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Antidepressant May Slow Down Alzheimer’s

By moonlotus on May 17, 2014 in ,

medicineDepression is one of the most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. This is usually experienced during the middle and late stage in life. The disease may progress slowly or rapidly that it may require the elderly individual to be taken to care agencies bristol. To an observant family member, the symptoms of depression can be identified as follows:

Apathy or loss of interest in the usual activities that the individual does. All of a sudden, they just lose interest in gardening, reading or going out with friends. For no apparent reason, they just refuse to do it and turn down any requests of being with friends amidst encouragements.

Social Withdrawal. Along with the loss of interest with activities the individual does, they also will not converse anymore. Family interactions are usually punctuated by the individual’s loss of interaction or remarks. This is unusual for someone whom you know as a very talkative person. Visits from friends are also turned down and most of the time, the individual is irritated with people trying to talk to him.

Isolation. The individual would always want to be left alone. This is the outcome from loss of interest and social withdrawal. As the disease progresses, positive encouragement from friends do not take effect in any form.

Impaired Thinking. A person with Alzheimer’s disease cannot express the reason for the above mentioned symptoms. The feeling of depression does not have any significant source or triggering situation. There is also no significant attempt to commit suicide like depressed individuals without Alzheimer’s commonly contemplate on doing.

The amount of social withdrawal, apathy, social isolation and impaired thinking will worsen as the disease progresses. Close friends and family members of the individual with Alzheimer’s usually will seek help when the above mentioned symptoms were noted. However, since these symptoms are not consistent in their occurrence, it is also possible that family members may dismiss the symptoms as part of the aging process.

It may be beneficial to seek help once you noticed these symptoms in the elderly. Consultation with a geriatric specialist may involve prescription of antidepressant medication. In the US, BBC reported that scientist and health researchers may have found an antidepressant that can significantly slow down the progress of dementia.

The study, which was carried out between 2012 and 2014, involved use of mice with Alzheimer’s. The mice were given antidepressant medication for two months. The brains of these mice were examined for protein plaques that triggered the dementia and have shown that growth of new protein plaques were arrested. This could be a medical breakthrough, though the protein plaques in the brain did not shrink in size or number. However, this is positive news for individuals with Alzheimer’s as well as those who have a familial tendency to it.

For the meantime, families of individuals with Alzheimer’s should consistently support them with home care in bristol. The battle with Alzheimer’s may be a long and exhaustive one, but, with the advent of this research, there may be something to hope for.

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Why Every Community Should Set up Elderly Care Organization

By moonlotus on May 2, 2014 in , ,

leisure activities for the elderlyThe growth of the elderly population in England is beginning to make the government plan on alternative solutions for providing care. The Institute for Public Policy Research reported that by the year 2030, more than two million people age 65 and over will be needing care and there will be no child living nearby to provide that care. This means that the elderly will be left alone with no one to care for. As such, the children of the elderly population should make plans as to the bluebird care that their parents should receive. If this is not feasible, there should be efforts from organizations within the community to address this problem. There are many benefits in establishing an elderly care organization in a community. It would facilitate:

Pool of manpower for the care of the elderly. The government may not have the budget or locate the required manpower to ensure the care for the elderly. As such, community efforts should ensue in making sure that the elderly population is well taken care of despite the absence of their children.

A pool of resources within the community. Professionals within the area can help in establishing the organization. Together, they can find other organizations and individuals who can train and facilitate the care of the elderly. The elderly population in the community can be housed in one facility where a group of people can be trained to take care of them and see to their needs. This way, the children of these elderly individuals can ensure the health and safety not just of the aging population, but of the community as well.

Opportunities for employment. The demand for elderly care is rising, that this can be considered as an opportunity for employment in this area of skill and profession. Unemployed individuals can benefit by enrolling themselves in a caregiver class, where they can be taught in the basic skills of caring for the oldies. This is also an opportunity for care at home oakham personnel to expand their manpower by recruiting and training a pool of people in preparation for future demands.

Shift in the Choice of Profession of Young Adults. Young adults who are considering their choice of college education may also benefit in concentrating education that is geared toward caring and treating the elderly, disabled and special children. Chief executive of Carers UK, Helena Heklots emphasized the need for a shift in values towards dealing the problem of ensuring care for the old, seriously ill and disabled members of the community.

In order to support this particular area of endeavor, the government should at least allocate funds in constructing facilities to house the elderly in one facility. Kind-hearted residents may allow the use of their own home. However, residential infrastructures will not be sufficient in accommodating the increasing number of older people needing care. Moreover, there is a considerable risk in housing dementia elderly and old people without dementia in one facility.

Plans on addressing this foreseeable crisis should start as soon as possible. The government can assign community leaders to lead pooling of community members towards addressing this issue.

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How will you be Cared For When you Grow Old?

By moonlotus on April 20, 2014 in , ,

Growing OldDo you have plans for the future? Perhaps your plans include a stable future for your family, especially education for your kids. On the other hand, have you asked yourself what your plans are when you get old? Are you prepared for any unexpected health changes brought about by the aging process as well as any other health condition that you may inherit from your family? Where do you see yourself when you grow so old that you cannot remember the names of the people talking to you?

