Category Archives: Caregiver Corner

Ways Seniors Can Boost Their Brains

Posted by Jeanne Lowry on February 11, 2015 under Caregiver Corner, Resources | Be the First to Comment

Getting old does not equal getting senile! For those who are ready for a challenge, we have a few! Becoming a senior can just mean your age is going up: it need not affect your cognition, your job, your memory or your physical self. Just keep active, keep happy and keep healthy and your brain will keep supporting you.

Up Your Nutritious Food Intake
Our first suggestion isn’t anything that you’ll actually be “thinking” about – more tasting! Incorporating more antioxidants to your diet can keep your brain able to fight those “bad” chemicals. According to Google, antioxidants are: “chemicals that block the activity of other chemicals known as free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive and have the potential to cause damage to cells, including damage that may lead to cancer.” Basically, any fruit or vegetable that stains clothes is an antioxidant. And coffee, as well.

Play more games
This includes things like board games, video games, solo games (crosswords, Sudoku, solitaire …) and sites on the Internet like Luminosity. The research may still be out Luminosity-type brain games, but if you’re having fun, that’s what really counts. And don’t forget about the old standby: puzzles. Did you know there are 3D puzzle available now? Be sure to check out your local hobby shop.

Get out there!
Exercise can be extremely helpful to keep both body and brain fit. And if you add in an exercise partner or walking buddy – even better! Can’t find anyone to workout with for your schedule? Try a personal trainer, available through most gyms. If they’re properly certified, they should be able to craft a safe workout (with a check with your doctor) for any activity level.

What are your favorite ways to keep your brain elastic, witty and clever? We’d love to hear more ideas in the comments!

Caregiving Blogs – February Highlight

Posted by Jeanne Lowry on February 10, 2015 under Caregiver Corner | Be the First to Comment

A new month is here and we’d once again like to take a look at blogs that show us the compassion and grace that caregivers give to their carees.

http://jbones1961.blogspot.com/
Jane is the mother of Nicole, who is 20 and has a congenital heart defect and pulmonary arterial hypertension. She’s been writing for four years about her journey with Nicole, Nicole’s health issues and their life together. Recently, she started on a series where she remembers the days when Nicole was first receiving her diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension.

http://www.gavinowens.com/
It’s been over five years since Karen’s son, Gavin, passed away, but Karen and her husband, Adam, continue to give their lives to helping children with special needs. They’ve adopted three special needs children since Gavin’s death, with issues that vary from cerebral palsy to feeding tubes. While Karen hasn’t updated the blog recently, it’s full of lots of amazing stories about their journey as a family.

http://www.intentionalcaregiver.com/
Shelley Webb is a RN and has been a caregiver. She is the “Intentional Caregiver” of her site, which is much more than just a personal blog. It provides care to the caregivers and gives lots of advice. Shelley has other authors that contribute to the site, and has an extensive question section with lots of tips about how to handle various caregiver situations.

Do you have a caregiving blog that you’d like us to highlight? Let us know in the comments!

Technology Tools for Staying Healthy

Posted by Jeanne Lowry on February 4, 2015 under BladderMatters, Caregiver Corner | Be the First to Comment

Originally posted by the Live Confidently team on LiveConfidently.com

Advancements in technology are making our lives more convenient by the day. With all of the apps and tools now at our disposal, it’s never been easier to learn about healthy living and set reminders for ourselves to stick to a healthy routine. Here we take a look at a few technology tools for staying healthy, including apps and devices that can help with your incontinence issues and overall health awareness.

Incontinence Specific Apps

iDry is a free iPhone app that acts as a virtual incontinence journal and diagnostic tool. It allows you to record any leaks that occur, your exercise routine, and your dietary habits. For Android users, check out My Bladder Diary. Both of these apps can be a huge help in pinpointing any major factors that could be contributing to your bladder leakage.

iDry for iPhone

My Bladder Diary for Android

Hydration Apps

Many people affected with incontinence tend to not drink enough water. Waterin is a free app that reminds you to drink more water. Not only will this tool tell you when to grab another glass of H2O, but it also allows you to set personal water drinking goals for yourself. For Android users, check out the Water Your Body app.

Waterin for iPhone

Water Your Body for Android

Pelvic Floor Muscle/Kegel Training Apps

There are a plethora of apps that will not only teach you how to do Kegel exercises, but will even remind you when to do them. It’s kind of like having a personal fitness instructor in your pocket. Our favorite is the Kegel Trainer.

Kegel Trainer for iPhone

Kegel Trainer for Android

Healthy Eating Apps

Eating healthy and maintaining your weight is key in controlling your incontinence symptoms. SparkRecipes is just one of many great apps that offers healthy recipe ideas for your specific dietary needs. You can search their database of over 450,000 healthy recipes, find specific recipes that fit your lifestyle, and see how many calories and carbs are in each dish.

SparkRecipes for iPhone

SparkRecipes for Android

If eating out is more your style, then look into the HealthyOut app. This tool finds all of the healthy food options and restaurants that are close to you.

HealthyOut for iPhone

HealthyOut for Android

Wristband Apps

There are also wristband devices, like the FitBit and UP by Jawbone, that measure how you sleep, move, and eat. All of that information is then sent to an online app where it can be analyzed and managed. These devices track everything from how many calories you burn throughout the day, to how well you sleep at night. All of this information is detrimental in understanding our bodies, and can help us make healthier choices in the future.

These are only a handful of tools that are at your disposal to live a healthier and stress-free life, but this is a great place to start. Do you know of any other helpful apps or websites? Tell us about them on our incontinence forum!

Products Offered at Total Home Care Supplies

Posted by Jeanne Lowry on February 3, 2015 under BladderMatters, Caregiver Corner, Everything Baby, Ostomy Care, Very Urological | Be the First to Comment

Every so often, it’s helpful to take a look at the variety of products that we offer on TotalHomeCareSupplies.com. While all of our products are well-made and user-friendly, they all differ so much it’s easy to forget all that we carry. So let’s take a look, one category at a time:

Incontinence
Our incontinence products are our biggest sellers, and we’re proud that so many people get the items for their independence from us. Along with the standard adult diapers (also known as briefs) and protective underwear (also known as pull-ups), we also have pads and liners. For light bladder leakage, a pad can be more freeing than a brief. Underpads (AKA chux) are available in a variety of sizes, along with gloves and many kinds of incontinence wash.

Ostomy
When it comes to ostomy products, we have many of the most popular items and brands. We have both drainable and closed-end pouches. We have 90 barriers with flanges, so you’ll be able to find the product that works best for you. And we have an assortment of accessories, including stoma powder, pouch closures and odor eliminator drops – the Hollister bottle of drops has great reviews.

Urological
You can find wholesale pricing on many of the catheters, leg bags and irrigation systems we offer. Our catheters are diverse, from external items to straight tip catheters and coude catheters. You can also find the major brands, like Mentor-Coloplast, Bard and Hollister.

Wound
We have all the supplies you’ll need for your particular injury, or to fill up your first aid kit. On top of the basic items like tape, wipes and bandages, we have gauze, foam dressings and wound cleansers. If you have a checklist of the things you’ll need to properly heal a surgery wound, you can find it on TotalHomeCareSupplies.com

Baby Supplies
In addition to our adult diapers, we also carry baby diapers. Cuties diapers come in sizes newborn to size six. We also have breast pumps and a selection of accessories to accompany the pumps.

That’s about it. We know, it’s a lot of options! We hope we have everything that you’re looking for when it comes to home care supplies, but if not, we’d love to hear what we’re missing in the comments below!

Series: Alzheimer’s in Other Countries

Posted by Jeanne Lowry on January 31, 2015 under Caregiver Corner | Read the First Comment

The first in a series on Alzheimer’s disease in places beyond the borders of the United States.

There’s a village in Columbia that may give scientists the answers they’ve been looking for in their quest to prevent Alzheimer’s disease before it begins to destroy the brain.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that this information is becoming available because many of the residents of the small town of Yarumal have genes that give them early-onset Alzheimer’s, and it’s been devastating the region for years.

You can read more about this fascinating situation and the study in this Yahoo News article.

Check Out Our Pinterest Page!

Posted by Jeanne Lowry on January 27, 2015 under Caregiver Corner, Ostomy Care, Resources | Be the First to Comment

We have over 1,700 pins, spread out on thirty boards – and it grows every week! Our boards are varied and include “Helpful Senior Videos,” “Laughter: The Best Medicine” and “Top-Rated Ostomy Supplies and Support.” So come visit us on Pinterest and we’ll see you there!

