Simply Caring

Pressure Ulcer Prevention

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:21:00 +0000

Pressure ulcers (otherwise known as bedsores or decubitus ulcers) usually occur where there are bony prominences or where soft tissue is compressed between bone and a surface. I would say a hard surface, but the surface doesn't have to be very hard, just constant.

When people are in bed much of the time, pressure ulcers can form at the tailbone, on the heels, on the hip bones, along the spine, and even on the elbows. When people sit a lot, pressure ulcers are often formed where those bones are that hurt when you sit too long. They are called "ischial tuberosities."

For prevention when in bed, it is good to have at least a thick (at least 4" thick) foam overlay on the mattress. Then it is also good to make sure the person doesn't lay in the same position too long. In the hospital or nursing home, turning every 2 hours is the rule of thumb for people who can't turn themselves, but that usually isn't very realistic at home. That is why the thick foam is important, or maybe even an alternating air mattress.

When in bed, heels are especially prone to pressure ulcers, but they can be prevented by keeping pillows under the legs, so the heels are not on the bed, or by using special foam boots that can be found at medical supply stores.

When sitting, it is again important not to stay in the same position too long. People even get pressure ulcers sitting in recliners! Encourage them to move around in the chair, if they can, or help them to do so. Also, encourage them to get up and walk, if they can.

People who spend long periods of time in a wheelchair should have a special cushion to distribute the pressure. Those can also be obtained at a medical supply store. But, even with a cushion, people should change position often.

Don't use donut cushions. They cut off circulation and create more risk for pressure ulcers.

Don't sit on pillows. They are not soft when compressed.

Encourage water drinking to keep skin well hydrated.

If a pressure ulcer starts, do everything to REMOVE THE PRESSURE until it heals. After all, they are caused by pressure, so the cause has to be removed for healing to take place.

Remember, preventing pressure ulcers is a lot less work than getting them healed after they occur!

I am here.
Sue Ellen

Caregiver Needs

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:59:00 +0000

If you are a caregiver, it is easy to focus on how you have to be strong to meet the needs of the person you care for, and to forget about YOUR needs. Remember, if you don't take care of your needs, you won't be a good caregiver for long. You will burn out.

So, what needs do you have?

Well, maybe you have the need to vent. A caregiver support group can give you a place to do that, where others will really understand what you are talking about. Lood at www.caregiver.org to find a support group near you.

You also have the need to take care of your own health, emotional and physical. If you are having symptoms, like headaches, backaches, or stomach pain, don't ignore them. Have them checked out. If you think you can't take the time, that is all the more reason to TAKE THE TIME.

Eat a healthy diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables -- at least 5 servings a day. Nine is better!

Make time to exercise. It reduces stress and keeps depression away (If you think you don't have time to exercise, check this out)

Set limits. Say no, when necessary, to friends, family, and to the person you care for.

Don't become isolated from friends, family, and activities that you have enjoyed. If you need to, put the word out that you need someone to stay with the person you care for a couple of hours a week, or twice a week. You really need to participate in the rest of life to stay healthy and care well.

I am here,
Sue Ellen

Getting Help

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:22:00 +0000

Have you been thinking about hiring a home health aid to help out with the person you care for? Maybe you have struggled with making this decision. Maybe you have even felt guilty for not being able to do it all yourself. It is easy for me to just say you shouldn't feel that way, but the fact is, if you do get help and are then able to get away regularly, or rest, or just have some time alone, you will be a better caregiver in the long run.

I suggest that you find your helper by using an agency. They screen employees, and they are there for you if you have questions or concerns. You can tell them what your needs are, and what you are looking for in a caregiver. If any problems come up, the agency is there to deal with them (and, by the way, mention problems as soon as they arise. They are easier to deal with early on.)

Once you have a caregiver, and you are comfortable that they know how things are done around your house, enjoy your time!

I am here.
Sue Ellen

Reminiscing to Enhance Lives

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:14:00 +0000

Have you ever stopped to consider the wealth of wisdom and knowledge stored up in the elderly? When you think about it, there are years and years worth of already-invented wheels (as in Why reinvent the wheel?) out there for us to learn from, and by appreciating that and finding ways to draw out that wisdom, we can even give the elderly in our lives a meaningful activity to share in. That activity is reminiscing.

