Leslie Newlife

The Importance of Mental Health in Seniors

Mental health is an important aspect of overall well-being for seniors, especially those living in assisted living facilities. Maintaining a healthy mental state for seniors can’t be underestimated. A healthy mental state determines how seniors live their day-to-day lives and interact with others. Let’s gain more insight into the importance of mental health in seniors and how assisted living can help.

1. Maintain Longevity

Did you know mental health can affect your lifespan? Studies have shown that mental health is an important predictor of life expectancy. A healthy mind can help seniors live longer and healthier lives, which is especially important given that someone turning 65 today has a 70% chance of needing long-term care services and support. A mentally alert senior is more likely to stay physically and socially active, which can help them maintain their independence for longer.

2. Promote Physical Wellness

Seniors are more likely to suffer from chronic physical illnesses, which poor mental health won’t help. If a senior is not in their right mind, they may not think about eating well, exercising, and minding their physical health. Your local assisted living facility is well-equipped to ensure seniors have access to nutritious meals, physical activities, and a healthy environment.

3. Enhance Quality of Life

Mental health problems can lead to a lower quality of life. Depression and anxiety can cause seniors to withdraw from their social circles and activities, leading to feelings of loneliness and isolation. Assisted living facilities are a great environment for seniors to get therapy, counseling, and other interventions that help them manage their mental health better. This improved mental well-being can lead to a more enjoyable lifestyle for seniors, with better social relationships, engagement in activities, and overall happiness.

4. Boost Cognitive Function

As people age, cognitive function may slow down. Unfortunately, poor mental health can exacerbate such a decline in cognitive functioning, which makes it harder for seniors to remember information and perform tasks. Being surrounded by other seniors and compassionate caretakers provides an environment that encourages mental stimulation through activities, programs, and services to promote brain health.

From boosting cognitive skills to reducing social isolation and providing therapeutic interventions, assisted living provides a safe and nurturing environment for older loved ones to maintain good mental health. Give your elder the care they need by doing research on a few in your area.

6 Fun and Unique Ways to Celebrate Your Retirement

Congratulations on your retirement! After years of hard work, you are now ready to step into the next chapter of your life. Celebrating is an important part of this transition, and planning a unique and fun retirement celebration can help make it even more special.

This blog post will explore creative ways to celebrate your retirement.

Get Away for a Weekend

One of the best ways to celebrate your retirement is to get away for a weekend with loved ones. Whether it’s a beach vacation or a trip out to the countryside, taking some time away from home is always a great way to relax and enjoy yourself.

Throw a Party

If you’d rather stay home and celebrate, throwing a retirement party is always great. Invite family, friends, and colleagues to join in the fun. You can make it extra special by setting up decorations or having themed parties based on your interests. Reminisce about old times together while celebrating this exciting milestone in life.

Learn Something New

Retirement should be seen as an opportunity to hone new skills and try something new that you may have been too busy before to pursue, such as writing courses, painting classes, music lessons, or cooking classes. There are plenty of options available depending on what interests you most.

Charter a Private Jet

If you feel extra extravagant, why not charter a private jet and fly off to your desired destination? This is one way to make sure your retirement celebration stands out from the rest. For example, you can get a Naples private jet charter if you wish to celebrate your retirement in Florida.

Take a Trip Down Memory Lane

Get nostalgic by visiting all the places you used to go during your working days, such as your old office building, favorite lunch spot, etc., and reminisce about all those memories with friends who were there with you through it all. This will be a great way to reflect on everything you have achieved during those years and celebrate how far you have come.

Start a Bucket List

A bucket list is a great way to jumpstart your retirement celebrations. Create a list of all the things you’ve always wanted to do but never had the time or money for. When finished, take out the list every few weeks, tick off items you’ve completed and fill those blanks with new activities.

Give Back to the Community

If you have been blessed with financial stability over the years, giving back is always a great way to spread joy for everything you have received throughout life. Consider donating money or volunteering at non-profit organizations in your area that are doing work close to what you are vested in.

