Arthritis is a common ailment among the elderly. When working with aged patients, our staff at Advantis Home Care, often deal with issues related to arthritis. Many at home elderly care patients need special medications and help with problems related to arthritis. But contrary to popular belief, arthritis isn’t just a disease for the elderly. Although most arthritis sufferers are older patients, the disease could affect almost any age group. Age doesn’t directly cause arthritis. So, what causes arthritis and how can you and your loved ones deal with the condition?

What Causes Arthritis?

As the leading cause of disability in America, arthritis is a very well-known condition. But despite how common the condition is, many people don’t understand what arthritis is.

Arthritis is simply a word that refers to joint inflammation (or swelling). Many people mistakenly believe arthritis to be a disease in itself, but arthritis is more of an umbrella term that can apply to various diseases that cause joint inflammation.

Arthritis can be present in only a few joints or may be found in every joint throughout the body. Even if a patient only has one inflamed joint, they have arthritis in that joint. There’s no limit to how many joints must be affected.

There are almost 200 arthritis-related conditions recognized currently. What causes arthritis can depend on the specific type of arthritis a patient is dealing with. Anything from wear and tear on joints to injuries and genetic factors play a role.

The most common causes of arthritis are:

• Loss of padding tissue in joints due to wear or injury
• Autoimmune diseases that attack healthy joint tissues or alter connective tissues
• Accumulation of crystals in the joints (normally caused by an unhealthy lifestyle)
• Joint infections

Although some types of arthritis are preventable, many are hereditary. Fortunately, healthy lifestyle choices can help in managing broad variety types of arthritis-related conditions.

Types of Arthritis and Causes

Arthritis can affect people of all age groups and is about equally common in both sexes. Some of the most common types of arthritis include the following.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a form of degenerative arthritis. The condition arises when cartilage tissue in joints breaks down, often from wear and tear. Cartilage tissue plays an important role in padding joints to make movement easier. Without it, bone grinds against bone during movement, leading to joint inflammation and discomfort.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, 27 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis making it the most common type. Elderly persons are more prone to suffer from osteoarthritis, seeing as the padding tissue in joints often degenerates with age.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a form of inflammatory arthritis that’s caused when the autoimmune disease attacks healthy joint tissues. Problems associated with rheumatoid arthritis aren’t limited to the joints, however. The condition can also cause the immune system to attack and break down tissues in the eyes, skin, blood vessels, heart and lungs.

Women are 3 times more likely than men to develop rheumatoid arthritis, with most sufferers being between the ages of 30 and 60 years old. There are approximately 1.5 million rheumatoid arthritis sufferers in the US.

Unfortunately, rheumatoid arthritis can be a lifelong condition for many, but there are ways to manage it.

Gout and Metabolic Arthritis

Gout is a common form of arthritis caused by tiny crystals present in the joints. High levels of uric acid in the body deposit in joints, causing the formation of crystals.

Unlike most other forms of arthritis, gout can often be prevented. Many lifestyle choices can lead to elevated levels of uric acid in the blood. If uric acid builds up in the body more quickly than the kidneys can remove it, gout will start to develop.

Because of this, gout can often be reversed completely through lifestyle changes alone (although certainly not always). Excessive alcohol intake and over-consumption of red meats and sugar are some of the most common lifestyle factors associated with gout.

While many people can benefit from making good lifestyle choices, not all forms of gout are entirely reversable. For instance, there are certain chronic medications that can increase a patient’s risk of developing gout. Even though these medications can lead to gout, patients aren’t always able to stop taking them.

Additionally, some people naturally seem to produce more uric acid than others, making them prone to developing gout.

Infectious Arthritis

When arthritis is caused by a joint infection, it’s referred to as infectious arthritis or septic arthritis. Infectious arthritis can be from a bacterial, viral or fungal infection. The condition is often associated with other signs of infection in the body, such as fever, although this may not always be the case.

The onset of infectious arthritis can lead to permanent joint damage as a result of the infection. Infectious arthritis is usually isolated to a singe joint in the body and can occur in persons of any sex or age group.

Treatment commonly involves the use of antibiotics to clear up infections and potential drainage of fluid on the affected joint.

Juvenile Arthritis

Juvenile arthritis includes a number of arthritis-related conditions that are commonly present in children. Despite arthritis’ reputation as a disease for the elderly, an estimated 300,000 children in the US also suffer from joint inflammation.

Autoimmune diseases such as juvenile lupus, juvenile myositis and systemic sclerosis are often the cause of juvenile arthritis.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is an umbrella term to refer to forms of arthritis caused by autoimmune and autoinflammatory reactions in children. The majority of children diagnosed with arthritis in the US suffer from juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Living with Arthritis

Seeing as many forms of arthritis are non-reversible, learning to manage the condition is often they key to a better quality of life.

Arthritis can be managed through anti-inflammatory medications prescribed by your doctor. Apart from this, a healthy diet can also reduce inflammation and discomfort associated with arthritis. Be sure to talk to your doctor about what changes you can make to manage your arthritis better through lifestyle changes,

Apart talking to your doctor there are also some therapies and home remedies you can try to manage your discomfort:

• Use hot and cold therapy on sore joints
• Exercise regularly to combat fatigue and improve your health
• Get enough sleep, as lack of sleep can cause arthritis pain to become worse
• Be sure to follow a diet that’s rich in healthy nutrients
• Cut out food types associated with uric acid buildup in the body
• Try physical therapy or occupational therapy

In severe cases, patients can also undergo surgery and joint replacements to alleviate inflammation and discomfort.

