Although there’s long been a stigma attached to aging that leads us to believe that our senior years and frailty go hand in hand, the latest statistics paint a far different – and more promising – reality. Not only is life expectancy higher now than ever before, but when asked about their health, as many as 41% of seniors claim to feel either very good or excellent.
In fact, the prognosis for senior health is even more encouraging when considering that many facets of aging are often within our control. For example, lifestyle decisions, such as not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying physically active, are major health determinants that we can personally control.
There are, however, some chronic conditions that can affect seniors regardless of how well they take care of themselves. Following are some of the top conditions seniors may face, and how you can help your senior loved ones maintain optimum health.
- Arthritis. Likely the top condition impacting older adults – nearly half of those over age 65 – arthritis pain can cause seniors to reduce activity levels.
- How you can help: Work with the physician to create an individualized activity plan and review medication, therapy and other treatment options.
- Lung Diseases. Respiratory diseases, such as COPD, emphysema, and asthma, are troublesome enough, but can also result in an increased risk of pneumonia and other infections.
- How you can help: Encourage your loved one to stop smoking, ensure that he or she has received lung function testing, and is using oxygen and any other medications exactly as prescribed.
- Dementia. Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia affect more than 10% of the senior population, and likely even more, since these conditions can be difficult to diagnose correctly.
- How you can help: Caring for a senior with dementia is a challenging undertaking for families. Enlisting the help of a professional senior care agency that specializes in Alzheimer’s care, such as Nightingale Homecare, can help both the senior and his or her loved ones significantly enhance quality of life.
Nightingale Homecare provides experienced, compassionate Phoenix senior care services covering the full spectrum of conditions of aging. By providing thorough in-home assessments, we create customized plans of care that meet individual needs now, and continue to monitor those plans so that future needs are both anticipated and met as well. Contact us at 602-504-1555 to allow us to get to know a bit about you and your senior loved one, and to share how we can help him or her enjoy life to the fullest!
