Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
A Reminder . . .
. . . to y’all.
Bookmark this:
maturelifefeatures.com
and give it a quick check every morning.
I’ll try to keep posting reminders and updates
along with some other copy that might entertain.
It’ll take just a minute.
If you have a comment or observation,
send it to me at
cecilscag@gmail.com
= = = = =
I learned a quick lesson
after I questioned
some of my wife’s choices
and she pointed out
I was one of them.
= = = = =
Like Apple a Day,
Telemedicine Keeps Doctor Away
Your best health tool may be your cell phone.
Call it telemedicine or telehealth, it’s the future of doctor-patient relationships and it’s already arrived.
Telehealth exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns and there no longer is any question within and without the medical community that telemedicine is here to stay.
While face-to-face visits with primary-care physicians and specialists are expected to continue for critical cases, chronic-care no longer will call for a patient to get a ride to the doctor’s office. It can be handled by phone or computer.
Which could also be part of a growing problem because it’s difficult to reach a real person by phone anymore, even to make appointments.
After an annual visit to a specialist monitoring his liver condition, a relative was told to make appointments for an ultrasound reading and a blood test. The blood-test appointment had to be made online and it took several sessions with a computerized voice to get called by a person to make the ultrasound appointment.
A computerized phone call notified him the results of the test were posted on the patient portal in his computer. He had to read — and translate — the results himself. He assumed everything was routine because the doctor, or his assistant, would call if there were any problems or peril.
= = = = =
Learn Sign Language
11 a.m. today 2nd floor theater.
= = = = =
You’ve heard about the
Super Supper Shuttle
Here’s the schedule
2nd and 4th Friday of March
Leaves Verena for restaurants:
3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Leaves restaurants:
3:45 p.m., 4:15 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 5:15 p.m. and 5:45 p.m.
No sign-up, just show up
Think of catching a city bus –
be waiting at the pick-up point
Miss one, wait for the next one.
Just don’t miss the last one.
= = = = =
Healthy Foods All Around You
Mangoes are the most-eaten fruit in the world for good reason: they’re among the superstar health foods, providing us with decent doses of vitamins A and C along with blood-pressure-lowering potassium and fiber.
Other plant products listed among this galaxy of health boosters by some nutritionists include sweet potatoes, broccoli, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), watermelon, butternut squash and leafy greens, such as kale, spinach and Swiss chard.
Along with this array of hale, hearty and healthful food in your larder, you might want to add plain yogurt, wild salmon and oatmeal.
= = = = =
Super Supper Shuttle, Super Idea
Beginning next month,
a twice-a-month shuttle
will provide Verena residents
late-afternoon free transportation
to and from nearby restaurants.
Because it’s a shuttle, there is no need to sign up.
Just show up at the times advertised starting at 3 p.m.
If you miss a shuttle, wait for the next one.
Just don’t miss the last one.
= = = = =
I just realized
I’ve mastered how easy it is to sleep.
I can do it with my eyes shut.
= = = = =
Coffee A Healthy Break
Coffee might be considered the WD-40 of the food system. It’s been cited as a defensive mechanism against health risks ranging from sunburn to diabetes. Scientific, medical and diet gurus around the globe claim drinking three to five cups a day is a healthy regimen.
While not the source of nutrients found in diets of the health-conscious, an eight-ounce cup of coffee, regular or decaffeinated, contains more disease-fighting antioxidants than a typical serving of blueberries or oranges.
The anti-coffee culture points out that coffee also can cause nervousness, keep you awake at night and boost your blood pressure. To counter these over-stimulating effects of coffee, nutritionist suggest spacing out one’s intake, drinking a cup of coffee every few hours during the day.
A European study also revealed coffee retards the cognitive decline in the elderly.
Caffeine reduces the risk of cirrhosis of the liver as well as lowering the odds of death by heart disease among the elderly. Studies have also revealed coffee drinkers are less likely to develop basal-cell carcinoma – skin cancer – than non-coffee drinkers. Coffee has also been found to reduce pain, protect against strokes, fight depression and a variety of cancers, and protect the liver.