Home Care for Arthritis Patients

Many forms of arthritis are severely debilitating. Patients often find themselves unable to move without experiencing discomfort.

Elderly persons with arthritis are especially vulnerable, as their arthritis is often accompanied by other age-related problems. Coping with dementia and arthritis together can be challenging, as patients easily forget to drink their medications.

Home health care can help take away the stress of living with arthritis. If you or a loved one suffer from arthritis and require care, you can opt for receiving all the care you need in the comfort of your own home.

Health aides can accompany arthritis patients daily, helping patients remember to take medications and assisting in daily activities.

Professional nursing services can also be booked via a home health care provider. This is especially useful for patients who have recently undergone surgery, like a joint replacement, as the nurse can provide the post-surgery care necessary for a full recovery.

As an added benefit, arthritis patients can make appointments for physical and occupational therapy sessions at home. Allowing them to receive quality care without ever leaving the house.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 million Americans are diabetic, and some don’t even know it. This is a staggering figure, highlighting the grave crises facing the country. Patients that don’t know they’re diabetic can’t follow diabetes management guidelines for their condition. November is National Diabetes Month, which means it’s the perfect time to learn more about this condition.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that causes blood sugar levels to increase due to the body failing to produce enough insulin (a hormone responsible for transporting sugar from your blood into your cells for storage or energy). Another problem related to diabetes is not being able to use the insulin the body makes effectively.

Learning about the disease and following diabetes management guidelines is crucial to controlling blood sugar levels and avoiding other health conditions like damage to tissues, kidneys, eyes, and nerves.

Types of Diabetes

Type 1

Type 1 diabetes occurs when your body’s immune system erroneously starts attacking and destroying cell-producing cells in the pancreas.

Children and teenagers are most likely to be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, however, if you have a sibling or parent who has it, or you carry genes associated with the condition, you are at risk. Since your body is unable to make insulin, treatment involves taking insulin.

Type 2

This is the most common type of diabetes and results from your body becoming resistant to insulin, thereby causing sugar to accumulate in the blood. Risk factors include:

• Being 45 and older
• Being overweight
• Not being physically active
• Having other conditions like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or high triglycerides.

Additionally, you’re at a higher risk if you’ve previously had gestational diabetes or prediabetes and if your parent or sibling has the condition.

Prediabetes

Having prediabetes means your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but lower than what constitutes a type 2 diagnosis. People with prediabetes are at risk of becoming diabetic within 10 years.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes occurs when a pregnant woman has high blood sugar. Even if you’ve never had diabetes, you can develop it once you become pregnant.

If you’re older than 25, overweight, have had gestational diabetes before, have polycystic ovary syndrome and have a family history of type 2 diabetes, this increases your risks. After delivering your baby, the condition should go away, however, your risk of getting diabetes in the future becomes considerably higher.

Causes of Diabetes

The causes of diabetes are dependent on the type. Ultimately though, diabetes is triggered by your genes and lifestyle choices.

Type 1 Diabetes Causes

Although the cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown, genes may be the culprit in some cases, or it could also be due to a virus. Type 1 diabetes is caused by factors that cannot be controlled and therefore is not preventable.

Type 2 Diabetes Causes

Genes and lifestyle lead to type 2 diabetes. Family history is a major factor, as genes that make one predisposed to the condition are passed down from generation to generation.

However, your lifestyle also plays a role. Being overweight or obese is a high-risk factor. Extra weight in your belly can make your cells more resistant to the effects that insulin has on your blood sugar.

Causes of Gestational Diabetes

Hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy cause gestational diabetes. Also, being overweight when you fall pregnant or gaining an excessive amount of weight during your pregnancy will increase your chances of getting the condition.

Symptoms

If you are diabetic, the general symptoms you will start to notice include:

• sores that don’t heal
• increased hunger
• increased thirst
• Extreme fatigue
• Blurry vision
• Weight loss that’s unintentional
• Frequent urination

Besides these general symptoms, some symptoms are exclusive to either men and women.
Women may notice their skin becoming dry and itchy, and they may develop a yeast infection or a urinary tract infection. Unfortunately women with gestational diabetes rarely show any symptoms. They often only learn that they have the condition after undergoing a routine blood sugar tolerance test done between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy.

Because diabetes symptoms tend to be quite vague, it can be difficult to recognize them initially. However, if you do pick up on any of these symptoms, visit your doctor immediately. The earlier you get diagnosed, the sooner you can start taking measures to control the condition

Diabetes Management Guidelines

Diabetes Diet

You can’t manage diabetes without changing how you eat. Start by creating a meal plan that will help you manage your blood sugar, pressure, and cholesterol. Choose water over sweetened drinks and ensure that you eat smaller proportions. Swap foods high in calories, salt, sugar, trans fat and saturated fat for fruits, vegetables, chicken, fish, olive oil, whole grains, and nuts. A dietician can help you with this.

