their financial woes to someone who has just filed bankruptcy, don’t you think? If you have to be in control, you must at least, act and look the part.

Have you noticed how awfully hard public transportation has become for seniors? I personally think that it requires the agility of a 12-year old which obviously I don’t have, thank you very much. The mere act of stepping off a railway platform and into a train proves to be an act worthy of the circus! I don’t know about you but lately when confronted by this dilemma, I usually find myself dizzy and disoriented to even lift my foot, thanks to the ever present shoving teen who always comes running at me from back, I’m not having any problem hurling myself into the train without the benefit of time to think how to actually get in!

Yes, I am ranting. And, yes, I use the public transportation for getting around the city just so I won’t have any problem looking for a parking space. I’m lazy like that. But lately, I’m finding it hard to move around using the public transportation and whether I like it or not, I have to admit, impaired dexterity is not my best friend in situations like this.

If you plan to travel using the public transportation, here are some of the things you might want to remember for a smooth and hassle free ride:
· Make sure all your senses are up and running good. That is, you have to wear your eyeglasses so you can see at once if there is a hazard on your way that may cause you to trip, slip or fall. Also, if you are having a hard time hearing, get yourself fitted with a hearing aid first before you try to commute.
· As much as possible, don’t travel when raining or it has just rained as surely there will be patches of wet and slippery floors and pavements that are sure to cause falls and injuries.
· Keep your hands free from holding anything. If you’re bringing a bag with you, opt to bring sling types which you can just “sling” to your body and not bother holding it anymore. Belt bags and backpack are nice choices too since they allow your hands to be free to grab onto something if you lose balance.
· Stay on the right side at all times. Counterflowing is bad for your health.
· Safety first. At all times! Don’t forget to buckle up at every chance you get. Seat belts were installed to make your ride as safe as possible so better use them.

Safety threats can easily ruin a senior’s vacation. When vacationing, seniors are more vulnerable to theft and overall dangers of being in some place foreign. If you are thinking that staying in a hotel puts you in a lesser risk then you might want to rethink that since reports of theft occurring inside a hotel room with or without the occupants in there are quite rampant.

Add to that the fact that seniors are the favorite targets of thieves since we look fragile and won’t cause any trouble. I don’t think seniors are coward however, I do believe that seniors are wiser, that’s why they would rather give their valuable to a thief than fight the thief and get hurt in the process. Nonetheless, this should make us, seniors, extra careful when we are vacationing especially if the place is very foreign to you. Below are some safety tips that are simple enough to do when staying in a hotel:

* Never leave your door open and unlocked. Whether you are in or out of your hotel room, you must lock your door at all times. A common thief is more likely to try to open your door casually first before exerting any other effort in opening your door.
* Travel light. This way your stuff will be easier to track than having more than 5 bags and whatnot upon checking in. This also prevents you from being the thief’s apple of the eye. I mean, who would want to risk getting caught for a wallet and a couple of jewelries that were in plain sight when you checked in? They are most likely to chase someone with several baggage just so the odds of acquiring something valuable are better.
* Clear away temptation. You don’t have to leave your money-laden wallet lying around your room especially if there’s someone else – like the cleaning personnel – inside the room. If you really have to leave your valuables behind, at least put it in a safe place and out of view.
* Inspect your hotel room’s doors and windows if they are closing right. If you spot a broken one then report it at once and ask to be transferred to another room. Better be demanding than be sorry for not asking.
* Never ever open the door without taking a quick peek using the peephole to see who’s on the other side. Thieves knock and will use force to get inside if occupants are ignorant enough to open their doors to someone knocking.
* Never ever open your door to someone who is claiming to be a hotel personnel. Watch movies and they will tell you that this is the most common SOP of those who would like to break that barrier that is the door and gain access to the room. Better yet call the front desk and ask what was the visit about.

See, I’ve been doing my homework. Now that summer is here, we seniors should be doubling our efforts in keeping up to date with latest scams since this is the season when scammers are on their most active and that is an official statement from my friendly neighborhood policeman!

