Elders Who Abuse Their Family Caregivers
Most of us have seen evidence of people being harder on those they love than they are on strangers, or even people they don’t...
Medication
What to Do When a Senior Refuses to Bathe and Change Their Clothes
The responsibility of providing care for an aging or ill loved one is a monumental challenge in its own right. But when a care...
Cognitive Decline After Illness Common, but Check Medications, Too
Dear Carol: Until about six months ago, my mom, 93, was as cognitively sharp as ever. Unfortunately, she was hospitalized for several days for...
Is the Nursing Home Overmedicating Your Elderly Loved One?
In the days before nursing homes became so highly regulated, many facilities used medications to sedate patients. Elders who were cooperative and slept a...
Should Your Parent Risk an Anesthesia Disaster or Forego Surgery?
Just last week a reader asked me whether she should try to sway her mother, who had colon cancer, toward surgery. Her mother, 87,...
Dad’s Personality Has Changed Overnight: Medications? A UTI?
Dear Carol: My dad, 86, lives with me. He has an academic’s personality, so we’ve often talked about different issues that spanned all disciplines....
Incontinence After Menopause A Common Challenge
Menopause: The ceasing of menstruation. Sounds simple, but for each woman, the process of going through perimenopause and eventually arriving at menopause can be...
Caregivers: It’s Time to Stop Second-Guessing Ourselves
Like most adults, I’ve second-guessed many of my own decisions. While most were made with my own future in mind, that all changed when...
Medicare Open Enrollment Starts October 15: Time to Review Your Plans
Dear Readers: While we may be looking forward to (or dreading) cool weather, autumn leaves and Halloween, October also brings Medicare Open Enrollment. Medicare Open...
Pain and Dementia: Observing Body Language Important When People Can’t Articulate Pain
My dad, who had developed dementia after surgery to correct problems from a World War II brain injury, was seized by sudden, horrendous pain....
