At Interim HealthCare, we understand that taking care of your loved ones is a lifetime investment where you are willing to devote your time. Home nursing services, elderly care and other senior living support services are just an array of options provided by our professional caregivers daily.

Caregiving can take a heavy toll if you don't get adequette support. Caregiving involves many stresses: changes in the family dynamic, household disruption, financial pressure, and the sheer amount of work involved. If you let the stress of caregiving progress to burnout, it can damage both your physical and mental health along with the person you are trying to care for.

With that said, here are few important tips that we at Interim HealthCare always adhere by to prevent caregiver burnout while making sure our senior home healthcare clients always come first.

• Hire an agency to provide Respite Care- this can be great for not only you as the caregiver to get some much needed time away, but it also gives the person whom you're providing care to a break from you (and yes they probably need one too!).
• Watch out for signs of depression on both sides of the caregiving spectrum. If signs do appear, don't delray in getting professional help when needed.
• Open yourself up to technology because you'll be pleasantly surprised by the amount of independence it affords both caregiver and recipient.
• Seek emotional support when needed. Nobody is alone and there are others out there in similar circumstances.
• Trust your limits. Don't push yourself too hard. Always remember that you have to come first because if you aren't in good health and spirits you won't be able to properly help the ones you love.

Your feelings may seem to be of the least importance when a loved one is suffering through cancer, recovering from a severe injury or dealing with another type of illness or disability. However, the quality of their life depends on the quality of yours in many ways, so it is important to stay in touch with your emotions and ensure that the challenges of caregiving don't bring you down.

According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, caregivers who are looking after someone with dementia are twice as likely to suffer from depression as a person caring for someone without dementia. In addition, research has shown that women experience depression at a higher rate than men, and lack of sleep has been proven to contribute to the condition.

It is important to note that experiencing feelings of sadness, grief or loneliness is normal for caregivers. While caregiving does not cause depression and not all caregivers experience negative feelings, it is normal for the effort of trying to provide the best for someone else to take a toll on your mental and physical well-being.

Negative feelings like these come and go and are not considered depression. However, when the feelings become more intense, long-lasting and cause the caregiver to become easily upset - either crying or becoming angered easily - depression may be on the horizon. Other symptoms to look for include a change in eating habits or unwanted weight gain or loss, a change in sleep patterns, fatigue, becoming easily agitated, thoughts of death or suicide, a loss of interest in people or activities that once brought you pleasure, or chronic conditions that do not respond to treatment. If any of these symptoms last longer than two weeks, you should seek help, whether from a friend, physician or psychologist.

Early attention to symptoms of depression can reduce them and prevent a more serious onslaught. Exercise, a healthy diet and the support of family and friends may help pull some people from a minor state of sadness. Enlisting the help of a mental health professional even if you do not think your symptoms are severe is also a good way to make sure you stay happy and healthy in order to provide the best care to your loved one.

At Interim HealthCare, we encourage all of our in home care clients to make sure they eat as healthy as possible around the holidays and during the rest of the year for that matter. But if you couldn’t resist all those delicious holiday treats, as many of us can’t, here’s our quick guide to get you refocused on the types of healthy foods that should always be at the top of your shopping list.

Whole Grains – these are loaded powerhouse fiber and Vitamin B, which offer better protection against cardiovascular disease, infections and repertory ailments. Look beyond oatmeal and whole wheat bread and try grains such quinoa, which is incredibly high in protein.

Fish – oily fish such as salmon are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which help fight the bad cholesterol that can build up as we age. Just two servings a week can make all the difference in your heart’s health.

Fruits & Vegetables – deep colored vegetables and fruits have more function, which means they’re typically loaded with lots of vitamins and antioxidants. Blueberries, dark cherries, spinach and kale are can’t miss additions to anyone’s diet.

Meat – focus on lean meats such as skinless chicken or turkey, which supply your body with great protein and vitamin B-12, but minus a lot of the heart-clogging fats. Remember portion control when eating meat as well. A little can go a long way.

Dairy – this is an incredibly important food group for our senior home care clients or anyone as they get older. Calcium needs are high for seniors and you can’t get any other foods with as much calcium as dairy. Milk actually does the body good and is essential for good bone health. Just stick to low fat when you can.

At Interim HealthCare, bone health is a major concern of many of our in home care patients. Seniors in particular are at special risk when it comes to bone health, but the good news is that you can put the brakes on bone degeneration and one of the best lines of defense in this battle is your diet. Whether you require home healthcare or still live on your own, eating the right foods can give you peak bone mass and boost your bone density no matter what your age is.

Got Milk?
Calcium is the cornerstone to good bone health. Adults up to age 50 need Adults up to age 50 need 1,000 milligrams per day. Beginning at age 51, women need 1,200 milligrams every day, and when men hit 71, they need to be there too. A single 8-ounce cup of milk, whether skim, low-fat, or whole, has 300 milligrams of calcium. So do like your parents always told you and drink your milk! So we recognize knocking back a glass or two of milk is not for everyone, but did you know a cup of yogurt has at least as much calcium as an 8-ounce cup of milk? And 1 ounce of Swiss cheese has nearly as much. Even if you're lactose intolerant, yogurt and hard cheeses are low in lactose or try products that are lactose-reduced or lactose-free because eliminating lactose from milk and dairy foods does not affect the calcium content.

Sardines
Milk or dairy products are not the only way to get a healthy dose of calcium. All those little fish bones in sardines have just what you need and eating 3 ounces of canned sardines delivers a little more calcium than a cup of milk.

Veggies
Calcium is plentiful in many vegetables, especially the dark leafy greens such as bok choy, Chinese cabbage, and kale, among others. Collard and turnip greens are another great source of calcium as well.

Soy
Half a cup of calcium-enriched tofu contains as much as 861 milligrams of calcium, but calcium is not the only mineral that gives you leg up. New research suggests plant-based chemicals called isoflavones strengthen bone density as well.

The arrival of winter signals many things--the holidays, the New Year and unfortunately for tens of thousands of Americans, the onset of flu season. The flu is unpredictable and how severe it is can vary from one season to the next depending on many things such as: 

- Which influenza virus is spreading

- How much flu vaccine is available 

- When the vaccine is available 

- How many people get vaccinated

- How well the vaccine is matched to particular strains of influenza viruses