Have a Bonfire Night with Friends and Family

Gather around the fire pit with friends and family for an evening of storytelling and sharing memories from days past. It will surely bring lots of laughter (and maybe some tears). Roast marshmallows for s’mores, and just enjoy being together in nature.

Conclusion

Retirement should be an exciting time of life to celebrate and explore. From taking trips away to learning something new, these are just some ways to make the most out of your retirement.

Care Home Safety and Security for Elderly People

With populations continuing to age, the demand for care homes and other senior living facilities is increasing. While there are many factors involved in running a successful care home, the safety and security of the residents should always be paramount. 

Falls alone pose a significant concern, with approximately 1,800 nursing facility residents’ deaths per year being attributed to a fall. Between caring for elderly people and ensuring that the building itself is safe and secure, managers and staff have a lot to contend with. The last thing a care home manager wants to find is a demand letter on their desk from a resident’s relative seeking compensation due to a completely preventable accident or security breach. 

Here are some best practices for ensuring optimal care home safety and security for elderly people.

Building safety and security

Before we get into ensuring safety and security within the walls of a care home, let’s first ensure that the building itself is safe and secure. 

Care homes should have security measures in place to prevent any unauthorized access to protect their residents from the threat of intruders. These measures typically include the use of CCTV security cameras, access control systems, and other monitoring tools, such as thermal surveillance cameras, many of which have the capability to detect and recognize a person or object in virtually any lighting condition.

Other safety measures to be installed and maintained include fire alarms, smoke detectors, and any other relevant safety features. Safe, reliable accessibility for residents with limited ability is also paramount. 

Comprehensive staff training

Another vital factor when managing care home safety and security is to deliver comprehensive staff training. All staff should be trained in safety and security protocols, such as emergency and evacuation procedures, fire safety, and the handling of hazardous materials. 

In addition, staff should receive training on the specific needs of the elderly residents, such as how to identify signs of abuse or neglect, how to prevent falls and other accidents, and how to manage challenging behaviors. 

Regular health and safety assessments

Before being admitted into a care home, all residents should undergo a comprehensive health and safety assessment. These assessments should include a review of the resident’s medical history, current medications, and any specific health conditions or concerns. 

Additionally, the assessment should evaluate the resident’s mobility and other physical abilities, as well as any cognitive or mental health issues. This information can help care home staff develop individualized care plans that address the specific needs of each resident to optimize their safety while living in the facility. 

Medication management

Proper medication management is crucial to the health and safety of care home residents. Care home staff should be trained to manage and administer medications safely, including storing medications securely and ensuring that residents receive the correct doses at the correct times. 

Furthermore, care home staff should be trained to recognize and respond appropriately to any adverse reactions to medications. Good communication with each resident’s healthcare provider is also necessary to ensure that medication regimens are appropriate, up-to-date, and well-understood. 

Fall prevention

According to the Nursing Home Abuse Center, between 50% and 75% of residents in nursing facilities suffer a fall each year.

Falls represent a serious risk to elderly people, and care homes should have measures in place to prevent them and minimize the risk of injury. This can include the use of mobility aids, such as walkers and canes, the installation of handrails and grab bars, and ensuring that the environment is free of obstacles and hazards. 

A focus on well-being

Safety also extends out to physical, mental, and emotional well-being and how effectively these aspects of health are being supported. 

Nutrition and hydration

Proper nutrition and hydration are critical to the health and well-being of care home residents. Care home staff should be trained to provide healthy and nutritious meals that meet the specific dietary needs of each resident.

Additionally, care home staff should monitor residents’ hydration levels and encourage them to drink fluids regularly. This can help prevent dehydration and other health issues, and improve overall health and well-being.

Social engagement and emotional support

Finally, care home residents should be provided with opportunities for social engagement and emotional support. This can include group activities, one-on-one conversations, and other forms of social interaction that can help to prevent feelings of loneliness, depression, and isolation.

Additionally, care home staff should be trained to recognize and respond to residents’ emotional needs, and to provide appropriate emotional support when needed.

In conclusion, ensuring care home safety and security for elderly people requires a comprehensive approach that addresses a wide range of health, safety, and security concerns. 

Final thoughts

By ensuring that these and any other relevant safety and security measures are prioritized, care homes can provide a safe and comfortable environment that promotes the health and well-being of elderly residents, while minimizing the risk of injury, accident, or security breach.

4 Ways for Caregivers to Help Seniors Stay Healthy and in Shape

When seniors stay home all day, eating whatever is easiest and not moving around much, they can quickly start to deteriorate. If they fall even once or get sick, it can become a cycle that most seniors struggle to get out of.

Caregivers have a lot of responsibilities to keep the seniors under their care happy and healthy, including making sure they have transportation when necessary, such as for NYC airport transfers.

However, it is important they are healthy in body as well as mind. Thankfully, there are some simple ways to keep your seniors active physically  and mentally healthy  so you can check off two boxes at once without having to increase your workload all that much.

Strength Exercises

Strength exercises are simple, but a great help to the elderly. This is because strength tends to decrease with age, as bones and muscles grow weaker. At some point, they can become so weak that it is difficult to walk or lift anything without assistance. This makes them more dependent on the people around them and can impact their mental health as they feel incapable of looking after themselves.

By working on their strength just a little, you can help them keep the muscles they need in a more fit state, so they can mostly look after themselves and keep some of their independence.

This doesn’t mean they have to go to the gym and lift weights though. Working on hand strength by squeezing tennis balls, lifting jugs of milk or water, and doing step-ups on platforms can easily be enough and not take up a lot of time or energy.

Find an Activity They Enjoy

If strength exercises aren’t enough, or they aren’t something the senior you are taking care of wants to do, then there are other activities you can look at as well. There are many sports and exercises out there that are senior-friendly and can be fun.

You can start with simple activities such as just going on light walks or taking a gentle bike ride on an exercise bike. If they are willing to try more, you can look at swimming exercises, golfing, or simple weight lifting. If you like to exercise yourself and do more basic exercises, you can even invite them to join you. That way you can complete your workout, and get them moving as well.

Plan Their Meals

As one grows older, one tends to gravitate towards easier meals. After all, people grow tired faster, and can’t do as much on their own. This makes cooking, shopping, and meal planning a lot more challenging.

This is why you will see seniors often eating a lot more junk food or frozen fast-food dinners. They don’t take up as much energy to prepare and are a lot faster when in need of a meal.

There are some seniors that go the opposite way as well, where they stop eating altogether. If food is too difficult, or they aren’t pushed to eat, they may just stop until they grow thinner and begin to waste away.

As a caretaker, you can help them by planning out and prepping their meals. By cooking their meals at the beginning of the week and having them ready to just heat up and eat, you ensure that they are eating healthy and hearty meals. You can also consider getting a lot of easy-to-eat but healthy snacks that are in small servings and can be casually munched on.

You can even set out snack trays if you see them daily. Have a tray full of cut fruit, nuts, and vegetables with dips, meat, cheeses, and crackers so they can easily snack throughout the day instead of having one whole meal.

It helps them get the nutrients they need and to eat healthier options. If they prefer bigger meals though, prepping some simple dishes you can  throw in a container so they can just heat up in the microwave whenever they are hungry is also a great option.

Help Them Get Sleep

It’s hard to be healthy of mind or body when you are running low on sleep. While some seniors might not need as much sleep as many others, it is still important. Ensuring they get plenty of sleep will allow them to feel better, have more energy, and enjoy a more positive outlook on life.

One of the best ways to get them to go to sleep is to keep it at set times. Though it may sound childish to have to send a senior to bed at a certain time, maintaining a consistent sleep schedule makes it easier for them, and they can often go to sleep more easily  even if they initially don’t feel tired.

Giving them plenty of exercise throughout the day can also help, as exercise tends to make the body more relaxed and helps to exhaust them so they can actually feel tired and go to sleep.

Another option to try if sleep is eluding them is to tire out the brain. Giving them fun but slightly difficult puzzles can get their brain going and make them feel more tired by the end of the night. While naps may be important for seniors to help them get through the day, you can also try to limit the naps they take right before bed so they aren’t just waking up for sleep when it’s their normal bedtime.

You’ll be surprised what even a few hours of sleep will do to improve their mood and energy levels.

How to Protect Your Elderly Family Members from Scams?

In today’s age, most scams take place on online platforms or in an online setting, primarily through social media and websites. Anybody who has invested time and has been on the Internet for quite a time now understands that only some things are as it appears, not everything. The Internet’s widespread anonymity has created an ideal environment for new sorts of deception.

Scamming can occur online or in person; however, it is more prevalent online. Online platforms are said to be an effective medium for both non-violent and violent crimes. They make use of certain websites, fake accounts, fake click baits, and more to lure people into interacting with them and eventually believing in them. 

Type of Internet Scamming and Schemes

Scams involving online fraud can take numerous forms. Lately, these have been more widespread, especially in this peak of the internet and social media age. These are a few examples of prevalent forms of internet fraud:

Phishing

A phishing strategy involves a fraudster acting as a legitimate company in an email or other electronic contact to collect sensitive information from a victim. For instance, the scammer could send you a message via email pretending to be a bank associate or spokesperson and asserting that your account needs to be verified. 

The email would therefore take you to a bogus banking website in which you would be requested for personally identifiable information such as your account number, login, passcode, and so on. The fraudster would then gain your account credentials and access them using this data.

Work from Home

You’ve undoubtedly seen job postings on the Internet that appear too promising to be true. Regrettably, the majority of them are. Several work-from-home plans demand you buy pricey items or pay charges and transaction fees before making a living. Others may be Ponzi scams in which you must recruit people in return for a percentage of the payments.

Apartment Rental Fraud

Rental advertising, like work-at-home offers, often appears to be too appealing to be authentic and legit. In a rental fraud, the culprit posts an advertisement on Craigslist or perhaps some other classified site offering a low-cost rental property. Images, as well as further details, are frequently lifted from actual postings. 

When potential tenants express interest, the fraudster states that they are away from town and requests that they transfer the first month’s payment or other costs to an out-of-state location.

“Catfish” Frauds

The “catfish” is an individual who sets up a phony profile on social media in order to search for an internet relationship. Catfishers would often persuade their targets to transfer cash or presents or to compensate for their flights or other expenditures.

Surprising Prizes

The Internet or online world is riddled with pop-up adverts informing you that you have won a Laptop or any kind of gadget or appliances or are eligible for a free trip. Are they being truthful? Very likely not. And so that you can obtain your “reward,” these “giveaways” sometimes demand you to pay specific fees or shipping charges. Of fact, the majority of the time, no reward is awarded, and the criminals keep the costs.

Divorce Is on the Rise among Seniors

It’s no surprise that divorce rates in the United States are on the rise, but what may come as a surprise is that older adults are also increasingly seeking to end their marriages. The divorce rate among people aged 50 and over has doubled since the 1990s. This trend’ known as “grey divorce” continues to be on the rise. As more and more older couples face changes to their relationship and family dynamics, it’s important to understand why some individuals choose to divorce later in life and how it can impact their lives.

Why are More Seniors Getting Divorced?

Several factors contribute to the rising divorce rates among older adults. One of the most significant factors is increased life expectancy. With people living longer, there is more time for marriages to end in divorce. Additionally, many couples who marry later in life have already been through one or more divorces, which makes them more likely to divorce again.

Other contributing factors include the increased financial independence of women and the fact that people are waiting longer to get married. Both of these factors mean that couples are less likely to stay together for financial reasons. Additionally, couples who marry later in life often have different expectations for marriage than those who marry young. They may be more likely to view marriage as a partnership rather than a traditional arrangement where one person is the breadwinner and the other stays at home.

Women are now more likely to be financially independent and to have spent their lives in the workforce. This means they are likely to only stay in a marriage if it fulfills their needs. Finally, many baby boomers married young and later realized that they wanted different things out of life. This has led to a lot of them getting divorced in their later years. Additionally, the stigmas surrounding divorce have diminished over time, making it more acceptable for people to divorce later in life.

