Picture Source:  Kaboodle.com

Checking your holiday lights can save time and prevent fires.  Use a light tester to test your lights before putting them up.  Prices range from $8 to $25 depending on its features.  They can be purchased online through sites such as Christmas lights etc. and Improvements catalog.

The holidays are near.  As we prepare and clean our homes for the holidays remember an important tip.  Don’t over polish your floors.  While a shiny floor can be pretty to look it, it can also make you fall.  So remember, leave the falling for the leaves, clean your floors but don’t’ polish it within an inch of its life!

This article was originally posted on December 21, 2009

Home safety is essential to successfully aging in place.  Home safety can take many forms, from preventing falls in the kitchen and bathroom, to preventing accidental fires.  As the holidays approach, we need to continue to pay close attention to home safety and fall prevention.  This time of year, we love decorating our homes for the season,  however, in our desire to be festive, we sometimes overlook safety issues.  The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that each year, 3,300 residential fires originate as a result of extension cords.  These fires kill an estimated 50 people and injure another 270.  The most frequent cause of these fires are overloading, short circuits, and/or misuse use of extension cords.

Important holiday safety decorating tips:

• When decorating, use a step stool/ladder, not a chair. If possible, get someone younger to help hang higher decorations
• When decorating your tree make sure you clear the pathway around the tree, moving  of boxes and extension cords If you have a real tree, don’t allow the water dry out
• Check your holiday lights before you put them on your tree, if they don’t work, don’t use them
• If bulbs on your lights are missing, replace them Use the right lights for the right area, some lights are just for indoors while others are for the outdoors, make sure yours are in the right place
• Don’t connect too many lights to one extension cord (no more than 3)
• The CPSC recommends that when disconnecting a cord you should pull the plug rather than the cord itself
• The CPSC recommends that you never use an extension cord while it’s coiled or looped. Also, you should never cover any part of an extension cord with newspapers, clothing, rugs, or any objects while the cord is in use.
• Unplug your tree before you go to bed and when you are not at home

Remember these important home safety decorating tips to make your holidays safer.  For more information, click here

Sources:  Consumer Product Safety Commission

Ever wonder why when you shower so much water seems to end up on the floor.  Well, a regular shower curtain will billow when there’s steam and cause water to escape.  Say goodbye to that.  Consider using a weighted shower curtain.  Its hems are weighted which prevents the curtain from billowing and keeps the water in the tub instead of on your floor.  They cost between $84 and $118 and can be purchased online at AdaptMyBathroom.com

Welcome to Part VII of our series brought to you by Mark Lachs, MD, Author of Treat Me, Not My Age: A Doctor’s Guide to Getting the Best Care as You or a Loved One Gets Older

Get a specific follow-up plan. At the end of the visit, you should leave with several “action items” that need to be followed up on. These could be blood tests or X-rays, a referral to another doc, or a change of medication. Go over with your doctor what’s going to happen and when once you walk out the door. Example: “So I’m going to get an MRI of my head for these headaches. Will you be calling me with the results even if they’re normal, or should I call you?” Or: “So I start taking the medication for my knee arthritis tomorrow. When should I come back to see you to assess whether or not it’s been effective?” Or: “Will you be calling Dr. Jones, the lung doctor, to explain why you’re sending me?” Again, getting the follow-up plan clear and setting expectations goes a long way toward avoiding miscommunication and trouble down the road.

Aging in place is an important topic for seniors as well as baby boomers.  Simply said, aging in place is as it sounds; it’s the ability to remain in one’s home safely, functionally, and independently as long as possible.  Baby boomers make up 28% of the US population and own 48% of all homes.  Boomers, now more than ever, are looking for ways to age in place, realizing that they may need to make changes to their current homes or move into one that will allow them to do so.  An AARP survey stated that 89% of older adults said that they wanted to stay in their current homes as they aged.

In 1997, the Mature Market Institute (MMI), MetLife’s research organization was established.  MMI has expertise in gerontology as well as conducts research to share information regarding the aging population and those caring for them.  This past November, MetLife released The MetLife Aging in Place Workbook Your Home As a Care Setting.  It is a very useful tool that

• provides information on assessing care needs
• helps determine if your home needs modifications that will allow you to age in place
• provides suggestions on areas to consider when determining if needs can be met in the home
• provides resources for family caregivers
• assess the cost of remaining at home and receiving care

The MetLife Aging in Place Workbook Your Home As a Care Setting workbook is free, click here to view it. Also, for more information about MMI, click here.

Picture Source:  LivingXL.com

Caring for your feet is very important, however, people with arthritis and or back problems may have a hard time bending to clip their toenails.  This No-bend toenail clipper may do the trick.  It has a 16” handle is rust and mildew proof.  They can be purchased online at LivingXL.com for around $90.

Welcome to Part VI of our series brought to you by Mark Lachs, MD, Author of Treat Me, Not My Age: A Doctor’s Guide to Getting the Best Care as You or a Loved One Gets Older

Bring a list of your medications. The list should be up-to-date and complete, including dosages and frequencies. (Even better, bring the medicines themselves in a bag.) Know beforehand what you’re running out of so you can ask for any renewals you might need or take care of after the visit by phone or with office staff so your time with the doctor is not usurped by an administrative task. One of the biggest areas of medical error with patients of any age is what medical quality experts call medication reconciliation. In older people, this is especially critical, because medications can interact with one another; more important, they can interact with or have unexpected effects on the chronic conditions you have (so-called drug-disease interactions).

Keeping with National Diabetes Month, we will be discussing End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) this week.  Diabetes is the most common cause of ESRD and ESRD impacts all of the body’s major organs.

ESRD occurs when there is permanent failure of the kidneys meaning the kidneys no longer having the ability to regulate electrolytes, remove waste, and concentrate urine.

ESRD may occur after a person has suffered chronic kidney failure (which may span over a period of one to two decades).  Treatment for the disease includes dialysis or a kidney transplant.  Additionally, individuals may be placed on a restricted diet and be given medications to increase their urine output.

Symptoms of ESRD vary and may include:

• Fatigue
• Decreased muscle strength
• Decreased fine motor coordination
• Hypotension
• Decreased joint range
• A temporary loss of consciousness
• Loss of sensation
• Visual loss and decreased visual acuity
• Peripheral neuropathy such as tremors or foot drop
• Changes in mental status such as drowsiness and decreased attention span

With all the possible symptoms and complications related to ESRD home safety issues may be of particular concern for the individual with ESRD and their family members/caregivers.  Simple things such as using a grab bar and tub bench/bath stool may be beneficial.  Click here to learn more about fall prevention.

Source: Medline Plus and Emedicine

Picture Source:  North Coast Medical.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, you may be ready get out your holiday decorations.  Well, if you suffer from Arthritis and have a hard time grasping small objects, opening some of your storage or other household containers, or have difficulty unplugging electrical cords, consider using an Adjustable Gripping Tool.  It is lightweight, made of plastic and has texturized rubber jaws.  It also adjusts 13 different widths and fits items up to 3-1/4″.  It cost around $30 and can be purchased at online stores such as North Coast Medical.