Get Active

Being active for at least 30 minutes a day a few times a week can make a huge difference. Whether it’s walking, swimming, or cycling, you need to get moving! Exercise is vital because every inch you lose improves your health and prevents your risk of becoming diabetic if you’re not already.

Quit Smoking

The combination of smoking and diabetes narrows your blood vessels, forcing your heart to work harder. Giving up smoking will lower your cholesterol and blood pressure levels, improve your blood circulation and decrease your risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, nerve disease, and diabetic eye disease.

Don’t Forget Your Medicine

Taking your medication for diabetes and other health problems you have is important for the healthy management of diabetes.

Speak to your doctor about what vaccines you need to get (for example flu shots or pneumonia shots) to avoid getting sick, as this can cause your blood sugar levels to go up. Also remember to speak to your doctor about adjusting your medicine’s dosage to complement your fitness routine to prevent excessively low blood sugar.

Check Your Sugar Levels

Monitor your blood sugar levels regularly, especially if you’re taking insulin. Keeping track of your sugar levels will assist you in making better choices about your diet, fitness routine, or medication. It will also alert you of when you need to make some changes.

You can use a tool known as a blood glucose meter to check your sugar levels at home. You should aim to stay in the range of less than 100 mg/dL after not eating for 8 hours and less than 140 mg/dL 2 hours after you’ve eaten. Levels above 215 mg/dL are considered high, with the upper acceptable limit being approximately 180 mg/dL.

There’s also another scale for measuring blood sugar levels called the hemoglobin A1C test score. In this scale, measurements between 4-6 are good, 7-8 is acceptable and 9-14 is high.

It’s important that you keep a record of your blood sugar levels. Next time you visit your doctor or health care team, this information will should be readily available.

Mental Health Matters

It’s common to feel sad, stressed, angry, and even depressed when living with diabetes. Nonetheless, stress can increase your blood sugar levels and depression makes disease management more difficult.

Speak to someone – professional or otherwise – who will listen to you and help you to feel better. You can also try doing yoga, starting a hobby, taking walks, meditating, and listening to music to help lower your stress. Getting enough sleep will also help improve your mood.

Home Health Care for Diabetic Patients

Home health aides provide a range of health care services in the home, based on what a patient’s needs are.

For diabetic patients, health aides can assist with:

• Making sure you take your medication on time
• Helping with exercises
• Making sure your weight stays at a healthy mark
• Helping you take care of any slow-healing wounds
• Checking your blood pressure

Health aides can help patients lower the stress that comes with living with a chronic illness, which is also beneficial to the patient.

Consequences of Not Following Diabetes Management Guidelines

Diabetes can bring about new health problems, especially if not managed properly. If your blood sugar levels are very high and remain that way for a long time, this can make you vulnerable to other medical complications, some of which are very serious. Examples include:

• Heart disease and heart attack
• Kidney disease
• Nerve disease
• Dementia
• Foot sores
• Hearing loss
• Vision loss
• Bacterial infections
• Fungal infections
• Stroke
• Depression

Gestational Diabetes Complications

If you have gestational diabetes, your baby can be at risk of premature birth, being born weighing an abnormal weight. Other complications infants from diabetic mothers can suffer from include jaundice, low blood sugar, breathing problems, higher risk of having type 2 diabetes when they get older, and even stillbirth.

Mothers can also develop high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes at a later stage. The possibility of having gestational diabetes in future pregnancies also increases after one occurrence.

In Conclusion

Diabetes may be a complicated disease, but it’s manageable. All it takes is putting a little effort into your health every day. Whether you’re diabetic or not, take the time to learn about diabetes management guidelines so that you can stay ahead of the disease. And remember, it is possible to continue living a healthy life with diabetes.

Physical therapy is a diverse and growing field in medicine. Most physical therapy patients suffer from musculoskeletal issues, movement impairments and chronic pain in joints, but this isn’t always the case. A lot of physical therapy patients are regular people looking to improve their health, such as athletes and people with desk jobs who lead sedentary lifestyles. There are many benefits of physical therapy that are largely unknown,

What is Physical Therapy?

Physical therapy, also known as physiotherapy, involves treating health conditions such as chronic or acute pain, soft tissue injuries, cartilage damage, arthritis, gait disorders and physical impairments.

Most conditions treatable by physical therapy are of musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary and neurological origins. Physical therapists use methods such as massage, acupuncture, therapeutic exercise, ice and heat and electrical stimulation to help patients during their recovery process.

Such methods help to improve a patient’s physical functions, whereas ongoing physical examinations of the patient’s health helps therapists to monitor problems. Examinations can also help physical therapists to diagnose conditions sometimes, however, many patients already obtain a diagnosis from their doctor before visiting a therapist – in which case physical therapy is usually a recommendation from the doctor.

Physical therapists aim to improve the quality of life of patients and enhance their physical, psychological, emotional and social well-being. Movement is an integral part of life and improved movement can often drastically improve a patient’s overall quality of life. It has been proven that physical therapy treatment may eliminate the need for surgery in patients with multiple injuries.

Benefits of Physical Therapy

There a many advantages of physical therapy. While some patients do stand to benefit more than others, almost anyone could benefit from seeing a physical therapist.