Considerations and Concerns Unique to Seniors

Divorce rates for seniors are rising, and some unique considerations and concerns come along with this trend. Older adults may have more complex financial situations to untangle in a divorce. They may have significant retirement assets or pensions to divide or have built a business together.  This can make for a more complicated divorce. Spouses may share health care benefits. Securing separate health coverage may be a concern due to increased healthcare needs as you age. The division of a family home may be not only financially straining but also difficult emotionally. Any wills and trusts that have been written will need to be updated after a division of assets. Additionally, seniors may find it more difficult to start dating again after a divorce. They may also experience feelings of loneliness or isolation if their social circle changes due to their divorce.

Divorce among older adults has been rising recently, and it is crucial to understand why this trend is occurring. It can be difficult for people to adjust to life after divorce, especially if they have been married for a long time. With the right support and resources in place, however, it is possible to move forward with your life without missing a beat. When considering divorce as an option at any age or stage, both parties must be committed to finding the best solutions for everyone involved.

CCTV for Communal Areas of Care Homes

If you’re operating a care home facility, your top concern should be the welfare of your guests. You need to provide quality care for residents, and you cannot do this without investing in building security and safety measures.

Keep reading to learn why you need CCTV for communal areas of care homes and the top security solutions you should consider installing for your property.

CCTV for Communal Areas in Care Homes – Why It Matters

There are many reasons why care home property managers should provide CCTV for communal areas in care homes. Below you will find some of the top reasons why this is an essential installation in your care facility.

Evidence of Staff Neglect

In recent years, many scandals have come to light, showing the poor treatment of elderly citizens in care homes. To ensure your facility is not tarnished with the stain of such a scandal, you need visibility on how your staff is treating residents at all times. By installing business surveillance cameras for your communal areas, you will be able to supervise your staff at all times, and they will be aware that their actions are not private.

Preventing Intruders And Incidents

While your guests enjoy communal facilities on the premises, you need to ensure they are safe and secure. Installing CCTV for communal areas in your care facility will provide visibility of who is on the premises. Additionally, you will be more aware of any incidents occurring on the property. If someone is damaging the property, or a resident slips and falls, you can spot this on your surveillance monitors and address the issue as soon as possible.

Preventing Theft On-Site

When it comes to any resource on the property, you need to prevent theft. Care facilities house medications and equipment that are extremely valuable, and these resources must be protected. To spot any theft on the premises, whether committed by staff members or intruders, you must incorporate surveillance into your security strategy.

Other Ways to Secure Your Care Facility 

Below you will find some of the top security solutions to help secure your care facility and provide more health, safety, and security on-site.

Access Control

Cloud-based access control is one of the leading security solutions that can help you to ensure that no unauthorized users can enter your building. Cloud-based access control allows care facilities to do away with keycards and fobs, along with keycard and fob replacement costs.

Here are some of the additional benefits you stand to gain by implementing cloud-based access control:

  • Remote management – you can ensure agile, responsive, and convenient security with the cloud-based access control’s remote operation features. Using a mobile device, you can check the status of door locks on site. You can also lock doors and view access logs. This feature ensures rapid procedures in an emergency evacuation by allowing for building-wide unlocking. 
  • Contactless entry – your staff can enter the building conveniently using the wave-to-unlock feature. If they wave their hands over the access control reader, this will trigger remote communication with their mobile devices via BlueTooth communication to unlock the door. This is a more hygienic and convenient access control solution for your facility. 
  • Open API integrations – you can establish a fully-integrated security system using the open API integrations of your cloud-based security tools. Additionally, you can apply software integrations to expand the features offered by your access control system.

Alarm Systems

Alarm systems are essential in your security strategy. To meet health and safety codes and regulations, you need to implement fire and carbon monoxide detectors that notify you when the premises have become unsafe. Equally, you need alarm systems to notify you when the premises have become unsafe due to an intruder or human factor. 

This is why you should consider investing in glass break and gunshot detection alarms, ensuring that you can notify authorities and plan a security response instantly for these events. Opt for a cloud-based alarm system. Your off-site employees will receive a mobile alert regarding the alarm trigger, allowing them to participate in your emergency response plan.

