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Month: January 2021

Dementia or Normal Memory Trouble?

Posted on by Craig Bass

Forgetting a few things here and there is part of life, but for your senior, it can feel like an arrow pointing toward dementia. If your elderly family member is concerned that she may be developing dementia, it’s important to talk to her doctor about what she’s experiencing.

Try not to Panic Just Yet

The most important thing to remember if you or your senior are concerned about her memory is that there’s no need to panic just yet. There are a lot of reasons your elderly family member’s memory might not be functioning as well as she expects or wants it to work. Many of those reasons have nothing to do with dementia at all.

Get Some Details on Paper

You’re going to want to talk to your senior’s doctor, so that means compiling some information first. Can your senior remember when she started noticing memory issues that caused her to worry about dementia? If she can, you’re going to want to consider whether this was a sudden issue or something that happened gradually. Is she having trouble with ADLs like getting dressed or eating? These are just some of the questions your senior’s doctor will need answered.

Look at What Else Is Affected

What else is giving your senior a problem now? Is she showing signs of difficulty with judgment, such as making poor decisions? Or is she having trouble with concentrating and focusing? You’re also going to want to pay closer attention to your senior’s ability to communicate right now. If that’s a problem, there may be other factors at play.

Take Everything One Step at a Time

Whether your senior does or does not have dementia is something her doctor can help you to determine. Treatments, including medications, have come a long way and if your elderly family member is treating dementia early, she may have several more years of good health. If she’s not dealing with dementia, there may be other solutions that can lighten some of the stress load on your elderly family member. Senior care providers can help with household tasks, for instance, freeing up your senior’s attention and energy for other activities.

Remember that talking about memory issues can be really scary for your senior and she might avoid the topic. If you’re noticing memory issues and want to talk to her about them, tread carefully and open up the conversation gently.

If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring senior care in Cave Creek, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

Golden Heart makes the News!

Posted on by Craig Bass

Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale was featured in a recent article about the COVID-19 vaccine. Read more here!

What Can Your Senior Do if She’s Determined to Beat Incontinence?

Posted on by Craig Bass

Incontinence is occasional or consistent urinary leakage. It can be embarrassing for some people to the extent that they want to reverse incontinence. It’s always a good idea for your senior to talk about plans like these with her doctor, particularly if her incontinence may have a medical cause. Behavioral treatment methods can still be beneficial, especially if your senior isn’t going overboard with them. These steps can help your elderly family member to retrain her bladder to function more effectively again.

Keep a Bladder Diary

A bladder diary sounds complicated, but it’s really very simple. Your senior keeps track of when she urinates and other details that might be important. If she experiences any pain or leakage, she might want to include that in the details of her bladder diary. Gradually as she adds data to the diary, your senior is going to notice patterns. These can be helpful for her and for her doctor.

Schedule Bathroom Trips

Scheduling bathroom trips can be helpful in reducing or eliminating leaks. This can be helpful if your aging family member has trouble with her mobility, because she’s less likely to try to “make it” to the bathroom on time when an urge strikes. Eventually she may even adjust the schedule so that there’s longer in between bathroom visits.

Practice Delaying Urination

Delaying urination is a practice that your senior might start to try after she has some baseline information. When an urge to go to the bathroom strikes, she might delay going for five or ten minutes to “retrain” her bladder to last a little bit longer. If this is effective, your senior might opt to start increasing the duration by which she delays urination.

Pay Attention to Diet and Fluid Intake

Tracking what she eats and drinks can help your senior to see what might be triggering overactive bladder or incontinence issues. Many older adults find that things like caffeine or carbonated beverages are overstimulating for her bladder. Reducing or eliminating these foods and beverages, along with some of the other techniques, can help her to gain better control over her incontinence issues.

If your elderly family member needs extra help managing the record-keeping end of things while she’s tracking so much data, it might be a good idea to bring in a caregiver to help. Caregivers can also help with mobility concerns, assist with changing clothes, and so many other tasks as well.

If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring caregivers in Paradise Valley, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!