Pain Reduction

Therapeutic exercises and manual therapy techniques or treatments such as ultrasound or electrical stimulation can assist with relieving pain and discomfort. Treatment can also restore muscle and joint function to help with better body movements. In some cases, these therapies can completely heal the patient and prevent pain from returning.
Back pain is an especially common problem in modern society. Many people have sedentary office jobs, which can lead to a lot of back tension. Over time, the problem can become worse, leading to almost chronic back pain. Physical therapy can help patients get relief from back pain, while also helping to improve posture.

Surgery Prevention

Physical therapy can help patients heal from an injury, which can prevent the need for surgery to recover. This is one of the many benefits of physical therapy, but it’s definitely among one of the most advantageous. Even patients who are scheduled for surgery can benefit from post operation physical therapy, as it will help speed the recovery process.

Improved Mobility

Physiotherapy can be a wonderful way to assist when patients who experience difficulty walking or have other mobility impairments. Specific stretching and strengthening exercises can help to boost overall mobility and reduce discomfort related to moving.

After a thorough examination, a physical therapist will devise a treatment plan for each patient’s mobility impairments. Prescriptions and assistive devices often comprise part of the overall treatment plan.

Rehabilitation After a Stroke

Stroke patients are commonly left with restricted body movement as an aftereffect of brain damage. Physical therapy on a regular basis assists in strengthening and balancing for weakened parts of the body.

After undergoing physical therapy, a patient’s ability to move around and perform tasks around the home often improves, allowing patients to live a more independent life. Daily activities such as getting dressed and maintaining personal hygiene are basic functions that many patients want to regain when starting physical therapy sessions after a stroke.
Other neurological conditions that can benefit from treatment through physical therapy include cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis.

If you or a family member are suffering from a neurological disorder, talk to you doctor about the possibility of introducing physical therapy as part of your treatment plan.

Recovering from Sports Injuries

Physical therapy can be highly beneficial to athletes from all walks of life. Specialized therapists know that every sport has a different impact on the body. The types of injuries athletes tend to obtain from their sport tend to differ greatly from one sport to another. Golfers often struggle with knee problems and wrist pain, whereas football players might suffer from back and shoulder problems, for instance.

Physical therapists are able to develop a specific recovery for injured athletes. When treating a sports injury, the goal is always to help athletes partake in their sport again.
While many people partake in sport for purely recreational reasons, athletes competing in competitive sports on a professional level are usually eager to return to their sport. Unfortunately, partaking in sports too soon after sustaining an injury can exacerbate and cause temporary injuries to leave permanent damage. Physical therapists can help professional athletes return to their sport as soon as possible, but also prevent permanent issues by advising athletes whether they’re ready to return.

Improved Balance

Balance issues can greatly increase patients’ risk of falling and injuring themselves. To treat balance problems, physical therapists will assess patients to determine their risk for falls. Exercises to help improve balance ensure that patients retain a better sense of stability. Physical therapists can introduce exercises to enhance coordination to a patient treatment plan. Specially customized devices are also often recommended to help with safer walking.

Age-related Complications

Unfortunately there are many health complications that increase in prevalence with aging. Problems such as arthritis and osteoporosis are common issues among the elderly, often even requiring joint replacement. Physical therapy is the most beneficial treatment in supporting patients recovering from joint replacement and can also help with managing arthritic conditions effectively.

Reduced Swelling

Water retention is a common problem and can lead to uncomfortable swelling of limbs. Many conditions are associated with fluid retention in the body. Causes for water retention include certain medications, cardiological problems, kidney complications, damaged veins and cirrhosis.

There are some things patients can do to reduce their risk of developing edema (swelling of the limbs), but the problem isn’t always easy to treat. Physical therapy serves as an excellent treatment option for patients suffering from edema.

Heart and Lung Disease

Normally, patients will go through cardiac rehabilitation after a heart attack or some kind of cardiac-related procedure. Physiotherapy provides extra care to support patients during their recovery period. Lung disease patients can also benefit from strengthening and breathing exercises to help clear fluid on the lungs and open up the airways for better breathing.

Pelvic Floor Muscle Strengthening

The pelvic floor muscles are responsible for maintaining some of the body’s most basic functions. Unfortunately, when these muscles become weak, cause patients can experience embarrassing complications in the form of incontinence. Physical therapists can assist in strengthening pelvic floor muscles to improve patients’ ability to control the release of pelvic muscles.

Physical Therapy at Home vs Visiting a Therapy Practice

Many patients in need of physical therapy suffer from impaired movement. This makes it difficult when patients need to visit an office for therapy sessions. One of the benefits of physical therapy at home is that patients with mobility impairments don’t need to go to regular therapy sessions at a physical therapy office.

But there are many reasons why patients might not be able to commit to visiting an office. Transportation issues or childcare responsibilities also often pose a problem for many patients.

Receiving physical therapy at home is a great alternative. Home health care offers patients the convenience of getting professional medical care without ever having to leave the house. A patient can book an appointment and the physical therapist will visit the patient’s residence for treatment.

Receiving treatment in a comfortable environment can also help patients perform better during sessions, helping to speed up recovery times.

Dementia, which is now officially called major neurocognitive disorder, is characterized by memory loss and a decline in language, problem-solving, and other cognitive skills. It isn’t a disease but rather an over-arching term that affects people with a wide range of diseases and disorders. The most common disease associated with dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.