Visitor Check-In

You must implement visitor management to keep accurate visitor records in your facility. Keeping correct visitor records is essential to your security investigation should an incident or crime occur on-site. 

While you must ensure that all visitors register with the system before entering, you must also ensure that visitors have a convenient way to enter the building and visit their relatives and loved ones.

To make visitor logs more reliable and visitor check-in more straightforward, you can automate the visitor management process. To do this, you can integrate visitor management software with your access control system. The software provides users with digital registration forms to complete on their mobile devices. Once they have provided their personal information, they can enter the building using temporary access credentials stored on their mobile devices. The system automatically logs their entry and exit times to provide reliable visitor records.

Summary

You must consider security a priority when running and operating a care facility, you must consider security a priority. Elderly citizens are among the most vulnerable people in society, and by becoming a care provider, you have assumed responsibility for their security and safety. By implementing the security tools, technologies, and practices listed above, you can ensure that your facility is safe for the elderly.

Top Collectibles for Seniors Who Want a New Hobby

There are quite a few things seniors can do to keep busy. Most elders want a quality activity that will help them pass the time, but it can be hard to come up with unique ideas. The nice thing about collecting is that it’s low-maintenance, and there are numerous items that you can focus on. Here are the top collectibles for seniors who want a new hobby.

Stamps

Stamp collecting is a popular hobby that can also be educational. Because stamps often reflect society’s histories and cultures, they present the perfect learning opportunity.

It’s easy to get started with stamp collecting. You just need to remove stamps from envelopes properly, organize them, and research any interesting information. Stamps can be a great place to start if you’re a senior looking for a new hobby.

Coins

People have been collecting coins for a long time for more than just their monetary value. Still, rare mints, misprints, and coins that are out of circulation can be really valuable, making it a lucrative hobby.

The most crucial thing in coin collecting is educating yourself about what to look for and training your eye to spot rare coins. Coin collecting can get expensive, so start with a small, manageable collection, and don’t overdo it.

Classic Cars

Collecting rare classic cars can be a rewarding hobby if you’ve got the time, money, and space to do it. Learning the histories and maintenance needs of each vehicle in your collection can be a lot of fun since each has its own unique design.

You can even participate in social events, festivals, and car shows, making it an even more rewarding experience. It’s essential to know the things that will make your classic car go up in value so you can adequately care for them as they age.

Take Advantage of Your Senior Years

The right hobby is essential for those who want to spend their time well.

With so many collectibles for seniors who want a new hobby, it can be hard to choose which to start with. No matter what you decide to collect, having a good hobby gives you something to look forward to and makes life more enjoyable.

Healthy Snack Ideas for Older Adults

Snacks are a crucial source of nutrition, especially for older adults and seniors. Experts assert that healthy snacking is good because it boosts energy, supplies nutrients and curbs appetite to prevent overeating. In short, it promotes healthy aging. On the contrary, unhealthy snacking has several downsides. Unfortunately, many snack items available on store shelves promote unhealthy snacking habits. They are calorie-packed, rich in sodium, and highly processed – they are not very good for seniors. 

Finding healthy snacks for older adults and seniors is not easy. But that’s where we come in. Below are six healthy snack ideas you can include in your routine. They are easy to prepare, yummy and healthy. But first, let’s dig deeper and learn why snacking is crucial for older adults. 

The benefits of snacking

Unlike kids and younger adults, older people must pay more attention to what they eat. They do this for various reasons. Some have difficulty chewing and swallowing. Others could be on medications that affect appetite or trigger nausea. Many have conditions easily aggravated by consuming food with the wrong nutritional balance. 

Being meticulous about food also means that meal times could feel more like a chore, and since many older adults live solo, skipping meals could be a regular practice.

Healthy snacking provides an excellent way to counter irregular eating habits. Plus, you don’t have to exert yourself preparing them. You can order healthy snacks to stay energized, close nutrition gaps, and maintain healthy blood sugar levels. If you have friends coming by, add a little extra because snacking can also be a great way to socialize. Here are some healthy snack ideas for seniors. 