Recent research has identified several very healthful aspects of reminiscing. First, reminiscing allows us to recall previous life situations and re-experience them. This helps us to integrate our life in the past with our current life. Second, it helps us to make meaning out of our previous life experience. If we are unable to find meaning in our life, we are unable to develop any new insights or benefits from our experiences. Third, reminiscing can strengthen our self-esteem and reduce feelings of isolation. As we share our remembering with others, we can develop a powerful sense of ourselves as survivors. The sharing of our life story with another person reemphasizes our interdependence with other people and it validates our lives in a social context. The philosopher/theologian Kierkegaard remarked, "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Reminiscing is a useful companion to our lives in the past, our lives today, and our lives in the future.

There are several different ways that you can benefit from this gift of reminiscence. You can consider remembering your own life story, retelling someone else's story (e.g. your children) or listening to another person's story. Whether you are the story-teller or the audience for another's story, you can reap the blessings of this life-giving gift.

In order to tell your story or the story of another, you only need to follow three simple steps:

Remember it
Record it (in writing, audio, or video)
Relate it to another person

If you are going to help another person in their reminiscing, these suggestions might be helpful:

Consider looking at pictures, letters, other remembrances to stimulate the flow of memories
Listen attentively and thoughtfully
Offer encouragement and support to the person reminiscing
Encourage the person to share not only experiences, but more importantly, their feelings.
Assist in recording the reminiscing, so that it can be used in the future.

I am here,

Sue Ellen

Keeping Up With the Jonses? No, just keeping up!

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:20:00 +0000

I find that when I am a caregiver, home all day, busy with meeting needs that can't be scheduled, it is hard to keep house. For some reason, the more I am home, the more mess I make! I guess that is because I am home, using the house. It was that way with homeschooling too. When other people were at work and school all day, we were home all day, using the house and making messes every time we turned around.

So, what can we do? The best, most realistic help I have found is the Fly Lady. She calls herself that, because she teaches fly fishing, but that isn't what her web site is about. It is all about keeping up with the house in a realistic, easy, non-stressful way. You can access her site at: www.flylady.com

At the Fly Lady site, there is lots of information, but she breaks things down into simple terms and simple activities. To me, she has been a great blessing. I hope she is the same for you.

I am here.
Sue Ellen

Caregiver Online Help

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 02:13:00 +0000

Here is a great source of medical information, and it is free! (If you really want to pay for it, see the link for the Merck Manual Home Edition on the right). This is the Merck Manual, and it is available online. You CAN buy it if you really want to, but here is a link where you can get the information FREE http://www.merck.com/mmhe/index.html Just look at the list on the left side of the page, and there you will see a list of health topics. There is lots of info there. And, if you want more in-depth information, look at the line on the top of the page and mouse over "manuals." There you will see the Merck Manual of Geriatrics, among others, and the information is free online.

Hope this helps.

I am here.
Sue

What Caregivers need this blog?

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:35:00 +0000

Accountants, marketing executives, mid-level managers, real estate agents, teachers, computer programmers, truck drivers, salespeople, mechanics, welders, journalists, editors, secretaries, loggers, college professors -- anyone who always knew nursing wasn't for them, but now needs to know what nurses know. This caregiving blog is for you! You know who you are.

If you are lurking about in the blogosphere after work, or during lunch hour, to see what you could find about arthritis, congestive heart failure, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, lung disease, diabetes, or how to get your elderly parents to stop smoking and eating fat, this caregiving blog is for you! You are in the early stages of caring for your aging parents who still live at home and care for themselves, but things are changing. They visit the doctor more than the grandkids. You wonder about their safety behind the wheel (not to mention, the other people on the road). And what about all those pills they take? How do they keep track of them? In short, you worry.

Or maybe you were looking around because Mom moved in with you a few years after Dad died, and you just wanted to get away for a while. She's taking a nap and the teenagers are at school. This is your chance to sit down, have a cup, and take some time for yourself.

Then there are those of you who desperately, and perhaps suddenly, need to know the nuts and bolts of caring for a disabled, maybe even bed ridden elderly parent or other loved one. You are overwhelmed.

