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COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a big health problem for older adults. It’s a group of lung diseases that can cause coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, and other symptoms. Over time, the illness progresses and worsens. Managing your senior’s health wisely can slow down how quickly COPD progresses and give her a little more time before she’s seriously impacted by the illness. Having an in-home care provider on hand can really be a huge help. Avoid Secondhand Smoke and Quit Smoking, if Applicable The most common cause of COPD is exposure to smoke, either firsthand through smoking or secondhand, through being around other people who smoke. If your elderly family member does smoke, quitting is her best bet. Her doctor can help her to craft a plan for quitting safely. Avoiding being around secondhand smoke as much as possible is really important, too. Reduce Exposure to Pollution and Airborne Irritants Airborne irritants and pollution, even household chemicals, can be really irritating for someone with COPD. It can be bad enough that it causes something called an exacerbation, which is a worsening of COPD symptoms. Having home care providers taking care of things like cleaning can help to keep your elderly family member away from household chemicals that might cause a reaction for her now. Take Steps for a Healthier Lifestyle Overall Finding ways to help your elderly family member to have a healthier overall lifestyle is part of her care plan. Her doctor may recommend some exercise parameters along with changes to her diet. Adopting those changes can take some time and adjustment and working with elder care providers can help your senior to adjust. Address Other Health Issues If your elderly family member has other health issues, she may be feeling even more run down than she thinks she is. Heart disease, diabetes, and other serious health issues can make it even more difficult to manage COPD. Keeping those other health issues in check can make a difference in how her COPD progresses. Working with her doctors can give her a plan that addresses all of her concerns. Get Vaccinated for Flu and Pneumonia Regularly Someone with COPD is at a greater risk of other respiratory illnesses, like pneumonia and the flu. Getting vaccinated against those illnesses on a regular basis is a good way to protect overall lung health. The more that your senior does to avoid lung infections, the more she can slow down COPD progression. Get Some Extra Help Even the early stages of COPD can take a lot out of your senior. The body burns a lot more energy just breathing and going through life than is obvious when your senior is well. Having some help from home care providers gives your elderly family member a chance to rest and to conserve her energy a bit, which is important when she’s already feeling drained. COPD is a serious progressive illness that doesn’t have a cure at this stage. Slowing down how fast it’s progressing is possible, though, and can give your elderly family member a little more time to enjoy her life. If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring In-Home Care in Pasadena, CA , please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388

There are many new ways that people attend appointments and deal with their mental and physical health. Since Covid-19 started, there are many patients who are attending telehealth/virtual appointments from their phones, tablets, or computers. There are even family caregivers and in-home care providers that are helping those with dementia to attend these appointments. The ability to attend these kinds of appointments is something that will continue for many doctors and patients well after the Covid-19 pandemic is over. As a family caregiver, there may be some things you want to learn about elderly telehealth care for your loved one. Helps with Those Who Have Limited Mobility Does your elderly loved one have limited mobility? Maybe, they just had surgery and they will need to stay home or on bed rest for a significant amount of time. If that is the case, telehealth care appointments might be just what they need. That way, they don’t have to leave their home or take extra time trying to get ready to leave their house for the appointment.   Scheduling More Appointments Did your elderly loved one used to have to take months before they could get in to see their doctor? If so, things are changing now with telehealth appointments. Doctors can schedule more visits throughout the day because they don’t have to clean the visit rooms in between each patient. They can see a lot of their patients virtually instead. This allows the elderly to get more scheduled appointments with their doctors without having to wait as long in between. If something urgent pops up, you or an in-home care provider can help your elderly loved one to attend these appointments.   Easier on the Caregivers You may also find that scheduling telehealth appointments for your elderly loved one is easier on you and the other caregivers than it used to be when driving your elderly loved one around. Now, you can have an in-home care provider get your elderly loved one online right from their house to reach their doctor. If needed, you can even go to your elderly loved one’s homes and log them into the appointment and stay with them until the appointment is over. That way, you are also familiar with the things that happen during the doctor’s appointments. This can reduce most of the potential issues with your elderly loved one’s care plan. Conclusion These are just some of the things that you may need to know about telehealth care for the elderly. Now that you are aware of these things, it would be good for you to think about whether these appointments should be scheduled more for your elderly loved one or whether they should still attend some or all of their appointments with their doctors in person. You can talk to your elderly loved one’s doctor, as well, to see if they need to see your loved one in person.   If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring In-Home Care in West Hollywood CA , please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388   Sources https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/telehealth-improving-dementia-care