I have already posted about the “financial adviser” scam which sounds really sophisticated if you ask me since it is you who will go straight to the scammer’s trap and not you being lured into it. While the “financial adviser” scam requires effort to spot, the “alarm system” scam takes the traditional way of scamming people. That is to confuse them and play on basic human emotion: fear.

It is normal to fear for your safety as well as your home’s. This is your cocoon, your refuge, if and when someone breaks in, you will certainly feel violated. My personal fear is coming home to a ransacked house but I wouldn’t dare imagine someone breaking in while I’m physically there. For me, that is unthinkable considering my age. I would probably end up dead, either of severe trauma or heart attack!

Going back to the “alarm system” scam, the latest of the bunch works like this: a salesperson will approach you either by knocking on your door, or calling you and launching a full-blown sales pitch even if you vehemently refuse to acknowledge. They will have their way, be it by going out of their way to convince you, pressure you shamelessly, scare you out of your wits and/or threaten you at gun point – anything that will make you buy their products and avail their services. After that, they will be gone without a trace left! If this is the case then consider yourself lucky as you have been scammed just once and without much damage done.

Another intention of “alarm system” scam is to know how exactly your current alarm system works or if you have one in place. This is usually done by bad people looking for houses they can break into some time in the future. By “interviewing” you, they will be able to know your habits and how you use your current alarm system or if you still don’t have one in place yet. By posing as inspectors, they will be able to see your alarm system’s weakness and use it to their advantage. Moreover, knowing your alarm system’s brand and model will provide them the opportunity to study its behavior and plan their break-in.

Also, beware of salespeople asking for your alarm system company’s information. I have heard that a fellow senior was scammed by believing a caller claiming that they are now handling accounts for the aforementioned company and would like for the senior to renew their account with them to avoid interruption of services (whatever that may be!) Since the caller sounded professional and the senior did not see any reason not to trust the caller, the senior quickly signed up papers sent to her the next day by the caller. Soon enough, poor senior got two billings for the alarm system, one from the legitimate company and the other was from the scammer. While the senior can still squirm his or her way out of the mess, it is still a hassle and a complete waste of time.

If there’s one thing we, seniors, avoid the most, it would be falls and slips as we all know the health implications that come with it. However, as we age, it gets a little harder to avoid falls and slips considering those several factors which might lead to a fall or a slip are the exact same things we can’t do without.
I, personally, am conscious of my surroundings and as much as possible, I avoid situations that may lead to a fall and ultimately, bone breakage. But I would rather plan ahead to prevent falls and slips rather than always be on the lookout for potentially bone-breaking situations hence my fall-injury-proof plan, so far, it is working.
It is important to note that the changes in our body are some of the causes why seniors are vulnerable to falling and slipping. Our diminishing sensorial capacity, reaction/reflex time and coordination can all result to falls and slips. Also, the medications we take everyday can also make us disoriented and dizzy doubling our chances for falling and slipping. Below are some useful tips on how to develop your own fall-injury-proof plan:
•    Ask your doctor for bone strengthening supplements which are safe to take considering your current health condition. You cannot just take calcium especially if you are under medication so it is best to consult a doctor and know what it really safe for you.
•    Exercising can strengthen your bones. Lifting weights can improve your muscle tone hence protecting your bone from breakage. Yoga and pilates on the other hand can help you improve your balance.
•    Avoid alcoholic drinks. These things can impair your sense of balance.
•    Avoid extreme temperatures. They can make you dizzy.
•    Avoid wearing high-heeled shoes instead go for rubber-soled, low-heeled ones.
•    Use handrails, guidebars and other assistive devices whenever possible. They will help you maintain proper balance hence avoiding unnecessary falls and slips.
•    Install rubber mats on wet areas of the house particularly inside bathrooms.
•    Wear non-skid, rubber slippers inside your house. This will prevent you from slipping on slippery areas.
•    Never stand on chairs and table. If you need to reach for something, have someone get it for you but never stand on chairs and tables as they might break and fall, bringing you down with them.
•    Adequate lighting inside of home. Or anywhere you walk for that matter. Well-lit areas can help you see if there is an obstacle on your way thus preventing you from falling or slipping on it.
•    Remove rugs and carpets to avoid slipping on them. If this is not possible then have them tacked so they won’t ever move when walked on.