While the consensus is that coffee can be good for you, it shouldn’t be considered a cure-all. If coffee gives you the jitters, try decaf. If that doesn’t work, talk with your doctor.
Go easy on milk, cream, sugar and other-coffee-shop add-ons because they add calories to an otherwise low-calorie beverage. When brewing your own coffee, use paper filters that trap the oils in coffee that can increase your levels of cholesterol.
As with anything that involves your health and well-being, discuss your coffee habits with your primary care physician.
It’s Party Time!!!
But you folks at Verena
can squeeze in your 1:30 p.m. writing class
before the festivities begin at 3 p.m.
= = = = =
I can’t even count the times
I failed math at school.
= = = = =
If It’s Autoimmune,
It Can Be Anything
A visit by the blahs, flu, endless fatigue, chills, sweats, and whatever is a reminder me of what has become one of medicine’s major mysteries – autoimmune disorders.
More than 100 conditions have joined the list since they were first labeled a little more than three decades ago. Among the most common are rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes, lupus and multiple sclerosis. What links these is their root cause: your immune system is battling part of you – your skin, blood vessels, joints, nerves or organs.
In my case, it’s autoimmune hepatitis and my liver is the enemy.
It all began to surface a dozen years ago while on a trip to Italy. I began feeling tired and just couldn’t shake loose of that feeling. When we got home, it took half a year of tests, MRIs, X-rays and biopsies to unearth the cause.
I learned my liver has four major stages: good, not too bad, fatty and it-has-to-be-replaced. Mine was on the cusp of fatty and the final stage. And being autoimmune hepatitis means the doctors have no idea what caused it.
Steroids were prescribed immediately. The first one had to be discarded when they conflicted with the bladder-cancer pills prescribed a couple of years later. And I’ve been told I should avoid getting sick.
I did fall victim to COVID-19 a couple of years ago but got through my quarantine suffering mostly from boredom. Not too long ago, I woke up sweating and with the chills. I felt fatigued, unsteady on my feet and had a cough that was persistent in spells. Was this COVID-19 again, or the flu, or something else?
I felt like I felt in Italy several years ago so I did what a doctor’s assistant suggested back then. I took a bottle of water out of the fridge, sipped some, turned on the television set, curled up in my big chair, and fell asleep.
“Just baby yourself and wait things out,” she said. And that worked.
I don’t know how I got sick so we’ll just have to call it the autoimmune under-the-weather syndrome.
= = = = =
Find Out . . .
. . .what muffuletta means
to help you enjoy
Mardi Gras.
= = = = =
Clean Up Your Room
It’s never too soon to look around your bedroom for ways to make it more comfortable as age and disabilities creep into your life.
Dresser drawers can grow stubborn of the years, so you need to grease those skids or get new furniture. High shelves may become unreachable as grow older — and older. Getting around your bed, dresser, chair and whatever else you keep there without stubbing your toe is important because much or your life is spent shoeless in that room.
You might need extra space to get around it with a walker, wheelchair or some other walking aids such as canes and crutches. And you need space to store these devices without clogging up the area. It’s also important that the bedroom and closet doors are wide enough to enter comfortably with any of the mobility aids mentioned earlier. Check your bathroom door at the same time.
Thresholds should be level so you can cross them easily without tripping and not be barriers for walkers, wheelchairs and scooters. The bedroom door should open outward so you won’t block it should you fall.
What’s covering our floor is also important. Slippery material should be replaced. Rugs are decorative and comfortable but can be hazardous if not fastened to the floor. They can be tripped over as age reduces walking to a shuffle. Remove unnecessary furniture to make maneuvering much easier and remove furniture with corners that can be hazardous if you fall.
Make sure television, lamp, telephone, electrical and any other cords are not stuffed under a carpet or cluttering your pathways. Lighting is important in any room. A switch should be immediately inside the door and be accessible if standing up or seated in a wheelchair. Contrasting colors for the light switch, bedspreads and furniture will help you identify what’s what and help avoid confusion when you’re in your room.
= = = = =
A Neighbor . . .
. . . thanked me
for defining “myriad” for them.
They said it meant a lot.
= = = =
From poker to pinochle,
it’s just another day
at Verena of Gilbert.