People with dementia will experience a reduction in their ability to complete everyday tasks that require general thinking skills. It’s a debilitating condition because it not only prevents the sufferer to carry out day-to-day activities, but also affects relationships due to change in behavior.

The symptoms of moderate to severe dementia make living independently unsafe, which results in the need for dementia patients to have full-time care. Coping with dementia can be difficult, but understand the causes can help to make the transition of living with dementia easier.

Dementia Causes and Symptoms

There are many symptoms of dementia, but you don’t have to have all the listed symptoms to be diagnosed. Some of the symptoms include:

• Memory loss or decline
• Diminished language comprehension or expression
• Increasing confusion
• Personality or behavioral changes
• Loss of ability to do everyday tasks
• Difficulty with reasoning or problem-solving

There’s no one specific cause for dementia. It could be the result of an injury, infection, or disease. Although dementia is often associated with old age, it’s not the only cause. It’s often the result of cell damage, which could be localized or spread out over a large area. In turn, this cell damage could be the result of many other factors. Some of the factors that could cause dementia include:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Vascular cognitive impairment
• Dementia with Lewy bodies
• Frontotemporal dementia
• Parkinson’s disease
• Huntington’s disease
• HIV
• Traumatic brain injury

A number of neuropsychological tests can be performed on the patient to see if they have symptoms of dementia. These tests measure cognitive skills, memory, orientation, language skills, as well as reasoning and judgment. However, dementia is still difficult to diagnose. In order to properly diagnose dementia, a doctor must recognize a pattern of the loss of skills and function. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to see a pattern without seeing the patient on an ongoing basis.

Regardless, additional tests can still be run, including CT or MRI scans, which check for evidence of a stroke, bleeding of the brain, a tumor, or hydrocephalus, as well as PET scans, which monitor brain activity and measure whether the amyloid protein has been deposited in the brain, which is an indication of Alzheimer’s disease.

Coping with Dementia: Dementia stages

It’s generally accepted that there are three broad stages and seven stage models of dementia. The three progressive stages of dementia are: mild, moderate, and severe but the rate at which the dementia patient declines varies from person to person and also depends on the type of dementia they have. Understanding the various stages helps caregivers provide the right care to each patient and can help determine the most appropriate treatment plan.

The seven-stage model (Global Deterioration Scale) of dementia is as follows:

No Dementia (Stage 1-3)

Stage 1: During the first stage of dementia, the person functions normally and there is no memory impairment or memory loss. People with no dementia diagnosis are considered to be in stage 1.

Stage 2: At stage 2, the person experiences very mild cognitive decline, as well as normal memory loss associated with aging. At this stage, some level of forgetfulness will start to be noticed but symptoms of dementia are still not apparent to family members or caregivers. During stage 2, a balance of independence and care need to be given. It’s still assumed that the person can perform most tasks, but that help should be on hand if required.

Stage 3: At stage 3 friends and family generally start to notice cognitive problems. The person may start to experience memory loss, decreased performance at work and speech difficulties, as well as problems focusing on everyday tasks. It’s crucial that caregivers start to recognize the symptoms at this stage to provide appropriate support.

Early-Stage Dementia (Stage 4)

Stage 4: Moderate cognitive decline is experienced during stage 4 and neurologists are able to confidently diagnose early-stage dementia or Alzheimer’s. This stage generally lasts an average of 2 years. During stage 4, the person will have difficulty focusing, have poor short-term memory, may forget personal details, and have difficulty with simple arithmetic and finances, as well as have trouble traveling alone.

Mid-Stage Dementia (Stage 5-6)

Stage 5: At stage 5, the person experiences moderately severe cognitive decline and begins to need help with daily activities. They will begin to experience significant confusion and cognitive deterioration and may no longer be able to live alone. This stage lasts an average of 4 years and at this stage, dementia is quite easy to diagnose.

Stage 6: Severe cognitive decline is experienced at stage 6. This stage is characterized by worsened memory loss, difficulty recognizing family members, and some personality changes. The person may wander and routinely get lost, have difficulty with perception and start experiencing delusions or hallucinations. At this stage, a disturbance in sleeping patterns generally starts to begin.

Late-stage Dementia (Stage 7)

Stage 7: Stage 7 is characterized by very severe cognitive decline. This is the final stage of dementia and at this point, communication is limited and physical ability has started to decline. The person will most often experience difficulty eating or swallowing, angry outbursts due to confusion, incontinence, and restlessness. They will also be more vulnerable to infections like pneumonia at this stage.

Treatment for Dementia Patients

Unfortunately, most types of dementia can’t be cured, but if managed correctly, the symptoms of patients can be reduced dramatically. If you are caring for a parent or other loved one with dementia at home, what’s most important is ensuring that they have a safe, comfortable environment to live in that minimizes confusion and the number of outbursts. While coping with dementia isn’t easy, it’s possible for a dementia patient to live a fulfilling life, especially during the earlier stages.

Some therapies to help make dementia patients’ environment more comfortable include:

Occupational Therapy

Since dementia is a progressive condition, which means it continues to get worse with time, it’s important to prepare for the worst and ensure that the dementia patient’s environment is as safe and comfortable as possible. An occupational therapist can help you with this as well as teach you coping mechanisms. The main goal is to prevent accidents and prepare for dementia progression.

