There is no doubt that spending time in the warm Summer sun has its benefits.  Direct exposure to the sun’s rays helps your body to naturally produce vitamin D, it can help to elevate your mood and it just plain feels good, but when it comes to the sun you can certainly get too much of a good thing.

Over exposure to the sun can cause painful sunburns or sun poisoning, excessive activity in the hot sun can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke and if you aren’t careful, getting too active in the heat can easily lead to dehydration.  In order to still be able to enjoy some time in the sun this Summer,

A recent study conducted over three states and published in the Journal of American Medicine has revealed that there was at least one lapse in proper infection prevention procedure in 46 of 68 ambulatory surgical centers.   Common practices that put patients at risk where not properly disinfecting multi use equipment, re-using materials on multiple patients that were only designed for single use and not properly washing hands between administering treatments.  Among the facilities studied were dentists, gynecologists, podiatrists and plastic surgeons – places where spreading infections are highly possible and where the prevention of spreading infection should be a top priority.

A recent study conducted by the Imperial College in London consisting of over four hundred thousand adults found that, even when the same number of total calories consumed was the same, that adults who consumed more meat gained more weight.  Though this may come as a shock to some, what didn’t come as much of a surprise was that processed meats like hot dogs, sausages and deli meats where the biggest contributors to weight gain.

Now this study doesn’t necessarily mean that all people should convert to vegetarianism at a certain age, but it does mean that some elderly people would certainly benefit from getting protein from some alternative sources if they wanted to keep their weight in control.  Maintaining a healthy weight can go a long way toward keeping you independent and living at home with periodic visits from a home care nurse rather than moving into a nursing home or facility.

For seniors who are trying to get enough protein to maintain or even build some lean muscle, the meat sources they consume should be lean.  White meat chicken and several different varieties of fish are excellent sources of protein and many fish are also an excellent source of healthy fats.

Some excellent alternative sources of protein that are low in fat and high in essential nutrients are quinoa, almonds, Greek yogurt, egg whites, beans, nuts and seeds.  These sources taste great and are easy to incorporate into any diet with little effort – if you want to try to incorporate some alternative protein sources into your diet; your physician, home health aide or nutritionist should be able to help you make the switch as seamlessly as possible.

Eyesight is a crucial factor in our elderly loved ones independence – the worse the vision of an elderly loved one gets, the less they can do on their own and the more care they will subsequently need.  If necessary eye care procedures aren’t followed a person’s eyesight will most likely suffer, that’s why it’s imperative to have regular examinations from an optometrist to catch and treat potential problems as they arise and to ensure that prescriptions are kept up to date.

In addition to the dangers of losing independence, waning vision has also been associated with depression in the elderly, and considering the fact that the suicide rate among the elderly in the US is among the highest of any age group, anything that can potentially lead to depression needs to be treated as treated as fully as possible.

A recent study published in “The Journal of the American Geriatric Society,” has shown a link between obesity and poor memory/brain function in elderly women.  The controlled study was comprised of nearly nine thousand women between the ages of 65-79 who were considered cognitively normal.

The results of the study revealed that, the higher a woman’s weight and body mass index were, the worse off she was in terms of brain function.  The constant in the study was the “Modified Mini-Mental Status Examination,” a one hundred point memory test.  Though the women all scored within what was considered to be a normal range, those with higher BMI’s were among those with the lowest scores – leading to the conclusion that obesity can have a seriously detrimental effect on a woman’s brain function.

Obesity is among the leading causes of a number of serious health conditions including diabetes and heart disease and it makes it much more difficult to get around, but this study has revealed that it’s not just our bodies that are at risk from obesity.  Declining brain function could mean the difference between freedom and independence or the increased need for specialized care; it could even mean the difference between receiving help from a loved one or nurse at home and being forced into a facility.

If you have concerns about obesity you should consult with your physician or home health care provider to get suggestions for a healthier diet and an appropriate exercise program so you can be as healthy as possible, both physically and mentally.

People over the age of sixty five are at a higher risk of atrial fibrillation, the common abnormality that can lead to clots which may be passed on to the brain and possibly result in a stroke.  It’s estimated that as many as five percent of persons over the age of sixty five have atrial fibrillation which could require drugs or surgery to effectively treat.

The good news for seniors who don’t yet have the abnormal rhythm is that there is an easy and very accessible way of potentially lowering your chances for getting it.  Studies have shown that light to moderate exercise, like walking, can greatly lower an elderly person’s chancing of developing atrial fibrillation.  Positive benefits were seen in subjects who walked as little as ten blocks over the course of a week and the likelihood of developing the abnormal rhythm went down as the activity level increased.

Most people are aware that exercise can help you look and feel better, that it keeps your weight in check and lowers the chances of developing obesity related health problems and that it can help you sleep better and elevate your mood, but the list of benefits seems to keep getting longer.  Your exercise routine doesn’t necessarily need to take up half of your day or involve tons of equipment; you could simply get out with your neighbors each morning for a brisk stroll around a local park or a few block radius.

Keeping your activity level up is also a great way to maintain your independence, which could mean that you’ll be able to live on your own for longer without the need for extensive home care.  Prior to beginning any new exercise routine, you should check with your physician and any other health care providers to make sure that you are choosing the best activity for your current health.