When we talk about summer, it automatically connotes hot weather and well, fires. If there’s one thing I fear, it’s fires, whether it is a natural occurrence or a product of human ignorance. Just the same, if you are a senior with very limited range of motion, you would want to avoid fires as much as possible too.
Seniors and children are at highest risk when it comes to fires and are most likely to die in an event of housefire according to National Fire Association. They blame it to mobility and bad decisions made during fires. I say most of the time it is the lack of education on what to do when there’s a fire or how to avoid it altogether. Below are some safety tips for seniors and caregivers alike:
•    Have a fire emergency plan. Remember all those fire drills during your school years? They were designed to be practiced every now and then just to refresh students’ memories and hone their instincts on how to react and where to run when the school is on fire. Your own fire emergency plan should be the same since knowing exactly what to do lessen the confusion and mistakes made if and when a fire happens.
•    Install smoke detectors and fire alarms, if you haven’t yet. Replace batteries when needed and clean if necessary, according to manufacturers’ recommendation of course. If you suspect that your system is malfunctioning, have someone take a look at it or better yet, call the manufacturer and report your observations.
•    Clear your fire exit. Pinpoint exactly where you plan to escape or your exit point/s. As soon as you are certain this is a good exit point, clear the way out by removing all the clutter that might hinder your way to the fire exit.
•    Move your room to the ground floor. You are safer if you are on the ground floor of your home since you won’t be needing the stairs anymore to get to the exit point. Better yet, choose a room that is nearest to your exit point. This way, even if you are roused by the fire, you can get out easily and promptly.
•    Ask to be inspected. Your local fire department can take requests for home inspection. This way, you will be able to get valuable tips on how to improve  your home for fire safety and if your fire safety plan is adequate.
•    Quit smoking. Careless smoking was found out to be the leading cause of house fires and unfortunately, death. If you care enough for your life and the others who live inside your house, quit now.

Seniors are easy targets for unscrupulous people. Scammers target seniors. Con artists seek seniors – that’s just how it goes. Whether we like it or not, we become thief-magnet as we age so it is absolutely necessary for seniors to apply certain safety measures to protect themselves as well as their properties.
Yes, that’s right. Making sure that your home is adequately protected from unwanted “visitors” should be your top priority. Below is a guide to home safety for aging people especially for seniors living alone:
•    Home security involves the things found in and around your home. Installing locks on your doors is sometimes not enough to ward off robbers. Seniors should make a conscious effort of observing proper home security practices to be able to really secure the place you’re living in.
•    Adequate lighting. Again, that is inside and outside of home. Your lawn, if you have one, or perhaps your porch and back area (if applicable) should always be well-lighted especially at night so that there will be no chance a robber will go unobserved if an attempt is made.
•    Go for quality locks. These babies might be a little expensive than most locks in the market today but if your safety is on the line, might as well invest on them. Of course, don’t forget to actually use them after installation. For doors, double dead locks might also be a good idea to add. Make sure you got your windows covered too since next to doors, windows are a personal favorite of housebreakers.
•    Shop for alarm systems. There are many alarm systems available for seniors nowadays, some are even specifically designed for seniors which usually involve censors that can detect slips and falls. If you still have some money left, then might as well go for full home security system. It will definitely cost more but you are sure to put your mind at ease whether you’re inside your home or out traveling for long period of time.
•    Keep your lawn trimmed and cleared at all times. You don’t need those high bushes to hide your would-be housebreaker. By eliminating their possible hiding place, your would-be burglar is sure to have doubts in proceeding with the break in.
•    Be careful where you hide your spare keys. What was once a cute and convenient habit can now be the very thing that will let your robbers inside your home. Rocks, flower pots, up above door frames are out of the question. If you need to leave a spare key behind, might as well leave it with your trusted neighbor or install a safety box somewhere outside your home and put it there, under a combination lock.
•    Adopt a watchdog. This is highly recommended for those living alone since dogs are also a good companion as well as protectors. Get one from local training facilities.
•    Security cameras are very popular nowadays and it proves to be very beneficial in case a robber successfully broke into your home since footages can be used against them and in identifying them.