= = = =
Sleep Right, Sleep Tight
Your mother’s nagging to make your bed turns out to be healthy advice.
A National Sleep Foundation survey reveals that folks who make their bed daily are more likely to get a good night’s sleep than people who don’t make their beds. And change your sheets weekly.
Allergens that disrupt sleep can build up in your sheets. They also can build in your pillow so you should change it every couple of years. Or use two pillows and alternate them every month or so.
Have You Ever Wondered . . .
. . .where Noah
kept the termites
on the Ark?
= = = =
= = = =
Worried About Warts?
It’s always best to get medical treatment for anything that attacks your body, including warts that seem to be appear and disappear willy-nilly on various parts of your body. A common remedy is to have them frozen so they fall off or they can be cut out by a doctor.
There are several around-the-house remedies that have been successful in some cases.
For one, you can cut a small potato in half and rub the cut side of the potato on the wart twice a day until it disappears. Or you can rub the wart daily with a piece of pineapple or the inside of a banana peel.
Some folks report daily application of the gel from the aloe vera plant works. A garlic clove crushed and mixed with water, applied to the wart daily, and covered with a bandage reportedly works in three to four weeks. Another solution to try is two parts apple cider vinegar to one part water. Soak a cotton ball in the mixture and wrap it over the wart for three or four hours every day.
Taxing Time
Bocce aficionados meet at 11 a.m. poolside
Talk At Our Table . . .
. . . was interrupted
when the notorious gossip nearby
increased their decibel level to proclaim,
“I don’t want to say anything bad about (deleted)
but boy is this good.”
Get Doctor’s Opinion on Medical Fees
Whether or not you have health insurance, always ask your doctor if there is a fee involved when discussing any appointment, surgery, test, procedure, or any other arrangement being made to continue your treatment.
Follow-up appointments for such purposes as checking on proper healing of minor surgery or monitoring blood pressure can be chargeable but any fee might be avoided if the patient asks the doctor about any charge when the follow-up is discussed.
For example, follow-up visits after surgery normally is included in the surgeon’s original fee. But not all, so ask to avoid surprises.
The process has been complicated by the recent rise in telemedicine: internet contact with doctors by telephone and computer. In some cases, they’re covered by Medicare, Medicaid or supplemental insurance. In some cases, they are not, so you have to check with the doctor.
Whatever Happened . . .
. . . to Albert Einstein’s brother
Frank?
Get your free blood-pressure check
in the lobby
every Wednesday at 10 a.m.
provided by BAYADA
then
Check your hearing & hearing-aids
at 3 p.m.
in the 2nd floor multipurpose room
with Preferred Hearing Care
Stay Informed . . .
. . .don’t miss today’s monthly Town Hall meeting
4 p.m. in the 2nd floor theater.
Draw Up End of Life Plans Anytime
A dear friend who passed away recently after a lengthy illness took time to discuss with her spouse details to be attended to after her death. They both agreed on the disposition of their remains and where they should be ensconced. Both felt at ease talking quietly and patiently about their plans as her death approached. After taking care of her wishes, the widower discussed and passed on these plans to their children to be followed when he dies.
Making after-death lists can become critical when they deal with your final weeks, days and hours, especially if you lapse into a coma or any condition that makes it difficult to make on-the-spot decisions. Doctors and medical staff are committed to keeping their charges functioning as long as there is any chance they will survive, when they feel the patient is not terminally ill.
More than 30 percent of adults have formalized their end-of-life preferences in what is known as an advance directive – a legal document with instructions on how they feel they wish to end their lives. In most cases, the person wishes to avoid a lengthy pain-riddled existence leading to their death. Problems arise if there is no health-care proxy on hand to ensure that the patient’s directions are followed and/or when the patient is unconscious and medics have to determine whether or not the patient is terminally ill.
To increase your chances of a peaceful death, you should discuss your plans and wishes with your family physician. If you feel he or she is unwilling to go along with your directive, you might seek another doctor. In some cases, you might want to talk things over with a clergyman.
Review your plans over and over with members of your family – all of them so there are no battles when your end-of-life treatment and timing becomes critical. You might have one of them use their mobile phone camera to take a video of you explaining your plans.
Mature Life Features 