Granola with greek yogurt with berries

Greek yogurt mixed with blueberry granola or fresh fruit is a simple, delicious, and healthy snack. It combines good portions of healthy proteins, vitamins and minerals like calcium. Plain greek yogurt has a lower sugar content and could be a better choice for older adults. Gut-friendly bacteria in the live cultures are the best benefit of snacking on Greek yogurt. 

Unsalted nuts and seeds

We’ve already mentioned nuts and seeds as excellent ingredients when making granola. But did you know that you can enjoy them as snacks? Nuts like almonds, walnuts, cashews, peanuts, pistachios, and macadamia are excellent sources of nutrients like protein, healthy oils, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They promote good heart health and lower the risk of high blood pressure. Seeds, such as sunflower, chia, and pumpkin, are a great source of fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. They help reduce blood sugar levels. 

Nuts and seeds are a great snack because they are affordable, packed with the correct nutrients, easy to store, and seldom require preparation. But put a cap on the quantities of nuts because they often have high-calorie content. 

Hard-boiled eggs

Hard-boiled eggs can be a great snack. They are easy to prepare, and egg white is an excellent source of protein. Enjoy them plain or with a pinch of pepper. 

Vegetables with hummus

There’s no doubt that vegetables are an excellent go-to option for snacks. They are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. Vegetables like carrots and celery sticks make great snacks, are nutrient-packed, and can be enjoyed raw with humus or cooked. Include a variety of protein snacks (like nuts) and serve different colored veggies. It ensures a more balanced snack. Each veggie color represents various vitamins and goodness. 

Fruit

Fruits are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. You can either eat them whole or be creative and make them more enticing by preparing fruit salads, blending and making smoothies, or baking and drying them to make them more storable.

Final thoughts

Think about the person’s health needs as you choose a snack. If the person has a nutrient deficiency, pick snacks that would close this gap. For instance, many older adults experience deficiencies in calcium and vitamins B and D. Older adults may also have other special needs. Some may have digestion or dental issues that limit their range. Pick snacks that are not only packed with nutrients but also appropriate.

What Caregivers Should Know About Low Blood Oxygen Levels

A person with low blood oxygen levels, or hypoxemia, can experience symptoms like headaches, a rapid heart rate, and difficulty breathing. Read on to discover what caregivers should know about low blood oxygen levels so you can provide the best home care for your clients.

Causes of Hypoxemia

Blood carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues throughout the body. Cells in the tissues use oxygen to unlock energy. When someone has low blood oxygen levels, their body may not function properly.

Certain medications can also cause hypoxemia, but the most common cause is an underlying illness that affects breathing or blood flow, like heart and lung conditions. Your client might have hypoxemia if they can’t inhale enough oxygen or if the oxygen isn’t getting into the bloodstream.

Some people have periodic hypoxemia. Sleep apnea is a disorder in which breathing starts and stops, and it can cause hypoxemia during sleep. You can improve your client’s quality of life and boost their energy by thoroughly understanding sleep disorders in the elderly.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

Caregivers should know the symptoms of low blood oxygen levels. If you notice any signs of hypoxemia, call a healthcare provider or bring your client to the nearest emergency room. Seek medical attention immediately for fast treatment that can prevent organ damage in severe cases. Symptoms of low blood oxygen levels include:

  • Headache
  • Shortness of breath
  • Coughing
  • Wheezing
  • Fast heartbeat
  • Confusion
  • Bluish skin, fingernails, or lips

The physician will listen to the patient’s heart and lung function. They can use a pulse oximetry monitor to non-invasively measure the amount of oxygen in the blood. Or they might conduct an arterial blood gas test on a blood sample taken from the patient’s wrist, groin, or arm.

Treatment

Treatment regimens focus on the underlying causes of hypoxemia. The doctor might prescribe an inhaler for people with lung disease, and a CPAP machine can treat sleep apnea.

For a patient with an ongoing risk of hypoxemia, the doctor might prescribe supplemental oxygen. Your client might need to use portable oxygen at their home or in the hospital. You and your client can continue monitoring blood oxygen levels at home with a pulse oximetry monitor.