I am here to help. I have many years of home health experience where I helped people in these same situations every day. That's why I know you can do it if you have the right information. I have seen people go from clueless to competent on a regular basis. If you are feeling overwhelmed (or even just whelmed), this caregiving blog is for you.

I am here.
Sue Ellen

Caregiving and Water

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 22:17:00 +0000

What is the big deal with water? Everywhere you look, people are chugging out of water bottles -- well, everbody but the elderly. The elderly are trying to make fewer trips to the bathroom, so avoiding water. But, alas, water is important. Whenever an elder falls down in their home and makes a trip to the ER, they always check electrolytes, to see if they were dehydrated.

Dehydration causes electrolyte imbalance, and one of the symptoms of that can be light headedness and fainting, so it can be dangerous, leading to broken bones, head injuries, and such -- including hip fractures.

But there are other things good old water helps with. Water helps prevent infection by keeping the lungs moist and able to clean themselves out, preventing pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses. Water also helps keep skin more moist and resistant to cracking and skin tears, which make openings in the skin that can get infected.

Water also keeps urine more dilute and flowing, thus preventing bladder infections.

So, how can you get your elderly loved one to drink more water without making it an ongoing battle? One approach is to fill up a quart jar or pitcher and pour water from it into a very small glass. Then offer that small amount of water frequently. Even if someone does not feel thirsty, he can drink a small amount of water almost absentmindedly. When the pitcher is empty, you know he has drunk a quart of water.

Other ways to get the fluids in are to serve watery soups often (even daily), and serve things that are fluid at body temperature, like jello and popsicles.

And, while you are at it, don't forget that YOU need fluids too -- and coffee and colas don't count, because they have caffiene which takes fluid out of the system.

Drink up!

I am here.
Sue Ellen

Confession

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:43:00 +0000

Okay, I confess -- I am a health food NUT!

I eat lots of raw fruits and veggies. I take vitamin D. I make carrot juice. I drink green smoothies. Yes, I do, and I'll tell you why. It's simply because I couldn't do all the things I do if I didn't. I would be too tired. I would have too much pain.

That's right. I am 56 years old, and I have fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome. That is, I have those things IF I am not acting like the health food nut that I truly am. If I eat the standard American diet of meat, bread, potatoes, cooked-to-death vegetables, and lots of sweets, the pain comes back, and I am so tired I can hardly move. Not to mention my brain -- it quits functioning! When I eat "normally" (that is, the way most people eat) I end up in a fog and can't think straight. I also gain weight and feel bloated.

Can anyone out there relate to what I am saying? If so, there really is a way to feel good, have boundless energy, and have your life back again. Be a health food NUT. Let people make fun of the way you eat. Let them think you are crazy. I am happy to be considered crazy while I feel energetic and full of life.

I know people don't like to have anyone tell them they should give up eating what they think are their favorite foods, so click on the link on the right where it says CAREGIVER HELP HERE and I will gladly let someone else tell you, or click for the information, and I will just sit in the corner and shut up about it.....

or maybe not. I just have to say, I see so many exhausted caregivers, it hurts my heart. I know that being a health food nut really does make it possible for you to have energy for caregiving AND energy left for yourself, so go ahead and click for the information. It surely won't hurt to look.

I am here.
Sue Ellen

So, who do I think I am, anyway?

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 01:48:00 +0000

You might wonder why I presume to think I know anything about caregiving. That is a valid question. After all, there are already plenty of folks already out there offering advice and solving problems for caregivers -- take the government, for example....

I am a registered nurse. I was a full time live-in caregiver for a quadriplegic for 3 years, and I have been a home health nurse for 14 years. I set up two home health agencies in Alaska.

Currently, I am a parish nurse, and I have my own business as a wound care consultant. I am also an "ostomy nurse," that is, I teach people with new colostomies, ileostomies, urostomies, how to live with their changes. And, I am certified in infection control (go ahead, ask me about MRSA).

So, there you have it. I have been a nurse for 26 years in a variety of areas.

and,
I am here.
Sue Ellen

Long Distance Caregiving

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:13:00 +0000

One of the most difficult roles there is has to be that of a long distance caregiver. If you live a long way away from your elderly parents, you might be feeling like you wish you were closer. Things start to happen, like falls, or increasingly complicated health care management. You do the best you can using the phone, or making the occasional visit, but you still worry. You might wish there was someone who would keep an eye on them and let you know when things go wrong -- or when things are going right, for that matter.

