Therapist Unlimited Blog

Medical experts revealed older adults are at higher risk of health problems if they do not take the proper precautions to protect themselves from the sweltering heat.

Based on a latest medical study it was discovered that some 200 Americans die of health problems caused by high heat and humidity every year, most of them are 50 or older.
The experts explained due to some of the physical changes that happen as we age, that older adults cannot cool down as easily as others can.
To avoid medical complications for senior citizens when temperatures are high here are safety tips they can follow.

A. Use air conditioning in the home or go where it’s air-conditioned — a shopping mall, grocery store, senior center, movie theatre, museum or library, for example. (Fans are not effective enough to adequately cool down the body during intense heat waves.)

B. Drink a lot of water and other clear beverages that do not contain alcohol or caffeine. A good way to measure if enough fluids are being ingested is to check urine color. If urine is a light yellow color, enough water is being taken into the body. If it is darker yellow, the body needs more water.

C. Take cool showers, baths, or sponge baths.

D.  Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing and hats.

E. Avoid extended periods of sun exposure.

F. Avoid walking long distances, lifting heavy objects, or other strenuous activities.

G. Avoid below are the most common health problems caused by heat:

H.  Avoid dehydration: Weakness, headache, muscle cramps, dizziness, confusion and passing out.

I.  Avoid heat stroke: A body temperature of or above 103 degrees; red, hot and dry skin; a fast pulse; headache, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, confusion and passing out.

J.  Avoid heat exhaustion: Heavy sweating or no sweating, muscle cramps, tiredness, weakness, paleness, cold or clammy skin, dizziness, headache, nausea or vomiting and fainting.

Older adults need to cool down during the hot days to avoid any form of health concerns.

A recent study has shown that those older adults who found their greater purpose in life tend to live longer than other older people do in this planet.
Based on the data gathered by medical experts from the Rush University Medical Center it was discovered that those senior citizens who found their purpose in life tend to live longer than those who do not find true meaning in their continued existence.
To get the data, Patricia A. Boyle, PhD, and her colleagues from the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, studied 1,238 community-dwelling elderly participants from two ongoing research studies, the Rush Memory and Aging Project and the Minority Aging Research Study.
Boyle and her team used baseline evaluations of purpose in life and up to five years of follow-up were used to test the hypothesis that greater purpose in life is associated with a reduced risk of mortality among community-dwelling older persons.
She said purpose in life reflects the tendency to derive meaning from life’s experiences and be focused and intentional.
Boyle explained after adjusting for age, sex, education and race, a higher purpose of life was associated with a substantially reduced risk of mortality.
Thus, a person with high purpose in life was about half as likely to die over the follow-up period compared to a person with low purpose. The association of purpose in life with mortality did not differ among men and women or whites and blacks, and the finding persisted even after controlling for depressive symptoms, disability, neuroticism, the number of medical conditions and income.
It was noted that during the study period, 151 participants died.

To live longer the older generation in this world need to find their true purpose in life.

She said the finding that purpose in life is related to longevity in older persons suggests that aspects of human flourishing particularly the tendency to derive meaning from life’s experiences and possess a sense of intentionality and goal-directedness contribute to successful aging.
She added significant associations with mortality were found with three specific items on the purpose of life questionnaire to determine the study participants’ agreement with the following statements: "I sometimes feel as if I’ve done all there is to do in life;" "I used to set goals for myself, but that now seems like a waste of time;" and "My daily activities often seem trivial and unimportant to me."
Furthermore, Boyle said she and her team are excited about the findings because they suggest that positive factors such as having a sense of purpose in life are important contributors to health.
She and her team noted that knowledge of the relationship of purpose of life with other demographic characteristics is limited and future studies are needed to examine whether the association of purpose of life with mortality might be modified by other variables not measured in this study, such as how religious a participant may be.
They added that future studies should examine whether purpose in life can be enhanced in older persons with interventions.
 

Hospitals may be the best place to keep your seniors healthy – doctors who will keep their conditions checked, nurses who will attend to their needs, and well-balanced diet. On the other hand, despite this well-observed treatment, seniors may prefer to just stay at home and have a seat in their backyard than to constantly check their physical state within the walls of the senior community.

Seniors don’t need a place where they will feel that they are always being observed. Of course, they still want to move freely without someone looking after them. They want to be in some place which they can call a home – the place where they can do want they want and spend their time with fun. On Lok Senior Health Services is one of those communities that keep the old folks into moving with smile on their faces.

Some of the seniors find a home here with their fellow seniors being nursed in their new haven. Social services are given to them, aside from other activities that provide them joy and socialization. And because their health is a precious concern among health professionals, their physical condition will be attended with medical care, visits from a therapist, and nursing supervision.

Read an article about this in:

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/opinion/68672.php