For Seniors, COVID-19 Sets Off A Pandemic Of Despair
The guidance to stay sheltered as society slowly reopens wears on older Americans, who have a growing sense of isolation and depression.
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The guidance to stay sheltered as society slowly reopens wears on older Americans, who have a growing sense of isolation and depression.
Still, medical experts say, its not a black-and-white decision of either go on a ventilator or die.
The awful truth is families have no control over whats happening, one advocate says.
Older bodies respond to infection in different ways. Seniors may sleep more or stop eating. They may be confused or dizzy. They might simply collapse.
Reports offer a glimmer of hope, especially for older adults.
Families are weighing the challenges of providing home care with the isolation or potential danger of leaving folks in senior housing or long-term care.
Just how careful should older people be? Heres what geriatricians think is reasonable.
The good news: Life expectancy for people who make it to 65 has increased. Yet, coastal and urban people fare better than those in rural and middle America.
Because seniors are at higher risk of cognitive impairment, proponents say screening asymptomatic older adults is an important strategy to identify people who may be developing dementia and to improve their care. But the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force cited insufficient evidence the tests are helpful.
For those worried they have an elevated risk of Alzheimers and other forms of dementia, testing is an option. But words to the wise: Its hardly foolproof and could even backfire by heightening your fear of memory loss.
If youre told Medicares home health benefits have changed, dont believe it: Coverage rules havent been altered and people are still entitled to the same types of services. All that has changed is how Medicare pays agencies.
On the bright side, advances in medical science and a push for healthier lifestyles might extend the quality of life for aging boomers. Among clouds on the horizon: ageism, strained long-term care services and the need to work well past retirement age.
Relationships between adult children and their parents can fray with age. Experts offer help on how loved ones can preserve the love and negotiate those tension-filled final years.
Family caregivers pledge to fulfill their loved ones end-of-life wishes. But too often circumstances change, and they must break their word and guard against breaking hearts including their own.
Harvard psychiatrist Arthur Kleinman shed his veil of ignorance during 11 years serving as the primary family caregiver for his wife, who had a rare form of early Alzheimers disease. In a new book, The Soul of Care, he offers suggestions for transforming health care just as caregiving transformed him.
A long illness creates a real risk: that the relationship will be undermined and essential emotional connections lost.
The notion of a national program to tend to the day-to-day needs of a booming older population has circulated for years. Now, there are grants and grit behind it.
Knowing when and how to limit a loved ones access to digital devices is akin to taking their car keys.
Simple alterations like better signs, seating, parking or door design can make it easier for older patients to navigate health care facilities. Here are several changes doctors offices, clinics and hospitals could make.
What changes are needed to bring home dialysis to more patients especially older adults, the fastest-growing group of patients with serious, irreversible kidney disease? We asked nephrologists, patient advocates and dialysis company officials for their thoughts.
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