During Thyroid Awareness Month, we should focus on the 1% of Americans who suffer from hyperthyroidism, which is one type of thyroid disease. Hyperthyroidism is especially prevalent in seniors, so know the symptoms to alert your doctor at the first sign. What is hyperthyroidism? The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped endocrine organ located on the front of the neck. It produces hormones that regulate metabolism, which is how quickly each cell in the body does its job. Hyperthyroidism is when too much of the hormone is released and the cells work too much and too quickly. Why is it important that
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Posts by Freedom Home Care
Understanding Hypothyroidism
It’s January which means the holidays have come and gone. It is also a great time to understand hypothyroidism and whether or not medication is right for you. Maybe you enjoyed the culinary delights of Christmas or drank a few extra glasses of champagne at New Years, and now you have gained a few extra pounds. But the holiday foods may not be to blame. The extra weight may indicate something much more serious. It could be a symptom of hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism commonly affects senior women, and the symptoms can be so subtle that sufferers ignore them or attribute them
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Healthy Resolutions You Can Stick To
Many of us write down a few New Year Resolutions that we’d like to accomplish, only to find we’ve completely abandoned those ideas mere weeks later. Let’s make this year different. This year will be the year that you will make a couple of small changes to your lifestyle to become a healthier senior. Just pick a couple of items off of this list and watch your health improve throughout the year. 1. Get organized. Are you someone who doesn’t keep track of medical information? Make a change. Get a binder and add all medical, doctor, and medication paperwork to it throughout the year. 2. Get moving. Be
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Dr. Stuart P. Richer, OD, PhD, Gives Advice on Maintaining Adult Eye Health
Glaucoma is a disease that can affect people of all ages, but one that seniors are at a particularly higher risk for. It is considered the most preventable cause of vision loss, but if left untreated, can cause damage to the eye’s optic nerve and result in irreversible vision loss, and even total blindness. The disease tends to run in families and most often occurs in people over the age of 60. January is Glaucoma Awareness Month, and to help spread the word, we had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Dr. Stuart P. Richer, OD, PhD, Director, Ocular Preventive Medicine,
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Three Driving Secrets for Seniors
As we get deeper into winter, driving conditions can worsen daily with snow, sleet, and ice. That makes this a great time to get a refresher on good driving techniques. Here are a few driving secrets that you may not have known but should use. 1. Use your brakes. When it appears that a collision is going to happen, think “Stomp, Stay, Steer.” First, stomp on your brake pedal with all of your might. Then stay stepping on the pedal. Ignore the noises or the pulsating of the pedal; you aren’t hurting the car. Third, steer around the obstacle. With anti-lock
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Keep Your Health in Check for the New Year
Many of us think about bettering our health in the New Year. We should also be aware of those closest to us and encourage them to get healthy as well. Now is the perfect time each year to sit down with the senior and go through any changes in medical history, medications, symptoms, and concerns. It will ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the senior is getting the best care. Plan ahead when you’re going to speak with him or her. Ask him to get all of the medical documentation together so that both he and
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Unexpected Holiday Shopping Secrets
Here’s some refreshingly unexpected holiday news! Research says when it comes to Christmas gifts, being lazy is best. You heard that right. That doesn’t mean you can put off shopping altogether, but it does mean that you can spend less time finding the perfect personalized gift for each person on your shopping list. In a recent study, a shopper was given either one person to buy for or two with similar interests. When buying for one, the shopper would find something that the gift recipient would really like. When buying for two, the shopper would focus more on finding gifts
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Why Seniors Today May Be Sharper than Previous Generations
Are seniors mentally sharper than ever before? A new study seems to think so. Researchers gave tests to seniors in the 1990’s and then a different group of seniors in the 2000’s. While the youngest of the seniors generally did better than the oldest, a more interesting discovery was made. The seniors in the later study did significantly better on the tests than their predecessors. What does this mean? Researchers aren’t quite sure, but there are some interesting ideas as to why. 1. With longer life expectancy comes more “good” years. As medical research continues to extend lives, it also extends how long
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Seniors Need More Sleep
If you think that seniors need less sleep than those who are younger, think again. If you needed nine hours of sleep to feel rested in your thirties, chances are that you need around the same for optimal brain function in your senior years too. But changing sleep patterns can cause seniors to believe they don’t need as much sleep. As people age, they may not get the same sleepy feelings that they once did around bedtime. Or perhaps they wake up every few hours. Though these things normally happen with aging, many mistakenly think it means they need less
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How to Give Back This Holiday Season
The holiday season is not only about magic, fun, and family; it is also a time of giving. Here are a few ways for anyone, including seniors, to get in the giving spirit. 1. Give time. Volunteering can be a wonderful way to get in the spirit of giving. Around this time of year, there are many places in need of people to help, from food pantries to ringing bells for the Salvation Army. Or if you’d rather stay home, organizations often need help with phone-intensive activities, such as coordinating food distribution or mentoring. 2. Give gifts. Consider buying some items for
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