A heart attack happens when the blood supply to the heart is cut off. Cells in the heart muscle that do not receive enough oxygen-carrying blood begin to die. Having high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol, smoking, having had a previous heart attack or stroke, or having diabetes can increase your chance of developing […]
Someday, doctors may be able to screen for Alzheimer’s using a simple scratch and sniff test, according to researchers at Columbia University. Dysfunctions in major olfactory functional domains, including odor detection, identification, and discrimination, appear prior to cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).1 Therefore, olfactory function tests may have potential to help identify […]
Irritation of the sciatic nerve causes sciatic pain. The pain typically starts from the lower back and goes down to the knee. Usually, sciatica affects only one buttock and leg: it is rare that both legs experience pain. This pain is usually constant and may come with weakness and numbness in the affected areas. A […]
Every day, millions of people across the United States give care to people with mental and physical challenges. They range from family members to trained aides to nurses. No matter which category they are in there is always the risk for mental and physical exhaustion. Fortunately, there are steps and strategies one can use to […]
Falls are a marker of frailty, immobility, and acute and chronic health impairment in older persons. Falls in turn diminish function by causing injury, activity limitations, fear of falling, and loss of mobility. Most injuries in the elderly are the result of falls; fractures of the hip, forearm, humerus, and pelvis usually result from the […]
Loneliness increases with age, and it is connected with a surprising number of health effects such as high blood pressure, heart disease, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, and even mortality. When it comes to loneliness, we all feel it in different ways. Some people feel lonely when they are by […]
Some patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s can live in the community with some help from family or home care providers. Below are tips to help people live with safety and confidence. These steps are great building blocks to help persons with Alzheimer’s disease, but being flexible and capable of adapting to individuals will help deal […]
Some patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s can live in the community with some help from family or home care providers. Below are tips to help people live with safety and confidence. These steps are great building blocks to help persons with Alzheimer’s disease, but being flexible and capable of adapting to individuals will help deal […]
Each November the home care and hospice community honors the millions of nurses, home care aides, therapists, and social workers who make a remarkable difference for the patients and families they serve. These heroic caregivers play a central role in our healthcare system and in homes across the nation. To recognize their efforts, we call […]
The scariest room in horror movies is often the basement. There should be more fear of the bathroom. Although the smallest room in the house, a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study found that nonfatal injuries among older adults were likely to occur in the bathroom. [1] The two most common spots for injuries were […]