Adjusting the Dementia Patient’s Environment

Because people with dementia suffer from memory and cognitive decline, tasks that seemed routine before will now seem momentous and everyday objects will seem unusual and confusing. Because of this, it’s important to modify their environment so that it’s easier for them to navigate this confusing space. Adjustments include safety measures such as removing knives and other sharp objects and minimizing tripping hazards.

Reminiscence Therapy

This type of therapy is especially important for family and close friends of the dementia patient as they will have the most memories to discuss and reminisce about. Talking about memories and reminding them of important facts about their life and milestones such as where they went to school, what they used to do for a living, which neighborhood they grew up in, and what they used to like to spend time doing with their friends and family. You can use various prompts for this exercise like playing some music that is significant or showing the patient photos or objects from their past.

Simplifying Tasks

For the same reason that adjusting the environment is important, simplifying tasks is also useful in helping dementia patients cope with day-to-day tasks so that they don’t get overwhelmed. This could include breaking tasks down into smaller parts or explaining each task in straightforward terms. Lots of structure and routine is also good for dementia patients to minimize confusion.

Home Health Care for Dementia

To cope with dementia during the later stages, sufferers will normally require constant care. Home health care is a great option for dementia patients. Patients get to be in a comfortable, familiar environment while still receiving professional care. Children caring for elderly parents also get to have peace of mind that their parent is in good hands, allowing them to focus on work and other everyday activities, all while being able to have their parent living with them under the same roof.

Occupational therapy aims to help people suffering from mental, cognitive, psychological or physical impairments to cope with everyday life. The aim is to assist people to learn new skills that will help them to perform regular daily activities such as socializing, performing routine physical tasks and learning new things. Because occupational therapists help people with all manner of challenges, from cognitive to physical, a lot of people can benefit from therapy. Traditionally, occupational therapists work in their own offices of therapy or at hospitals, but occupational therapy at home is becoming an increasingly popular option.

What Is Occupational Therapy At Home?

Occupational therapy at home can be used to describe two entirely different kinds of treatment. Often times, people use the term to refer to “DIY therapy”. In other words, therapy activities that parents or loved ones perform with a child or family member at home. While these activities are a form of at-home occupational therapy, they don’t require a professional therapist to be present to oversee activities.

What many people don’t realize is that occupational therapy at home can also refer to a therapy session with a qualified occupational therapist. With the rise in popularity of home health care services, it’s becoming increasingly more common for occupational therapists to visit patients at their homes.

Benefits of Professional Occupational Therapy At Home

There are several benefits to receiving professional occupational therapy at home:

• Patients with mobility challenges don’t need to go to an occupational therapy office or hospital for treatment
• Costs are often lower than treatment in hospital
• Patients suffering from anxiety have the comfort of a familiar environment
• Save time traveling to and from therapy sessions
• Trauma and stroke patients can relearn how to perform daily activities in their own home, meaning all environmental factors can be accounted for during therapy sessions

Seeing as one of the largest goals of occupational therapy is to help patients learn (or relearn) daily tasks, the home environment can provide the perfect space for therapy. After all, there are a broad range of daily tasks that patients must perform at home each day.

What Is an Occupation in Occupational Therapy?

In terms of occupational therapy, the word “occupation” can refer any daily activity a patient needs to, is expected to or wants to perform. The entire purpose of therapy is to help patients achieve the goal of performing certain occupations through the following methods:

• Equipping a patient with the knowledge or skill to perform a desired occupation
• Adjusting a patient’s environment to help him/her perform an occupation

In most cases occupational therapists will strive to help patients perform occupations without the need to adjust the environment. Therapists will only adjust a patient’s environment in cases where the patient is physically or cognitively unable to function in a normal environment.

Seeing as an occupation can be defined as any activity a patients needs or wants to perform, it can include almost anything such as:

• Studying and learning activities for school
• Routine housework activities
• Self-grooming activities
• Fine motor activities, such as typing or writing
• Leisure activities, such as participating in sports or playing a musical instrument

In some cases, occupational therapy can be required to help a patient perform basic tasks such as eating. Patients don’t always need occupational therapy to cope with everyday life, however. Sometimes occupational therapy can be optional to improve a patient’s ability to perform a non-essential task, such as sports,

Who Can Benefit from Occupational Therapy?

Anyone struggling to perform certain daily activities can benefit from occupational therapy. Most occupational therapy patients face cognitive or physical challenges that they can learn to live with through a professional therapy program.

Common physical challenges that call for occupational therapy could include:

• Amputation recovery
• Rehabilitation after a stroke
• Learning to live with birth defects
• Recovery after injuries to the spinal cord
• Adjusting to loss of sight or hearing (sensory impairment)
• Adapting to neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis or dementia
• Regaining lost movement of muscles after injury or surgery

In the case of spinal cord injuries, occupational therapy could aim to help patients regain lost function of limbs. In cases of severe injury, therapy might focus on teaching patients to live with paraplegia rather than regaining recovery of movement.

Occupational therapy for cognitive, mental and psychological conditions could include:

• Helping patients with age-related mental challenges
• Assisting children with learning disabilities to study effectively
• Aiding children and adults to cope with social challenges related to autism
• Teaching persons with mental health disorders to function in everyday life

Therapy for patients with mental health issues could focus on learning skills to manage emotions more effectively, or overcoming fears and anxiety through practical tasks. It should be noted that occupational therapy can be part of a mental health program, but should be combined with other forms of mental health care, such as psychological treatment.

When it comes to occupational therapy for learning difficulties and autism, a therapist might make use of techniques that help teach certain tasks, helping children learn to overcome the challenges associated with their respective conditions.

At-Home Occupational Therapy Activities and Plans

Parents with children who suffer from learning disorders and autism can apply some occupational therapy techniques into daily activities to help children adapt with their unique challenges. Examples could include creating rubrics or applying techniques to help children cope with emotions. Although such therapy techniques can be self-made, occupational therapists are specialized in creating therapy plans for a wide range of physical and cognitive conditions.

Occupational therapists will often assign patients and families with exercises and practices they can perform between therapy sessions. These will often be part on an ongoing occupational therapy program and progress from one therapy session to another will serve as an important method of analyzing progress.

Of course, it’s imperative that patients and their loved ones adhere to the instructions given by their occupational therapists for at-home activities between sessions. Often, most patient progress isn’t made during therapy sessions. Instead, the role of the occupational therapist is to set out a recovery plan for the patient and family. If the patient wishes to make any substantial progress through occupational therapy, the plan set out by the therapist should be strictly followed.

Your occupational therapist will often change your at-home treatment plan between therapy sessions to account for progress made (increase the difficulty of activities), or to overcome current obstacles in effectively applying therapy.

Can Your Loved One Benefit from Occupational Therapy?

A magnificently broad range of conditions can be addressed through occupational therapy, far more than mentioned in this article.

Various conditions relating to old-age, developmental disorders and physical disability can benefit from professional occupational treatment therapy.

Occupational therapists can even assist in treating obesity by helping patients transition to healthy lifestyle changes. Therapy can also focus on helping diabetic patients adapt to caring for themselves. This could mean helping patients learn what is expected of them in terms of healthy living and regulating their health with diabetes.

Simply put, occupational therapists help people to live life on a practical level. This rule applies regardless of whether someone is facing practical obstacles related to loss of an ability, or complex challenges related to difficulty with self-regulation.

If you suspect that you or a loved one could benefit from occupational therapy, there’s no harm in asking for professional advice. An occupational therapist will be able to advise you on whether you or a loved one could benefit from therapy.

In most cases, occupational therapy will be part of a larger treatment program, which could include physician care, psychological treatment, or even physical therapy. If you’re currently seeing a health professional, such as a doctor, you can ask them about incorporating occupational therapy into your current treatment program.

Upon being asked the question, “what is home healthcare?” many people will have only a vague knowledge of what to answer. A lot of people associate home health care with caring for the elderly. While caring for the elderly is certainly part of home health care, there’s much more to it than elderly care at home. Home health care can consist of various other types of treatment and therapies. Seeing as many home health care programs are highly effective – sometimes even more so than hospital care – it’s good to explore different kinds of home healthcare in case you or a family member could benefit.

Is Home Health Care Effective?

Before looking at different home health care options, it’s important to establish whether healthcare at home offers any advantages. There’s no point in considering home healthcare for a loved one if it’s not effective, after all.

When looking for effective home health care, one of the most important things to look for is whether a provider is Medicare- or Medicaid-certified. Always opt for a certified provider if possible. Certification helps show that the company you’re dealing with is reputable.

If you’re dealing with a certified provider, the outlook for home health care is good. One study from the University of Rochester School of Nursing found that home health care reduced re-hospitalization among older patients. Among the therapies included in the study were physical therapy, occupational therapy and skilled nursing.

Many other studies have found similar results, demonstrating how home health care helps to reduce the risk of re-hospitalization in patients.

To get good results from home care, the most important thing is that care providers must be adequately qualified and trained. When patients receive care from individuals with the same qualifications as hospital staff, results will be similar to that of hospital or nursing home treatment.

What is Home Health Care? Different Types of Home Care

In-home care for the elderly is a major part of home health care. However, many of the health care services that elderly persons benefit from also apply to people of other ages. Various different services and therapies are aimed at helping disabled individuals live at home comfortably and safely. Seeing as home health care helps to prevent readmission to hospital among the elderly, it’s especially effective for this demographic.

Popular home health care services among elderly and disabled persons can include the following:

• Physical therapy
• Respiratory therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Nursing
• Health aides

Each one of these forms of home care can help prevent readmission to hospital, or perhaps even avoid hospitalization to begin with. Another advantage is that people who receive home health care often live more independently within the comfort of their own homes, as opposed to living in a nursing home or other facility.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy, also called physiotherapy, often involves massage, acupuncture and other techniques to relax muscles, relieve nerve tension and improve movement. Many patients can benefit from physical therapy, even patients who don’t suffer from any ailment.