What do you look for in your elderly loved one to determine whether they need personal care at home? Well, it isn’t the same for everyone, so there are different things that you might notice. The issues below are some of the most common signs that senior citizens need to receive personal care at home assistance. Hygiene Pay attention to the clothes your elderly loved one wears. Does it seem like they are wearing the same clothes for days on end? Are the clothes they put on dirty? Should they brush their teeth more? Do they need help cleaning their dentures? Are they taking a bath or shower as often as they should? These are all things to look at and think about when considering getting personal care at home for your elderly loved one.   House Cleaning Is your elderly loved one keeping their house clean or does their bathtub need to be cleaned? Do they let their toilet get extremely gross? How about the kitchen – are there dishes in the sink all the time? Is there old food in the refrigerator? If your elderly loved one is having difficulties cleaning their home, it may be time to consider home care services.   Memory Issues Another thing you should consider when thinking about getting senior care assistance for your elderly loved one is their memory. Are they forgetting the names of people in their life? Do they often forget they have doctor’s appointments? Are they asking you the same questions over and over again? If your elderly loved one is having memory issues, they may need someone around to help them remember or to help them through their day.   Balance Issues Is your elderly loved one having issues with their balance? Maybe, they recently had a fall and got hurt. It could just be that you notice your elderly loved one is a bit wobbly when they get up from the kitchen table or when they get out of bed. If these things are happening, it would be best to have someone at your elderly loved one’s home ready to assist them whenever it is needed. This is where personal care at home services can really come in handy.   Socializing Does your elderly loved one just need someone to socialize with? Maybe, they get bored at home on their own all day. If this is the case, you should look into companion care services for the elderly.   Conclusion Are you wondering whether personal care assistance is what your elderly loved one needs? If so, look for the signs that were noted above? If you notice your elderly loved one is having these types of issues, it is probably time to get personal care assistance. If you aren’t sure whether this is the type of home care service they need, feel free to call us today to find out more about personal care at home and other senior care services.   If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Personal Care at Home in Culver City, CA , please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388   Sources https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/bathing-dressing-and-grooming-alzheimers-caregiving-tips

You may already know how much tangible help Senior Home Care providers can offer to your elderly family member, but did you also know that they can be extremely helpful with mental health concerns, too? It turns out that having someone there with your senior on a regular basis can help her to be healthier, to feel more secure, and to reduce her stress, just as a start. Helping with Socialization Older adults frequently have trouble maintaining a social life, especially if their health or mobility make it difficult to get around. Bringing senior care at home into your elderly family member’s routine helps to make sure that she’s got people around when she needs them and that she’s not isolating herself. Caregivers also help to make sure your senior has transportation assistance when she needs or wants it, so that she can still remain as active in her community as she wishes to be. As your elderly family member gets to know the people helping with her care, she may even start to feel as if they’re friends that stop by to visit.   Inspiring Healthier Habits It’s tough to stay healthy when illnesses and other challenges are making that difficult. Cognitive changes in particular can affect your senior’s ability to remember the new habits that she wants to embrace. Home care providers are able to help your senior to eat healthier and to remember to eat regularly. They can also help your senior to remember things like moving as much as they’re able to and making good choices that help with sleep quality.   Offering Help Maintaining Independence Often the reason your elderly family member is choosing to age in place involves maintaining her independence as much as she can. Help is sometimes misunderstood by seniors, which can cause them to turn down assistance. Senior care at home isn’t there to take away your elderly family member’s independence or her ability to do things on her own. They’re there to support her where she needs it most so that she can keep on doing what she needs and wants to do on her own for as long as she can.   Your Senior Knows She Has Help Being Safe One of the biggest challenges for seniors is often that they want to age in place but may not feel as safe at home as they want to feel. Elder care providers can help your elderly family member to have the support that she needs in order to feel safer in her home, on her own terms. Whether that assistance is offering support with mobility or simply knowing that there is someone there if something should happen, your elderly family member may feel a lot less stress. Reducing her stress levels overall helps your senior’s mental health immensely. Whatever challenges are facing your senior right now, having caregivers there with her can offer both physical benefits and serious mental health benefits. Talk with your aging family member about what helps her to feel safer and more secure. As her needs change, so too can the help that she receives. If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Senior Home Care in Glendale, CA , please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388