As if providing in home care for an elderly loved one who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease wasn’t tough enough, new research has potentially linked having Alzheimer’s with an increased chance of other serious conditions.

A recent research study of nearly 15,000 people with Alzheimer’s who were aged fifty and the same number of individuals who were fifty and over without Alzheimer’s revealed that those with Alzheimer’s were more than six percent more likely to suffer a seizure than those without the disease.  The results of the study are prompting further research on both Alzheimer’s sufferers and people who suffer from seizures to try and find a definable link, but the results are certainly something that caregivers need to be aware of and prepared to handle.

A completely separate study conducted by the Mental Health Research Institute in Parkville Australia revealed that Alzheimer’s sufferers are also more susceptible to anemia.  Alzheimer’s disease hadn’t been consider a risk factor for anemia (which can contribute to both coronary and renal problems) prior to the study of more than a thousand people, but the findings suggest that Alzheimer’s could be a disease of both the brain and the blood.

Providing care for an elderly loved one who suffers from Alzheimer’s can seem like a monumental task, but adding the increased chance of seizures and the possible link to anemia makes it even more daunting for someone who isn’t medically trained.  If you are caring for an elderly loved one who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, you don’t have to bear the burden entirely on your own.  Specialty Care Services offers plenty of in home care options to fit your specific needs and the nurses are trained in Alzheimer’s  care (and other special needs care) so you can feel confident that your loved will get the best possible treatment regardless of the situation.  Don’t cause yourself undue amounts of stress because you don’t feel that you can provide adequate care, get the help that you need so that you and your elderly loved one can both feel as comfortable as possible.

Glucosamine, the readily available and inexpensive treatment used by many for joint pain, may not have quite the effects on lower back pain that doctors and patients had hoped.

A recent and very thorough study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that the effects of Glucosamine were really no better than that of a placebo for easing or preventing chronic lower back pain.  This is bad news for millions of lower back pain sufferers and patients with degenerative lumbar osteoarthritis who were looking for an affordable way to manage their pain.

Based on the findings of the intensive study, researchers are suggesting that doctors not recommend glucosamine as a method of treatment for degenerative lumbar osteoarthritis.  This means, that for the time being the millions of Americans who suffer from lower back pain will either have to resort to more costly treatments, treatments with the greater possibility of negative side effects or continue suffering while research continues.

Prior to taking any medication, even over the counter or herbal remedies, you should discuss it with your primary physician and home health aide to determine if it will be effective for treating your problem or if there is a potential danger of mixing it with your current prescription medications.  Mixing medications can be very dangerous or potentially deadly, so you never want to arbitrarily begin a new course of home treatment for a condition without first discussing it with all of your health care providers.

As you and your loved ones age, there comes a point and time where you may become responsible for providing care for a parent, a spouse or a good friend.  Depending upon the loved ones condition, providing care can be a very difficult and very stressful task.

The negative effects that stress can have on the body and on the mind are pretty well advertised, but until recently there wasn’t a whole lot of advice for coping with it – just instructions to avoid it.  Researchers may have found a way to diminish the possible negative effects of stress when you have no way of avoiding it.

A recent study published in the May 26th issue of “PloS One” revealed that short bouts of vigorous exercise may be the key to beating the evils associated with stress.  The small group study examined two groups of highly stressed individuals who were separated into an active and an inactive group.  The active group who participated in the prescribed short burst of physical activity showed physical signs of being able to handle the stress without showing the same signs of damage as the inactive group.

Exercise has plenty of positive attributes – it keeps your weight in check, it makes you less susceptible to many diseases, it brightens your mood and now it also seems that it helps your body to safely cope with stress.  If you provide care for an aging loved one and you feel that, despite your best efforts, you can’t provide the level of care that they need you can also get help from a service that provides in home care.   Specialty Care Services has trained staff that can handle all varieties of care, even for those with special needs, and all services can be designed to accommodate your schedule.  With the right in home care provider and the right amount of vigorous exercise you can give your aging loved one all of the care that they need without putting your own health at risk.

A decline in vision is often associated with getting older, in fact it’s become an expected “side effect” of the aging process, but a recent study may change that.   Researchers have found that you may be able to ward off the effects of age related macular degeneration and be able see better for longer with the right diet.

The extensive, long term study analyzed the data of 4000+ men and women between the ages of 55-80 to determine the possibility of a dietary effect on age related macular degeneration and other vision impairing diseases.

The study, which was published in late 2009 in “Ophthalmology,” concluded that subjects who consumed carbohydrates with a low glycemic index in combination with certain nutrients seemed to be more protected from the diseases that caused vision loss.  Among the “protective nutrients” as they were referred to in the study include vitamin C, vitamin E, Omega-3 fatty acids and zinc.

As an added bonus to the potential benefit of keeping your vision where it’s at, changing to a low GI diet can help you to lose excess weight, reduce the possibility of heart disease, reduce the possibility of or help to manage diabetes and give you more energy throughout the course of the day.

A decline in vision could result in you having to give up many of your favorite activities and freedoms.  Sufficient vision loss could result in the need for additional care at home or even cause you to have to move into a facility before you are ready to do so.  Changing to a low GI diet has many health benefits, including the possibility of warding off AMD and keeping you independent for longer.   Consult your physician and home health aid for assistance in safely and effectively switching to a low GI diet and adding the “protective nutrients” into your current cycle of medication and nutritional supplements.