Postural hypotension — also called “orthostatic hypotension”— is a form of low blood pressure that happens when you stand up from sitting or lying down. “Postural” means change with standing and “hypotension” means low blood pressure.
With postural hypotension, your blood pressure drops too low when you stand up. Postural hypotension can make you feel nauseated, dizzy or lightheaded, and maybe even cause you to faint.
Postural hypotension may be mild and last for less than a few seconds to minutes. However, long-lasting postural hypotension can signal more-serious problems, so it’s important to see a doctor if you frequently feel lightheaded when standing up.
Occasional (acute) postural hypotension is usually caused by something obvious, such as dehydration or lengthy bed rest, and is easily treated. Chronic postural hypotension is usually a sign of another health problem, so treatment will vary.
It is important to follow up with your physician if this condition is experienced, because a drop in blood pressure when you stand up can affect how much blood gets to the brain. It can disturb your balance and make you feel dizzy and fatigued. It can also cause you to fall and get hurt.
Symptoms
The most common symptom is lightheadedness or dizziness when you stand up after sitting or lying down.
Some people do not feel dizziness, so you may not even realize it’s a problem unless you are checked for it. Symptoms usually last less than a few minutes.
Postural hypotension signs and symptoms include:
- Feeling lightheaded or dizzy after standing up
- Blurry vision
- Weakness
- Fainting
- Confusion
- Nausea or vomiting
Diagnosis includes:
- Your nurse or therapist will check your blood pressure 2 ways: after lying quietly for five minutes, and again after you stand up.
- If the top number of the blood pressure drops more than 20 points or is less than 90 when you stand up, then you have some postural hypotension.
Management of the condition can include:
- Stay hydrated by drinking at least eight glasses of water a day (unless your physician has restricted your fluids).
- Get up slowly; clench your fists and flex your calves and ankles 10 times before getting up. This helps raise your blood pressure a little before you get up.
- Sit at the edge of the bed for several minutes taking deep, slow breaths while flexing your calves/ankles before getting up to walk.
- Have an assistive device, such as a cane or walker handy.
- Discuss your medications with your physician and home health care team to determine if you are on a medication that may be causing the problem. Your health care team can determine if any medications can be adjusted.
- Wear compression stockings.
Those experiencing postural hypotension can enhance safety and independence by engaging the services of a professional home health caregiver, such as those provided by Nightingale Homecare. We can help with safe ambulation and transfers, provide necessary assistance when sitting or standing up to prevent falls, help monitor medications to ensure they’re taken exactly as prescribed, perform blood pressure checks and other vital sign monitoring, and so much more. Contact our top-rated Phoenix home care agency at (602) 504-1555 to request a free in-home consultation to learn more.
September is National Yoga Awareness Month, and the benefits of yoga, regardless of a person’s age, are phenomenal. Yoga for elderly adults, when combined with other healthy lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise, has been shown to minimize hypertension, strengthen bones, and help with weight loss. It may even reverse heart disease, according to one study.
At Nightingale Homecare, providers of the highest quality senior care Phoenix, AZ and the surrounding area have to offer, we love helping the older adults in our care engage in ability-appropriate yoga. In addition to enhanced physical health, yoga for elderly adults can also improve memory, boost the senior’s mood and outlook, and reduce anxiety.
Here are a few great senior-friendly yoga exercises to try at home with your loved one (after receiving approval from his or her doctor):
- Half Chair at the Wall: Stand about 12” from a wall, with the back touching the wall. Lift the arms forward and up over the head, facing the palms toward each other, and then slowly bend the knees and squat towards the floor, until a seated position is achieved about halfway to the floor. Hold while taking five breaths, and then stand and repeat.
- Warrior: Stand and place feet hip-width apart, while the right foot is held still, bend the right knee to a right angle, and shift the left foot back about 3 feet, pointing the left toes out to the side. Raise the arms straight up near the ears and look up. Hold for three breaths, return to standing straight on both legs, and repeat.
- Cobbler’s Pose: From a seated position with legs spread out and the spine straight, bend the knees and bring the feet up toward the pelvis area, with soles touching. Press the elbows against the thighs, coaxing them closer to the floor (without causing any discomfort or pain).
- Alternate-Nostril Breathing: Place the tips of the right index and middle fingers between the eyebrows, and then place the thumb on the right nostril and the ring and pinky fingers on the left nostril. While pressing the thumb against the right nostril, breathe in through the left nostril. Alternate for the next breath, and repeat for five minutes.
Let Nightingale Homecare help the seniors in your life maximize health and quality of life! Our care team is always available to provide the encouragement and motivation for older adults to engage in yoga and other exercise programs, along with a wide range of personalized medical and non-medical in-home care services. To learn more about our services in senior care in Phoenix, AZ and the surrounding areas, call us at (602) 504-1555 at any time!
Remember as a child scraping your knee on the playground, when all it took was a hug from mom and a band-aid to have you back up on your feet, good as new? A senior wound, however, achieving complete healing is often a much more complicated process, for a variety of reasons, including:
- Less skin elasticity. The natural process of reduced elasticity in the skin as we grow older makes it harder for skin to heal – in fact, the U.S. National Library of Medicine estimates that senior wound healing can take up to four times as long in comparison to younger people.
- Longer inflammatory response time. Our blood vessels expand when a wound occurs, so that white blood cells and nutrients can more quickly reach the wound area. Yet this inflammatory response is markedly slower in the elderly.