According to the CDC more than 18% of seniors over the age of 65 experience depression. But mental health experts say the number of seniors who develop depression is probably much higher. Seniors are less likely than other age groups to discuss their symptoms or even recognize that their symptoms can be caused by depression. Most seniors think that getting older just means feeling “blue” or sad frequently. Seniors who have lose a spouse or partner, especially women, tend to develop symptoms of depression like feeling hopeless or withdrawn much of the time. Companion care at home can help seniors manage their depression by keeping them socially connected to the world. Companion care at home for seniors means having a care provider that is also a friend. These caregivers will have conversations with your senior loved ones, share meals with them, and do activities with them like making crafts, doing puzzles, watching TV, listening to music, going shopping, and more. If you have a full-time job and can’t be with your senior loved one all day every day to keep them company companion care at home is a great alternative. Companion care at home helps seniors by:   Motivating Seniors To Try New Hobbies New hobbies are a great way to get your senior parent interested in life again. With help from a companion care at home provider, your senior loved one may decide they want to try painting, glass blowing, or writing a novel. The caregiver can help your senior loved one get any equipment or supplies they need for their new hobby, take a class with them, or do other things to support them while they try something new. Getting Seniors To Exercise Exercise is essential for good physical and mental health. When seniors have a workout partner who will go to the gym or the pool with them, go for walks with them, and encourage them to exercise every day seniors are more likely to do that exercise every day. Your senior parent may even discover a love for a new activity or sport after trying it with a care provider.   Giving Seniors An Activities Partner Often seniors don’t participate in senior activities because they don’t want to go alone. If your senior parent has recently lost their partner or spouse they may not want to go to restaurants, go shopping, play golf, or do other activities because they no longer have someone to do those things with. A care provider can be the one to get your senior loved one interested in doing things again.   Helping Seniors Stay Connected Keeping seniors connected to family and friends is critical for their good mental and physical health. A caregiver can help seniors connect with family and friends by helping facilitate visits, helping seniors use video chat, and showing seniors how to use popular social media platforms. Seniors who have a strong bond with their friends and family are going to have a much higher quality of life than seniors who struggle to stay connected.   If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Companion Care at Home in Burbank, CA , please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388   Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db379.htm

As we become older, our thoughts tend to slow down, and we lose sight of the organizing skills we’ve honed through time. Things that were previously second nature are now more difficult to manage daily. You can help your seniors organize their homes, but you may not know how. This is especially helpful if in-home care has been working with your senior and thinks changes need to be made for safety. In-home care is one of the best tools for seniors living on their own but need help with some of the basics. They may make suggestions to help a senior live better on their own for much longer. Keeping organized becomes more important as we age. Finding the capacity to govern and arrange our everyday life is critical to aging happily. We need easy access to prescriptions, food, and personal grooming items. It is possible that organizing your living area may take longer than an afternoon. The prospect of tackling the work might be daunting, especially if you’ve been collecting goods for 20 years. You can, however, organize, tidy, and arrange a safe furniture layout for your house with a little assistance. Here are some ways your seniors can start organizing or suggestions you can make to help them.   Make a List Of Things They Need and Don’t Need To begin, get some paper and a pen and wander about your house. Make a list of everything you observe that needs to be organized. It is critical not to get overwhelmed by this procedure. Keep in mind that you don’t have to handle everything all at once. You’re just jotting down what you wish to declutter right now. Seniors may ask you to walk around with them to make sure they see everything. Make a note of any trouble locations and keep them in mind for your seniors.   Plan Out The Project With Your Senior Begin by taking tiny steps while tackling this job. Nobody will clean and arrange their whole home in a single day. So, to begin, choose one drawer, one closet, or one cabinet in one room. Setting up time on your schedule might assist you in being productive and motivated throughout the process. You can even help your seniors organize a few hours every weekend. Make a plan together stating when you guys can get together and go through the house. Create a Checklist If you are going into your senior’s home and so are elder care providers, you may want to consider creating a checklist to determine when an area was last maintained. A daily checklist can help seniors maintain their homes, keep a space clean, and stick to a routine. It will also help any caregivers understand what a senior typically does. You want to make sure your rooms are set up for optimal safety, comfort, and usefulness when it comes to house organization. Also, keep the following organizational strategies for seniors in mind to aid with daily maintenance, functioning, and more: Label spaces and drawers. Leave instructions for in-home care. Clear clutter from hallways and stairways. Add lights to dark spaces for safety. If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring In-Home Care in La Canada, CA , please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388

