Interim HealthCare Blog
Posted: 6/27/2013 10:47 AM by
Interim HealthCare
Today’s seniors are more likely than previous generations to develop skin cancer. They risk is greater because during their younger years the public did not have the same awareness of the damage the sun (and tanning beds) can do to skin. According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is the most common type of cancer, and it affects almost 2.2 million Americans.
Posted: 6/18/2013 9:00 AM by
Interim HealthCare
The goal of many seniors is to stay in their homes for as long as they can. Seniors want to be in surroundings that are familiar and comfortable. As a person ages, however, he or she may need to adapt their home to make it safer for independent living. One of the biggest dangers in the home for seniors is a fall. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention one out of three adult...
Posted: 6/13/2013 11:29 AM by
Interim HealthCare
June 13 through 20 is Nursing Assistants Week, a time set aside to promote recognition, education, research, advocacy and peer support development for nursing assistants in nursing homes and other long-term care settings. Nursing assistants go by many titles, and can also be known as nurse aides, direct care workers, caregivers, certified nursing assistants, geriatric aides, unlicensed assistiv...
Posted: 6/10/2013 11:29 AM by
Interim HealthCare
The cliché about men not going to the doctor apparently exists for a reason. In 2010 a survey by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) found that only 57% of men had visited the doctor in the past year. To help raise awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men June 10 - 16 has been set aside as Men’s Hea...
Posted: 6/1/2013 2:25 PM by
Interim HealthCare
June 1st was Heimlich Maneuver day which is an emergency technique for preventing suffocation when a person's airway (windpipe) becomes blocked by a piece of food or other object. It can be used safely on both adults and children, but most experts do not recommend it for infants less than 1 year old. You can also perform the maneuver on yourself.
Posted: 4/22/2013 9:24 AM by
Interim HealthCare
Anyone, at any time may need help from an occupational therapist or OT. According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), “Occupational therapy is therapy based on performing the meaningful activities of daily life ... despite impairments or limitations in physical or mental functioning.
Posted: 4/12/2013 4:18 PM by
Interim HealthCare
The Food and Drug Administration reports at least 75 incidents per month of mix-ups due to similarly named drugs and confusing labels. How can you avoid dangerous and costly medication mix-ups? Interim HealthCare’s Home Care program can help you manage your prescriptions, but ultimately, you are in charge of your own healthcare. That is why it is important to take an active role in your t...
Posted: 4/2/2013 4:22 PM by
Interim HealthCare
After a hospital or rehabilitation facility stay, all you may be thinking about is returning to the comfort of your own home. But even after leaving these facilities, your recovery is still ongoing. One of the keys to making this transition a successful one is communication. By effectively sharing information between doctors, nurses and other heath care providers with the patient and his/her fa...
Posted: 3/20/2013 10:07 AM by
Interim HealthCare
Vaccines aren’t just for children. In fact, many of the vaccinations that children receive, adults also need as a part of their senior care. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its list of adult-recommended vaccinations in 2012. Here are the vaccines or boosters that adults 50 and over need to talk to their health care provider about:
Posted: 3/14/2013 10:15 AM by
Interim HealthCare
For more than half of American Baby Boomers over the age of 65, cataracts are something they have had, or will have, to deal with. Cataracts are the result of a buildup of protein in the lens of the eye. Old lens cells become compacted into the center of the lens, as new lens cells form on the outside of the lens. The compacted old cells are the cataract. This makes vision cloudy and prevents l...
Posted: 3/9/2013 9:00 AM by
Interim HealthCare
Grieving over the loss of a loved one is a highly personal process that can take months or years. How long you grieve depends on many things, including your relationship with the person, if the person’s death was expected or sudden, and many other factors. There is no one way to handle the loss of a loved one. Each journey through grief to healing is a personal one.
Posted: 3/6/2013 4:31 PM by
Interim HealthCare
Good nutrition is important at any age. But for adults 65 and over with chronic diseases, eating right takes on even more importance. Whether you have high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol, there are food choices you can make that will not only improve your condition, but also increase longevity. For instance, a diabetic will want to control the quantity
Posted: 2/22/2013 8:49 AM by
Interim HealthCare
Not only has technology enabled us to live longer, healthier lives, but when illness does strike technological advances have provided us with more care options. When an illness or medical condition does occur, In-home care is the preference of many individuals. Interim HealthCare’s home health care services offers convenient access to trained professionals who are knowledgeable in the a...
Posted: 2/5/2013 3:37 PM by
Interim HealthCare
It's no secret that caring for a loved one is a stressful endeavor. Shouldering any responsibility for another person can certainly cause anxiety, but it can also take its toll on a caregivers' health because they are often more concerned with their loved one's well-being than their own. It's important for caregivers to remember that their own health is just as important, and ...
Posted: 2/4/2013 5:29 PM by
Interim HealthCare
Heart failure and heart disease are a critical health issue for any adult. More than 26 million adults in the U.S. suffer from heart disease, and it is the leading cause of death for both men and women. Despite this, all too often heart disease is still thought of something that affects men more often than women. February is American Heart Month, a great time to not only raise awareness about h...
Posted: 12/28/2012 9:54 AM by
Interim HealthCare
Twenty-nine percent of adults in the U.S. are caring for an aging parent or relative. As family caregiving becomes more common, adult children need to know the warning signs of problems with their own senior-aged parents.
Posted: 12/3/2012 6:19 PM by
Interim HealthCare
Meeting the needs of a loved one who is sick or injured is a lot of responsibility to put on one person. In fact, caregivers who try to do it all by themselves are more likely to suffer from caregiver stress and depression.
Getting help from others to assist in caregiving duties not only reduces your workload, but also provides you with someone to lean on in difficult times. A companion can al...
Posted: 8/16/2012 11:20 AM by
Interim HealthCare
Summer & fall are times to be outdoors—gardening, walking or simply enjoying the warm weather. Unfortunately, being more active outside also increases your chance of encountering a blacklegged tick, the carriers of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease.
Posted: 8/16/2012 11:15 AM by
Interim HealthCare
The lens of your eye is made mostly of water and protein. Aging can cause proteins in the lens to accumulate and create a cloudy area on the eye, which prevents light from passing through. This cloudy area on the lens is a cataract. The size of cataracts can vary and will determine how your vision is affected.
Posted: 8/16/2012 10:16 AM by
Interim HealthCare
Healthcare providers talk a lot about protecting yourself against skin cancer, but there are other skin diseases and abnormalities seniors need to be aware of as well. Here are five of the most common conditions, how to identify them and their treatment methods: