Specialties

It’s no secret, as we grow older usual, common place activities become increasingly more difficult. Sometimes just going to the store involves a major exertion.

Impaired mobility is one of the senior population’s primary concerns. Half of all adults over 85, and one quarter of those over 75 experience noticeable mobility problems.

Walking, climbing stairs, bathing, using the toilet, getting up from a chair or getting out of bed can pose considerable difficulties.

Vision problems also become quite prevalent, especially when trying to read the all to often insanely small typeface on printed instructions and bills, or even the numbers off a credit card.

As the years progress, many elderly can become completely disabled, totally dependent upon others for helping them do the smallest of tasks.

Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia, but classified on its own. This is probably one of the most well known neurological disorders among the elderly and it can be very difficult for the family of the person with Alzheimer’s to deal with.

One thing that makes it so hard is that Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease and you will slowly have to watch your loved one succumb to it.

As time passes, the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, like memory loss, increase and when the disease enters the final stages, your loved one may be unable to interact with their environment and carry on with a conversation.

Keeping your loved one interacting with the family can really do great things when they are suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Though Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia, there are other types of dementia that can affect an elderly loved one that has nothing to do with Alzheimer’s.

Dementia isn’t a disease, but a symptom of a disease. Dementia is defined as a loss of brain function and as many as 1 in 7 elderly individuals over the age of 70 suffer from some form of dementia according to the Health and Retirement Study.

Not all dementia is the same and some forms can even be treated.

When caring for an elderly loved one at home who has a form of dementia, it is important to fully understand the type of dementia they have and make sure to offer plenty of enrichment activities.

Activities like hearing stories, listening to music and working on art projects have all shown great affects on those with dementia.

Caring for a loved one at home who has Parkinson’s disease can be more challenging than caring for a person with a form of dementia.

Parkinson’s is a neurological disorder that affects the physical movement of the person, not the mental abilities.

Typically Parkinson’s will start with a tremor in the hand and progressively spread to other parts of the body including the ability to control physical movements.

Even speech is often affected as time goes on. It is possible to have Parkinson’s for many years and never need medical assistance, so if you care caring for your loved one at home, make sure they are getting their independence which is important for their mental state.

There are some great treatments available to ease the symptoms of this neurological condition and regularly exercising with your loved one with Parkinson’s can really help.

When your loved one is diagnosed with macular degeneration, they likely already have some blurriness in their vision.

In short, this blurriness will progressively get worse as time goes on. Usually a person with macular degeneration will experience a loss of vision from the inside out.

One of the most important things to do in the beginning is to make sure there is adequate lighting. Your loved one will probably still have some of their vision and when there is better lighting in a room, they will be able to see easier.

Macular degeneration is a progressive disease, so the vision in your loved ones eyes will eventually disappear.

It is important to know that your loved one can live an extremely fulfilling life even after vision may have gone.

Stroke is not only a condition that affects the elderly. A person of any age can be affected by a stroke. A stroke will occur when the blood supply to the brain is reduced or interrupted.

Since the brain needs a constant supply of blood, when it doesn’t get it, brain cells will begin to die.

When a brain cell dies, the body cannot replace them which can lead to neurological problems that can range from minor to severe.

There are some treatment methods available if your loved one has suffered a stroke and the home care needed for the victim of a stroke will depend on the severity of the stroke.

There is a greater chance of having a second stroke if a person has had a stroke previously.

Different types of therapy will have an excellent effect on people who have had strokes.

Congestive heart failure is a condition where the heart is not able to pump blood throughout the body as well as it once could. Since blood is not about to get through the system well, blood begins to back up in areas of the circulatory system which increases blood pressure and forces fluid from the blood vessels directly into the body.

Once your loved one has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, it will probably not affect their daily lives so much, but they will need to take a series of medications that you, as the caregiver, may want to ensure they are taking.

Though congestive heart failure is progressive, as the caregiver of a loved one who has been diagnosed with the condition, you can certainly help them live a full and happy life at home throughout the stages of this disease.

Knowing what to expect as the disease progresses and what you can do to ensure comfort can be extremely important.

ALS stands for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. This is a serious disorder of the neurological system of the body which causes the muscles in the body to progressively weaken until it causes death.

Though about 5-10% of the cases of ALS are inherited, doctors and researchers do not know why others become afflicted with it.

ALS usually begins with a twitching or noticeable weakness in the legs or arms.

Eventually ALS will affect the muscles in your body and you will be unable to move, eat, speak or breathe.

Caring for a loved one with ALS can be challenging mentally and physically. There are several medications that seem to slow the progression of the loss of muscle control and new medications are being researched all the time.

Multiple sclerosis, known commonly as MS, is a neurological condition that causes the immune system in your body to attack the protective coatings that are part of the nerves.

When this coating is gone, normal communication between your body and brain cannot occur. Symptoms of MS vary greatly and there are differences in severity depending on the person who is afflicted.

Another interesting fact about multiple sclerosis is that it comes and goes.

Sometimes the symptoms can disappear for weeks or even months. Medications and other treatments can slow the progression of MS as well as treat the symptoms.

Many people believe that laughter can be an excellent method for dealing with MS. Keeping your loved one positive and happy will make all the difference in the world.

Spinal stenosis is a neurological disorder that causes nerve damage in your spine due to the narrowing of an area of the spine.

Almost all cases of spinal stenosis are caused by aging and depending on the nerves affected, symptoms can vary greatly.

Usually pain or numbness occurs in one of the limbs, back or shoulders.

Someone afflicted with spinal stenosis may have weakness in their limbs and may also have little or no control over their bowel or urinary functions.

Treatment methods for spinal stenosis include medications, including over the counter pain relievers, physical therapy, steroids and sometimes surgery. You may be able to eliminate the symptoms all together with these treatments.

Huntington’s disease is a neurological disease that is inherited. Huntington’s disease causes a progressive breakdown of nerves in the brain and leads to significant problems with physical movement, the cognitive thought process and can even cause psychiatric disorders.

Most people become diagnosed with Huntington’s disease in their 40s or 50s, but it can begin showing itself sooner.

There are a multitude of symptoms when it comes to Huntington’s disease from involuntary movements of the body and difficulty with speech to being unaware of the actions they are performing and severe lack of focus.

There are medications that will be able to slow the affects of Huntington’s and research is going on right now that is promising on treating some of the Huntington’s symptoms.

It’s important to understand even the most dedicated family caregiver needs some time off.

By taking many of the burdens of home geriatric care off your shoulders, the trained, skilled home care professionals at Affinity gives you back the freedoms you probably have been going without.

Time for shopping, visiting friends, going to the dentist, getting back to work… or simply taking a much needed breather from the responsibilities of geriatric care.

Concerned Care Brought Directly Into Your Home

You want to be absolutely sure the care being providing by an outside service is every bit as nurturing and compassionate as you yourself would give.

At Affinity Home Care, that’s what we’re all about. We make quality of life commitments so much easier for all involved. Allowing you or your loved ones the independence wanted combined with the nursing help and daily living support needed.

If you’ve made the decision to care for an aging family member or loved one in their home, Affinity will be there – helping to assure every aspect of the patient’s needs are properly met.