Examples of persons who can benefit from physical therapy include the following:

• People who are athletes, or are active and follow a strict workout routine
• Patients who suffer from muscular-skeletal ailments, leading to chronic pain
• Persons who experience chronic muscle pain as a result of a physically challenging occupation – even persons who work desk jobs could benefit
• Patients who suffered physical injury resulting in loss of movement or severe muscular injury are often prescribed physical therapy as part of their rehabilitation program
• Similarly, stroke survivors can be prescribed physical therapy to help recover muscular function as much as possible

The list could go on and on. Physical therapy can benefit even seemingly healthy people. For example, a lot of people seem healthy, but have poor posture. Poor posture can lead to backaches, neck pain and muscle tension. Physical therapy can assist in helping persons with poor posture retrain their muscles to improve posture.

Occupational Therapy

A lot of people think that only children need occupational therapy. Other people mistakenly believe that occupational therapy is mostly for adults. The truth is that both children and adults might require some form of occupational therapy in their lifetimes. This is because occupational therapy is about the needs of the individual patient, not his or her age demographic.

Specifically, occupational therapy is aimed at helping patients perform everyday activities through improving motor skills and coordination.

For children, therapy often focuses on learning new fine motor skills like writing or using scissors. Therapy can also involve training of coordination to help a child use a computer mouse or catch a ball.

Occupational therapy for the elderly and disabled focuses on helping them perform everyday activities. During an occupational therapy session, an adult might relearn life and motor skills that assist in everyday tasks.

For instance, an occupational therapist might focus on helping a person with physical challenges to cook and do their own homemaking. For a severely challenged person, occupational therapy can be as simple as teaching them to eat and dress themselves.

Any person suffering from impaired movement after an accident or as a result of age could benefit from occupational therapy.

Respiratory Therapy

Respiratory care might sound like a strange concept. Why should anyone have to learn how to breathe? But don’t underestimate the benefits of respiratory care. Many patients can benefit immensely.

Firstly, respiratory therapy isn’t always focused on helping patients learn how to breathe. Assisting a patient to breathe through life support is also considered respiratory therapy. While most people take breathing for granted, patients struggling with asthma, lung damage and similar breathing difficulties often need medical intervention to manage their conditions.

Examples of conditions that might require treatment through respiratory therapy include:

• Asthma
• Emphysema
• Bronchitis
• Sleep breathing disorders

Respiratory therapy can also be beneficial after a patient who suffered a heart attack.

Premature babies are another demographic who can benefit from respiratory therapy. Proper development of the respiratory system is one of the last things to develop in the womb. As a result, babies that are born prematurely might have more difficulty breathing. Respiratory therapy can often help such infants to develop a strong, healthy respiratory system after birth.

Nursing

Nursing is a common home health care service among the elderly, but patients from all ages can benefit. Often times, childhood genetic disorders mean that children need to receive special medical care at home. Some patients also need in-home health care after suffering severe injuries.

In-home nurses offer the same assistance as nurses in hospital would. Things like wound care, medicine management and IV administration can all be done at home.

However, you shouldn’t expect your nurse to perform the work of a qualified physician. An in-home nurse won’t, for instance, be able to adjust the dosages of medicine prescribed by your doctor. Nurses can only administer the correct dosages as prescribed.

While your nurse can’t change the care plan recommended by your doctor, he/she will ensure your loved one gets the exact care your physician recommends.

All in-home nurses must be either registered nurses or licensed practical nurses. Be sure your home care provider uses properly qualified nurses in all applicable cases — where patients have needs requiring professional health assistance.

Health Aides

Health aides aren’t qualified nurses, but they do undergo training to perform their job. While nurses help to administer medication to patients and other health care tasks, health aides help disabled persons with day-to-day activities.

A health aide can help patients by performing homemaking duties and assisting in bathing and feeding.

Another important role of health aides is providing companionship. Elderly and disabled persons are often lonely at home. While some elderly people are fortunate to live with family, other household members are often at work or school during the day. As most persons requiring care are unable to perform many basic tasks themselves, they need aides to avoid loneliness and accomplish daily activities.

Although health aides often help elderly people, disabled persons of all ages could benefit from this home health care service.

Benefits of Home Health Care

Home health care isn’t an option in all situations. Patients that need surgery, or suffered severe trauma still need to go to hospital to get the care they require. Instead of replacing hospital care, home healthcare is often applicable once a patient is discharged as a means to facilitate recovery.

The benefit is that home health care options often allow for patients to be discharged from hospital sooner. This allows a patient to recover in the comfort of their own home. Being in a familiar environment surrounded by loved ones is a clear benefit.

Another benefit is reduced health care costs. Especially in cases where it will take a patient many months to recover, home health care is cheaper than hospitalization.

For a lot of people, however, the biggest benefit of home health care isn’t the cost, but convenience. Having a health care professional come to your doorstep to assist you with your care needs is easier than going to a hospital or a health care practice.

Ongoing health care treatment is often burdensome, especially for patients with impaired movement. Leaving home to receive medical treatment is arduous, even stressful at times. To make matters worse, patients who visit a practice often end up spending a lot of time in the waiting room before each appointment. Home health care is a great choice to reduce the stress involved with ongoing health care treatment while also cutting costs.

This year Advantis Home Care’s team got together to collect blankets and donated them to Blankets with Bella. These blankets were delivered to children with disabilities throughout the community. As a provider of pediatric home health it is of great value to us to do something extra and for the children. The kids were grateful and showed excitement through hugs, smiles, and their receptive reaction was obvious to us as a team. We will be doing this project each year during the holidays.