Between 12 and 15% of older adults experience vision loss. Your dad is among the 15% of adults 75 or older who have vision impairment, and he’s struggling with his usual routines. Have you considered the benefits of hiring 24-hour home care services to help him out? Home care aides are an important addition to your dad’s support team when his goal is to age at home. He shouldn’t have to struggle. Here are six ways they provide the support your dad needs. Ambulation and Mobility At first, your dad will need time to adjust to things in his home. Walking from room to room when he’s lost his vision is challenging. He keeps tripping on furniture because he misjudges where things are. Hire caregivers to help him with ambulation and mobility. He’ll start to learn where things are and how many steps he can take without running into things. Until then, make sure he has a caregiver’s help. Assistance With Bathing and Grooming Your dad is okay showering on his own, but he needs help getting in and out of the shower. His caregiver can support him while he steps over the rim. He can also have his caregiver help him with grooming tasks that require sight, such as shaving or trimming his nails.   Reminders for Medications Not only does your dad find it hard to remember to take his daily medications, but he can’t read the labels to know if he has the right bottle. Hire home care aides to offer medication reminders and ensure he has the right pills.   Assistance When Running Errands Have caregivers help your dad with errands. His caregiver can join him on shopping trips and take him to the pharmacy for medication refills. If he needs to bring his curtains to a laundromat, he can have his caregiver drive him there.   Escorts to Appointments With vision loss, your dad isn’t safe to drive. Hire caregivers to drive him to his appointments and ensure he is safely into the office on time. When the appointment is over, his caregiver can bring him home.   Help With Housework Your dad isn’t going to be able to do his own housework. If there are chores he needs to be able to see to complete, such as laundry or dishes, his caregiver can do them. Hire home care aides to help with dusting, vacuuming, and wiping down surfaces too. Get started by sitting down with your family and seeing who is available to help your dad each week. Some family and friends may have free time. If there are any days that he needs help and no one is available, home care services can fill the gaps.   Call an agency and ask to speak to a specialist in 24-Hour Home Care. You’ll get answers to any questions you have and schedule services during that call.   If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring 24-Hour Home Care in Encino, CA , please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388   Sources: https://www.afb.org/research-and-initiatives/aging/special-report-aging-vision-loss#

Starting up an exercise program might not be top on your senior’s to-do list, but it can help her to be healthier both physically and mentally. Those are the two biggest reasons to get going on an exercise program as soon as possible. What can help her the most is for ypou and your elderly care provider to start out with a plan and to move slowly at each stage of that plan. Make Sure Exercise is Okay for Her to Do Before your elderly family member starts any exercise program, she needs to clear it with her doctor. There are several health issues, including heart disease, diabetes, and lung diseases, that can make exercise a little more dangerous for your elderly family member. Your senior may still be able to exercise, so it’s important to know what her limitations might be. Get Clear on Why She’s Exercising People can start to lose muscle tone in their thirties and forties. That muscle loss accelerates as your senior ages. She may also start to have issues with balance and flexibility over time. Exercise can help her to regain muscle tone, especially if she’s eating a diet higher in protein and other nutrients. It can also help her to improve her flexibility and balance. Along with other safety considerations, like having in-home care providers there when your senior exercises, knowing her why keeps your senior safer. Try a Variety of Activities Multiple types of exercise help to keep your senior’s body and brain engaged. Also, if your elderly family member isn’t sure what she wants to do for exercise, having a variety of options can help her to find something that she truly enjoys. Even if she never lands on one particular type of exercise, having lots of options can keep her from getting bored. Help Her to Be Safe and Consistent As mentioned, safety is a huge concern for your senior while exercising, and caregivers can help with that. Consistency is equally important, though, for your elderly family member to get the biggest benefits out of moving more. In-home care providers can be incredibly helpful in reminding your senior to move as often as she should. They can also help with mobility issues. Not everyone loves to exercise, of course, and your senior may fall into that group. There are plenty of ways to make moving more a part of her regular routine without hating the movement that she’s doing. Helping her to figure that out can be fun for both of you.   If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Elderly Care in Studio City, CA , please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388