- Diabetic effects. Those with diabetes (and over 11 million seniors in the U.S. are diabetics) often experience problems with hardened arteries and narrowed blood vessels, both of which can contribute to delayed wound healing. Additionally, neuropathy can inhibit a diabetic from sensing the pain of a wound, enabling it to worsen.
Interestingly, there is one key factor that helps older adults experience enhanced wound healing: regular exercise. Ohio State University conducted a recent study among healthy seniors between the ages of 55 and 77 in which some engaged in regular physical activity, while the others did not. A small puncture wound was then given to each senior, and the healing process was monitored. Those who had participated in the exercise program healed a full ten days faster than those who did not.
At Nightingale Homecare, our Scottsdale senior home care experts are proficient in senior wound healing, and offer a specialized wound and ostomy care program to provide better management and faster healing of wounds, ostomies, and other skin problems such as:
- Surgical wounds
- Bed sores
- Diabetic, arterial, or venous stasis ulcers
- Colostomies
- Urostomies
- Fistulas
- Incontinence skin concerns
- And more
We are familiar with the best products for specific types of wounds, and incorporate additional measures to expedite healing, such as ensuring seniors are receiving proper nutrition and hydration, relieving pressure, and preventing infection.
Contact Nightingale Homecare any time for more tips and resources related to effective wound healing for seniors, or to arrange for a free in-home consultation with one of our Scottsdale senior home care professionals to find out how we can help your loved one more heal more quickly and get back to enjoying life! You can reach us at (602) 504-1555.
It’s a common struggle among family caregivers: deciding when to step in and help, and when to step back and allow an older loved one to accomplish as much as possible independently. It requires a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, we need to ensure safety is never compromised; yet on the other hand, we never want to do anything to damage a senior’s self-worth and self-esteem.
So the question becomes, how can we help seniors stay independent, while ensuring safety? The Sun City home health care experts at Nightingale Homecare have several key recommendations:
- Remember: You’re a team! Changing the mindset from working for a senior to working with a senior can make a world of difference in your approach. Talk with the older adult in an open and honest way about the challenges and concerns he or she is facing, and how you can best provide needed support. Naturally, these needs will change over time; and when cognitive issues come into play, communication strategies will need to be modified as well. But we all appreciate being asked for our input, and to know that value is placed on our feelings.
- Allow time before jumping in to help seniors. It may seem more efficient to take care of tasks yourself, but doing so may be at the expense of your loved one’s self-image. Instead, factor in plenty of extra time for tasks, allowing the senior ample opportunities to tackle them independently whenever possible.
- Focus on the senior’s strengths. If certain tasks prove to be too challenging for your loved one, shift the focus to those he or she is able to manage more easily. For instance, if preparing an entire meal is too difficult, ask the senior to manage creating her special dessert recipe while you work on the main course.
- Remind the senior that helpful workarounds are a positive. A senior may balk at the idea of using a walker or wheelchair initially, or in having grab bars installed in the bathroom. And many times older adults are resistant to the idea of needing someone to help with everyday activities that they’ve been managing their entire lives. Providing a reminder that assistance and home modifications are empowering, allowing the senior to accomplish more independently and to remain in the comfort of home throughout aging, can be beneficial.
At Nightingale Homecare, it’s our mission to deliver the highest quality in-home care help for seniors with the respect and dignity that allow for maximum independence and autonomy at all times. Never coming in and taking over, we work together with seniors and their families to develop a plan of care that addresses all needs – including those for personal freedom. Contact our Sun City home health care team at (602) 504-1555 to request a free in-home consultation and discover how we can improve life for a senior you love.
The ability to communicate effectively is crucial to our feelings of independence and self-esteem, and for older adults, there are certain diagnoses that can inhibit the ability to speak clearly. Even the most social and outgoing senior can become reclusive and refrain from joining in conversations when speech difficulties are in place.
To help seniors gain back their confidence, we at Nightingale Homecare are pleased to provide professional in-home speech therapy services, in addition to our full range of medical and non-medical Scottsdale home care services. Since May is designated as Better Hearing & Speech Month, what better time to highlight the benefits a speech therapist can provide?
Just a few of the conditions that can be improved with speech therapy include:
- Apraxia: Often resulting from a stroke, apraxia is diagnosed in seniors who use words in an incorrect sequence. It can also cause difficulty in puckering the lips. A speech therapist will help older adults speak at a slower pace, allowing for more time to form words together correctly, and to practice repeating sounds in a particular order to master forming those sounds together into words.
- Dysarthria: Common in Parkinson’s disease, dysarthria results from weakened or paralyzed muscles. Speech therapy helps seniors through breathing techniques, articulation exercises, and adopting a slower speech pattern.
- Aphasia: When a senior leaves words out of sentences when speaking, it’s typically a result of one of several types of aphasia. Recovery is possible within a period of months as speech therapists help the senior with concentration exercises and to re-learn how to appropriately respond to verbal/vocal cues.
- Dysphagia: Dysphagia results from difficulties with swallowing, which can occur commonly in seniors due to changes in aging such as reduced saliva production, breathing changes, and dental issues. The speech therapist will help with modifications to eating and drinking to overcome these challenges.
- Dementia: With the progression of a dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, communication becomes increasingly difficult. Speech therapy focuses on minimizing distractions, speaking more slowly, and utilizing nonverbal cues to maximize speaking ability to the greatest extent possible.
If a senior loved one struggles with any of these conditions, Nightingale Homecare’s speech therapists are available to provide an in-depth evaluation, create a personalized treatment plan, and work with the senior to improve functionality. Call our Scottsdale home care team at (602) 504-1555 to arrange for a free in-home consultation or to request additional resources to help improve quality of life for the older adults in your life.