There is a type of caring person out there that you might be interested in. They are called care managers. These are social workers or nurses or others from similar fields who have chosen to go into business helping people in situations like yours. They help your loved ones in arranging for help in the home, help with getting to doctor appointments, identifying which referrals might be beneficial, and things like that . All of that can help put your mind at ease, but the most important thing for you is, they communicate with you. They tell you what is going on, and what is really needed. They work with you in meeting those needs.

I have included some links at the end of this post that you can use if you want to locate a care manager. Hope it helps.

I am here.
Sue

http://www.caremanager.org

Regional

http://www.midwestgcm.org/about.htm

http://www.midatlanticgcm.org/about

http://www.gcmnewengland.org/about.html

http://www.gcmsouthcentral.org

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:55:00 +0000

When you wake up one day and realize an elderly loved one needs your help, it will be crucial for you to identify community resources. You might THINK you can handle everything yourself, but think again. Here you are, trying to accept the reality that this strong, parent figure who has always been there for you now needs your help. This can be difficult to do for several reasons. For one thing, the neediness of your own parent emphasizes your own aging and mortality. Another thing is, your relationship with this parent figure who has always been there for you, and always been a source of wisdom, is now changing.

As caregivers, we must evaluate owr own needs. We must know our limits, and our strengths. We must know the limits and strengths of the person we are caring for. Then, we must be aware of help that is available.

There are programs that provide assistance, there are devices that can help in the home, and there are things to read that can help. Keep your eyes and ears open. Look in the yellow pages. Find out what is available BEFORE you need it.

Maybe you will need meals on wheels. Maybe you will need a caregiver that goes to your parent's home, part time or full time.

Look for others who are in the same situation you are in, and get ideas from them. It is amazing what a little brain storming can do.

I am here.
Sue Ellen

The Selfish Pig's Guide to Caring

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:22:00 +0000

Hugh Marriott's wife, Cathie, had Huntington's Disease. It is a debilitating, degenerative, relentless disease that ends in death. When she started having symptoms, the couple sold their house, bought a sailboat and journryed for for nine years, visiting 40 countries, until Cathie could no longer get around on the boat, or in and out of dingies, safely. When they moved ashore, Hugh set about caregiving and writing. This book is the advice he would like to have had "while he was struggling to learn new skills and find his way in an unfamilier role."

It is not a how-to book. There is plenty of how-to advice around (and I will be putting some of it right here in this very blog). The author knows, of course, that caregivers are not really selfish pigs, but what he also knows is that many caregivers (most?) did not choose the caregiver life, did not expect it, are not thrilled about it, and they feel gulity for their reactions. In this book, caregivers learn that they are not alone in their reactions, and the emotional roller coasters they ride in are crowded with other caregivers. In other words, they are not alone.

This book addresses things like, burnout, sex, reactions of friends (and your reactions to them), thoughts of murder, and dealing with seemingly heartless officials. It is written by one who really understands, and believe it or not, it is written with humor. It is a good read. Can you tell I really like this book?

Welcome!

noreply@blogger.com (Sue Ellen) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:05:00 +0000

Welcome to the place for caregivers. Not a caregiver? Think again. Maybe you don't know you are a caregiver. Caregiving occurs at different levels. For example, maybe you care for someone in your home. That is a close and intense level of caregiving.

On the other hand, you might have an elderly parent living on the other side of the country about whom you worry on a regular basis. That too is caregiving.

Many people live in the same town as an elderly parent or other friend or loved one. These caregivers can find themselves making regular trips to that person's home to make shure they haven't left the stove on, or fallen, or maybe go there to make meals and take care of the laundry and housekeeping. If you are doing that, you are a caregiver.

As you can see, there is a wide range of possibilities when it comes to caregiving. If you haven't thought of yourself as a caregiver, but see yourself in one of the above descriptions, you might want to look into suggestions that can help you be a caregiver along with the rest of your life.

Welcome to Simply Caring. My intention is to be a resource for those who care, whether it is for an elderly person or a young one, near or far. There are resources for you.

I am here
Sue Ellen