If a senior citizen has frontotemporal dementia, they are going to experience certain signs. Some of these may be subtle in the early stage of this disease. However, as the disease progresses the signs are going to become more prevalent and take over their behaviors and personality. Unfortunately, there isn’t a cure for frontotemporal dementia at this time. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t things that family caregivers and elder care providers can do to help them. Earliest Signs Before your elderly loved one receives a frontotemporal dementia diagnosis, they may still be in the earliest stage. During this stage, there are some signs that you or elder care providers might notice in your elderly loved one such as: Eating too much Acting compulsively Not being as social as usual Denying they are forgetting things Quick to react Mood swings Subtle changes in their behavior Throughout the progression of the disease, these things will worsen. However, during the first stage of frontotemporal dementia, the signs may be so subtle that you think it is just them getting older.   Mid-Stage Frontotemporal Dementia This is the stage where a lot of senior citizens who have the disease receive a diagnosis. As noted above, one reason for that may be because the signs that occur before this stage are so subtle that they are attributed to getting older. With this being said, during the mid-stage of frontotemporal dementia, some of the signs that you or a senior care provider might notice in your elderly loved one include: Needing more help from you, their doctors, loved ones, and home care providers Acting out more Needing speech therapy as their language impairments worsens (slowed speech, forgetting words, communication issues, etc.) More severe mood swings Worsening memory loss Higher risk of tripping over things or falling in general During this stage, you and elderly care providers may need to make changes to their homes to ensure they are safe. Some ways you can do this are putting a ramp up on the porch, keeping clutter picked up, and making sure the kitchen utensils are put in safe places.   Final Stage of the Disease During the final stage of the disease, the signs that you or companion care at home providers notice will be more advanced and severe. Some of the signs that may be noticed in your elderly loved one include: Severe difficulty communicating (can’t communicate at all near the end) Completely lost their original personality Severe mood swings, aggression, and behavior changes It is going to be difficult for everyone in the family and friends to adapt to this stage. Your elderly loved one isn’t going to know who anyone is at this point. They are going to need Elder Care. Elder Care Conclusion Do you believe that your elderly loved one has frontotemporal dementia or any other type of dementia? If so, it is crucial that you or an elder care provider take them to see their doctor. The sooner they can receive a diagnosis, if this is what they have, the sooner the care plan can be created to try to help them manage symptoms better for as long as possible.   If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Elder Care in Studio City, CA , please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388 Sources https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/types-frontotemporal-disorders

Home Care Services: So often seniors avoid even thinking about bringing in extra help because the idea can be so overwhelming. But when your elderly family member starts to understand a bit more about how home care services can make her life easier, safer, and more comfortable, she may start to come around and realize just how much it can improve her situation. What Does Home Care Offer? Working with caregivers offers your elderly family member stability and assistance when she’s facing changes that make daily life and daily activities difficult for her. Whether your elderly family member is having trouble with household tasks or personal care tasks, there’s help available to make those aspects of her life easier. Even if she only needs a little bit of assistance, caregiving assistance can be adjusted to meet those needs. When is it Time for Help? One of the biggest questions that family members tend to ask about this type of care is how they’ll know it’s time. There are a lot of different factors to consider that help you to spot when your senior needs more help. The bottom line is that when she’s having more of a challenge living her daily life the way she wants to, it may be time for her to have more assistance. Who Does This Help? This type of care offers tremendous assistance to your elderly family member, for starters. But home care assistance can take a lot of pressure off you and other family members, too. If you’re not able to be as physically present to help your elderly family member as you want to be, it helps to know that someone else is able to meet that hands-on need for her. Alternatives to Home Care Services Aren’t Necessarily Feasible Many seniors aren’t excited about having someone come in to offer them help, so a big question could be what sorts of alternatives are available. Your elderly family member might have help from family members, but is it enough? Letting someone else help is far better than struggling alone to get things done. Your elderly family member doesn’t have to leave her home if she doesn’t want to, but that may mean that she has to get more comfortable with the idea of letting someone help her. Risks of Avoiding Help So often seniors want to refuse help altogether without realizing just how vulnerable that can leave them. Your elderly family member doesn’t have to go through these situations completely on her own. If she refuses help completely, that can lead to situations in which she isn’t able to keep up with tasks that support her well-being and that’s just not necessary. Ultimately, home care assistance can help your senior with so many different aspects of her daily life and care. She can get exactly the help that she needs, precisely when she needs it the most. That’s going to make a huge difference in her ability to continue to enjoy her life on her own terms.   If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care Services in Glendale, CA , please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388