Comparing Adult Diapers to Protective Underwear

Posted by Jeanne Lowry on January 26, 2015 under BladderMatters, Caregiver Corner | Be the First to Comment

While both adult diapers and protective underwear (also known as pull-ups) do a great job of keeping the user dry and leak-free, they differ in other ways, including how they’re worn and more. Let’s explore the differences so you can discover what will work best for yourself or your caree.

	Adult Diapers	Protective Underwear
Keeps the user dry	✔	✔
Leak-free	✔	✔
Can put on without the removal of pants/shoes	✔
Small and medium sizes (20 inches to 79 inches in waist size)	✔	✔
Larger sizes (over 80 inches in waist size)	✔
Maximum overnight absorbency	✔
Cloth-like material for the outer shell	✔	✔
Gender-specific		✔
Can be easily disposed of (either by removing the tabs or ripping the sides apart)	✔	✔
Look more like regular underwear		✔
Slimmer profile		✔
Soft, stretchy sides	✔	✔

For those looking for something that provides the look and feel of underwear with the adjustability of an adult brief, try Prevail’s Adjustable Underwear: these have the close fit and slim line of a pull-up, but also have Easy Lock Fasteners (ELF)’s that makes it easier to put on and take off the underwear. And the fasteners are non-sticky, so there’s never any worry of the tabs sticking to items other than the underwear.

The most important thing to keeping leak-free in either a pull-up or an adult diaper is to have the right fit. For Prevail products, you can consult their Sizing Guide.

Conflicts in Caregiving: Siblings

Posted by Jeanne Lowry on January 22, 2015 under Caregiver Corner | Be the First to Comment

Several children are a joy in many families for a lot of reasons, but one of them is because the parents can relax, knowing it’s likely one of their kids will be able to take care of them in their old age. But this can also create conflicts later on, because with more children come more opinions about Mom and Dad’s later life.

Much advice has been given about having regular family meetings before care becomes necessary, and regularly after that. But oftentimes, people have so little time when they’re together for holidays or birthdays that a meeting (let alone a meeting about uncomfortable topics) just isn’t a priority. That’s where video-messaging can come in handy. While it’s possible to conduct meetings over the phone, having a video chat can make things a little easier since facial reactions can be seen. To schedule these video chats, try using Doodle, a scheduling website that’s easy to use.

Once you have a meeting time set, you should figure out what there is to discuss. If possible, a draft agenda should be sent out by the sibling that is the most involved in the parents’ care. If sent out early enough, replies can be sent by the others of what items they would like added or questions they would like addressed.

The siblings who are not caregiving should try their best to be at least peripherally involved in the decision processes. The more people who are actively participating, the less alone the main caregiver feels. This might prove difficult, as the main caregiver should still be making the day to day decisions, but it’s really just like how it is in all families: a balancing act of not hurting anyone’s feelings while doing what’s best.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day …

Posted by Jeanne Lowry on January 20, 2015 under Caregiver Corner | Be the First to Comment

We are grateful that we are able to WATCH this man speak of peace.

Keeping Medications Safe at Home

Posted by Jeanne Lowry on January 16, 2015 under Caregiver Corner | Be the First to Comment

There are several reasons why people do not take care to put medications in safe locations in their home. They may rarely have small children around. They may think, “Oh, I have so few medications that there’s no way I could mix any of them up,” or “I’ve never made a mistake before.” They may think that since their meds are so low dose anyway, the occasional overdose won’t affect them.

Unfortunately, none of the reasons are good enough to leave medications out and about. Or even in a place called “the medicine cabinet.” Mistakes can be made by anyone. You never know when you’re going to be sleep deprived but determined to take the days pills – and the next day find that you’ve made a mistake. The best practice with medications is prevention.

While pill boxes are convenient and make taking multiple pills per day, sometimes at several different times per day, easier, there is some risk about taking the pills out of their bottle. Relying on pills just based on their look can be dangerous, as some pills looks similar. A safer method is to keep a checklist in the place where the medications are located (which is preferably a locked box, out of the way). This checklist can double as a list of medications you take that someone else should be aware of, in case it is needed by a doctor or paramedic.

Additionally, over-the-counter medicines should be put away after each time they are used. While it’s convenient to have the cough syrup out on the kitchen counter during a bad cold, it does pose a risk to be abused or misused.

Keeping medications in specific places, like locked boxes, high closet shelves or closed nightstand drawers reduces the risk of medication errors and keep your family and friends safe.