I must remind you all seniors to please take a night off sorting your medicine cabinets—if you haven’t done that already—as the 2nd National Drug Take-Back Day will be held Saturday, April 30, 2011. It is a nationwide effort of the government to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft. Sites are scattered all over the nation and will be open from 10am to 2pm. Make sure you bring all those excess pills and drugs you have at home, expired and otherwise.

Last year’s National Drug Take-Back Day was a huge hit—especially for us seniors who are more or less, clueless of what to do with expired meds sitting inside our medicine cabinets. They aim to collect unused, unwanted and expired prescription drugs which can pose a threat to owners and their families if left untouched or if not properly disposed. And no, you don’t just dump them into waste baskets or flush down the drain because if it is safe for you to do that, there wouldn’t be Safe and Secure Drug Disposal Act of 2010.

However, if you missed the National Drug Take-Back Day this year, you can still check out sites which will accept your unused medications. There are designated sites you can find locally by checking DEA’s website and the sites are updated daily for our convenience. Click here to find local sites near you:  Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) website.

Misuse and abuse of unused drugs left inside our homes were the reasons why National Drug Take-Back Day was initiated. Prescription drugs abuse is alarmingly rampant in America and the government is moving towards fighting and altogether eliminating it. Furthermore, studies showed that most of abused drugs were acquired from family and friends who are legitimately using them to treat health conditions—so now you have just solved the mystery of your missing prescription pills!

Again, throwing them away or flushing them down the toilet is not the proper way to get rid of your unwanted drugs. They should be handled properly, like you would handle a potentially deadly substance. Although some drugs are safe enough to be flushed, please don’t unless the label said so. For those areas not yet covered by drug take-back programs, you can simply follow steps written in this PDF: Proper Disposal of Prescription Drugs:  Federal Guidelines

I just got off the phone with my friend from Australia. Sadly, some parts of Australia are still submerged in water and worse, some families are not even prepared for the flood, some didn’t even see it coming. Lucky are we whose hands of Mother Nature didn’t reach but one can’t help but think:  for how long?

It has always been my personal vow to look after my fellow seniors, be able to help them as much as I can and even if that means sharing personal thoughts and experiences through blogs and organizations. Floods don’t just interrupt our lives or cause some minor discomfort, it can actually kill. Young and old, we all have to be prepared for floods as much as we prepare for other emergency situations. Below are some things you can do before, during and after a flood to somehow minimize damage.

BEFORE THE FLOOD:

•    Know your area. If you are a local, you won’t have any problem expecting a flood however, if you are new to the area, it will help you tremendously if you start asking questions about it with your local authorities. Perhaps you can start with your broker or join online forums. Ask for flood maps as they are usually available to the public.
•    Know the plan. Those areas where flood is as common as the sun, they usually have their own flood control plan. It is best for you to know about it and be aware when it is necessary for you to evacuate your place.
•    Have an emergency kit ready. You now see how important emergency kits are? For a senior, you should pack your medications along with other important things you’ll need. Flood proof your important documents as well.

DURING THE FLOOD:

•    Have someone move your things to a higher place however if you find yourself alone and in the middle of the flood, better leave your things and move yourself to a higher place as the water may rise anytime without a warning.
•    Electrical things should be moved as they are hazardous when submerged in the water. Remove light fixtures when you can.
•    Tie buoyant things so they won’t be carried away by the water.
•    Evacuate when needed. Your local authorities are most likely to tell your area if it is necessary to move or you can do it voluntarily.
•    Never drive nor swim when there is a flood. It won’t do you any good. Once the water starts rising your only option is to grab your emergency kit and run to the highest point of your house.

AFTER THE FLOOD:

•    Your house is safe once the water is within floor area, just the same, you need to wear rubber boots at all times.
•    Check with your electrical, gas and water companies if there are precautions you need to observe.
•    Assume that the water supply is contaminated so don’t drink straight from the faucet.
•    Examine your insurance coverage and file claims as soon as you can. Take pictures of your damaged articles so you’ll have proof.
•    Have someone help you clean your home. Expect it to be a get-down-and-dirty kind of work so you’ll definitely need help.