According to George Tadros, consultant psychiatrist at Heartlands Hospital, 66.6 percent of the patients in Heartlands are elderly. Half of these patients are manifesting dementia-related symptoms and health problems. As such, they consume the majority of the hospital’s resources. This is seconded by Peter Wallis, Heartlands’ clinical director for elderly care. “The patients do not show the beginning symptoms of dementia as expected. The symptoms are not always overt,” he added.

This is the reason that as early as middle age, you should plan your retirement, which should include a package for elderly care at a reputable pimlico care agency or avail yourself of Bluebird Care at Home when the time comes. Saving up for the future does not involve saving for your kids, it is also saving for the time that you cannot work anymore.

Though the government has allocated for funding care for the elderly like integrated home care and social services, it would be mind-comforting to have your own savings to rely on. It may be necessary to look into your family history for any familial disease that you or any other member of the family may inherit or likely to have as you reach old age. As such, proper allocation of funds while you are still working may be accomplished.

Another cause of concern that young people should be aware of is the recent findings of scientists regarding dementia. Apathy, which is basically, losing interest in activities that the individual enjoys doing may be a sign of brain disease. The presence of this symptom, according to Dr. Leonore Launer of the National Health Institutes in Maryland, may be an indication of an underlying problem. Most of the participants in the study have an average age of 76 and were subjected to questions identifying the feelings of apathy. A total of 4,354 people without dementia participated in this study and underwent MRI. Significant changes in the grey and white matter of the brain were noted from those participants who manifested symptoms of apathy. This means that apathy alone may indicate an underlying brain disease, in progress, that is.

As scientists and researchers are discovering ways of identifying the early symptoms of dementia, young individuals should also be aware of this possibility, especially with familial history of Alzheimer’s disease. This will help individuals map their own plans in terms of home health care or other affiliated health care agency should the need arise. It is also an opportunity for government stakeholders to prepare home health care careers that are efficiently integrated with the knowledge and skills to aptly address the needs of the future aging population.

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Will The New Barchester Care Home Live Up To Standard?

By moonlotus on January 9, 2014 in

Take a look at an artists drawing of the new £3.8 million Barchester Care Home being built in Deeping St James, near Peterborough.

barchester

The 60 bedroom (with ensuite) care home will be operated by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest healthcare providers.

The care home will specialise in caring for sufferers of dementia, which is a topic we are very passionate about at MoonLotus. My own dad suffers from dementia and these specialised care services have had a huge impact on his life – and ours. We personally opted for his local home care kettering agency before he moved home to be nearer to my sister and her family. Fortunately for everyone, this agency also provided home care Thrapston services, making it a simple move.

To this day, my Dad is still using these services and his life has improved because of it. With his dementia getting increasingly worse as he ages, it has become even more important for him to leverage these services. Thankfully there are many services around to support it, including a future 60 bedroom care home with ensuites.

This care home, being built by construction company Bullock, will have very high building standards, excellent energy standards to be efficient and save energy, it’ll also benefit the local community with a proposed 100 jobs to be available.

Kenneth Mackenzie, development director at Barchester Healthcare said: “We are committed to providing person-centred care and designing living spaces that are second to none for older people and those living with dementia. We are pleased to be collaborating with all our partners – Bullock, Cinnamon Care Capital and Larkpoint – to deliver a high-quality home that will not only benefit those needing personalised care, but will also significantly boost the local economy through job creation.”

This care home is a wonderful project for the local community, not only the elderly and dementia sufferers, but also their families and the jobs it will provide.

 

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The US Government Has Shut Down!

By moonlotus on September 30, 2013 in

The United States Government has shut down over President Obama’s healthcare law. It is ridiculous that it has even got this bad and no agreement has been made.

Watch the video above to hear about the full story.

What do you think? Yay or Nay healthcare law?

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The British Are Paying Too Much For Private Health Care

By Brandon Crawford on September 1, 2013 in

05-hyppocrateon

A recent study by the Competition Commission found that patients in the UK are paying far too much for private care (dentistry, hospitals, etc) because there is a lack of competition to drive down prices.

Their report shows that over 100 private hospitals in the UK are in uncompetitive areas with very little competition to offer. This allows them to demand higher fees and leave customers with little options of where else to turn.

For most people they do not see this as much of a problem. Around 80% of people that have private health care, have it paid for through a medical insurance company such as Bupa. In many cases this insurance is paid for their employers.

The problem is, the high profit margins that hospitals are making tends to come out on patients premiums. The insurers prices are set on a national scale, so little to no competition makes little difference. But it is believed that with the lack of competition across many areas of the UK, it is causing premiums to go up.

This is clearly unfair for anyone that lives in a less competitive area.

Have you noticed you are paying more for your healthcare? Are there not many private hospitals in your area?

The counter argument to the idea of “paying too much” is, these hospitals are private businesses and can charge whatever they choose. As any business can. The option is always there for NHS if you are unable to afford their prices.

While that is a good point. Does that mean it is acceptable to charge higher in some areas because their is less competition?

If they want to charge very high prices, that is fine. But is it fair that someone has to pay extra because there is little local competition around? Personally, I think not.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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