How to Recognize the Warning Signs of a Stroke in Seniors

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How to Recognize the Warning Signs of a Stroke in Seniors

Woman With a Headache - Senior Home Care Los Angeles

A stroke occurs when the blood and oxygen supply to the brain cells is reduced. The affected brain cells can no longer perform their function and ultimately die. This often occurs as a result of a blockage in the vessels that supply the blood to the brain. The outcome of a stroke is determined by the amount of damage the cells sustain. Some seniors experience no symptoms after a stroke while others lose vital functions like speech or coordination.

The symptoms of stroke vary from patient to patient, however, there are some clear patterns indicating that your senior loved one might be having a stroke. Seniors living on their own and without a caregiver are more at risk since there is no one to watch out for the signs that they might be suffering a stroke.

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How to Persuade Seniors to Take Their Medication?

Old Woman Refusing to Take Medication - Senior Care in Los AngelesSeniors who are on a regimen of medications need to take those medications regularly. However, sometimes these people refuse to take the meds for one reason or another. That can make your plans for senior care in Los Angeles a bit difficult.

So, what is a caregiver to do in a situation like this? Fortunately, there are ways to handle this situation in a calm and relaxed way. What you need to realize is that their refusal to take medication is an attempt to communicate something.

You should try to see the situation from their angle and try to calmly and rationally talk to them rather than escalating the situation.

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Tips to Keep Seniors Safe during a Beach Trip

Senior on a Beach - Home Care West HollywoodSummer is everybody’s favorite season. Families love spending these hot summer days on the beach, and already start planning their ideal summer getaway in the winter. Senior family members are no exception. Not only is the beach good for their mental health, the exercise they get from swimming can yield a lot of benefits.

However, along with all the joys of going to the beach comes a myriad of issues. This is especially true for children and seniors. We already discussed how dangerous summer can be for seniors in one of our previous articles. Being on the beach makes matters even worse. Often, there’s little or no shade where seniors can catch a break from the sun. Furthermore, if not properly hydrated seniors can experience a number of health issues.

A little planning can help your senior loved ones stay safe and enjoy their time at the beach. In this article, our experts at the leading home care West Hollywood referral agency explain what it takes to keep seniors safe during your beach trip.

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7 Summer Health Tips for Seniors

Senior Woman with a Hat - Beverly Hills Senior Care Assisted LivingSummer is drawing near, and with it, all the fun activities people of all ages enjoy like outdoor barbecues, gardening, picnics and long walks. But the looming heat waves threaten to endanger your outdoor activities and health. This is especially true for the elderly.

A study conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health found that even a seemingly insignificant increase in temperature of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer can increase the risk of death for seniors suffering from chronic illnesses like congestive heart failure or other major senior health issues.

Between 1979 and 2014 the death rate attributed to heat exposure ranged from 0.5 to 1 deaths per million people. Since 1979 more than 9000 US citizens died as a result of exposure to heat, according to the CDC.

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Here Are 5 Leading Health Concerns for the Elderly

Senior Woman and a Doctor - Home Care Agencies in Beverly HillsTaking care of your health is important, no matter how old you are. However, as we age the risks we face increase, and a more proactive approach may be necessary. Seniors are faced with many health issues young people usually don’t have to worry about, and it is important to help them address and diagnose these issues in advance. Discovering a disease at an early stage could make all the difference when it comes to recovery.

The caregivers working with A Better Way in Home Care, the leader among home care agencies in Beverly Hills, know how to recognize the early stages of diseases most commonly affecting the elderly due to their vast experience. They also know how to comfort seniors and encourage them to seek professional help. They helped us comply a list of five health concerns commonly associated with seniors.

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7 Myths about Alzheimer’s and the Truth behind Them

Struggling Senior Man - Home Care in BrentwoodAlzheimer’s is the most feared brain disease. Everybody knows this disease takes away your memories one by one until you cannot even recognize those closest to you. Unfortunately, that’s where the general knowledge about this disease stops.

The media and the internet are filled with stories about Alzheimer’s. We often see characters suffering from Alzheimer’s portrayed on the TV, and most of the time that portrayal is greatly exaggerated. Amidst all these portrayals and stories there’s a lot of false truths.

There are several notorious myths those unfamiliar with the disease perpetuate about who can contract Alzheimer’s, how it affects them and what the outcome will be. These myths often stand in the way of helping loved ones struggling with it and understanding what they are going through.

In this article, we are going to be taking a look at 7 most common Alzheimer’s myths and debunk them once and for all.

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4 Caregiver Traits That Can Make or Break Their Relationship with a Senior

Caregiver and Senior - Los Angeles Senior Home CarePairing a senior and a caregiver is not as easy as you might imagine. Finding the perfect client-caregiver match takes a lot of effort. It takes planning and carefully analyzing the needs of the client and matching them with a qualified caregiver. But even flawless qualifications won’t be enough if the caregiver and the senior cannot communicate well or simply don’t connect on a deeper level.

Here at A Better Way in Home Care, the leading Los Angeles Senior Home Care provider, we take pairing clients and caregivers very seriously. We do everything in an effort to improve your beloved seniors’ quality of life at their venerable age. We aim to find the best possible match on every level, which is why we refer reliable, qualified and experienced caregivers.

For the perfect match to happen, the client and the caregiver have to connect on several levels. Here are some of the factors that could make or break a perfect senior-caregiver relationship.

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How to Care For Difficult Seniors

Mother and Daughter Arguing - Home Caregiver Services Los AngelesCaring for senior citizens is no easy task. But if your senior loved one does not want to be taken care of, things tend to get even more complicated. As their cognitive functions fail, some seniors develop a particularly difficult personality. They tend to deny they need help even when they clearly do. Combined with other medical problems this could prove to be a huge issue.

In this article, the experts at A Better Way in Home Care, premier home caregiver services in Los Angeles, explain what makes some seniors so resistant to caregiving and what you can do to make sure that attitude does not end up harming them.

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How To Prevent and Battle Allergic Reactions in Seniors?

Senor Woman Coughing Outside - Home Care in Bel AirAccording to the CDC, allergies were the sixth main cause of chronic illness in 2016. More than 50 million Americans are affected by allergies every year. While they can be a drag for adults, they could pose a serious threat to seniors. The bad news is that an increasing number of senior citizens experience allergic reactions for the first time at this age.

What makes allergies so dangerous to seniors is that they can complicate other chronic conditions such as asthma. Even worse, antihistamines commonly used to cure allergies can interfere with medications seniors take to regulate blood pressure. Allergy medications could also cause dizziness and sleepiness, increasing the risk of falling and injury.

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The Difficulties of Communicating with an Alzheimer’s Patient

Senior Talking with His Granddaughter - Senior Care Services Los AngelesOut of the many difficulties people who care for patients with Alzheimer’s have to face is the waning ability of the patient to communicate. These communication breakdowns can be difficult for both the patient and the caregiver which could lead to many hurtful interactions. This is why it is important for caregivers and other family members to develop the skills needed to communicate with an Alzheimer’s patient. Professionals offering senior care services in Los Angeles know just how important patience and proper communication are important and in this article we list everything you need to know about how to approach this difficult condition.

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