Avoiding And Dealing With Falls While Caring For The Elderly

Anyone that has even a tiny amount of experience in caring for the elderly will be able to alert you to the pitfalls and hazards of the job as primary caregiver. One of the first things that any of these individuals will mention to you that relate directly to your role is the constant danger of falls. The elderly, as a collective, have an astonishing number of falls every year.

 

This can be attributed to a variety of factors but is primarily a result of feeling and being unstable on their feet. Their bodies are not agile enough to avoid falls and repeated episode could cause more harm than good. As elderly bones are more brittle that those of younger generations then they can easily be broken. Dislocated and fractured hips are the bone break of choice for most elderly individuals and can be extremely painful and debilitating. As a result, you need to be aware of the hazard and prevent it before it happens.

 

As prevention is better than cure when it comes to elderly falls and resultant hospital trips, it may be wise to put preventative measure in place to head off falls before they occur. Maintaining the safety and security of an elderly individual can be very difficult initially because you do not have eyes in the back of your head. It can take a while to become used to their movements, habits and routines. If you watch them closely enough over a period of time then you will soon be able to anticipate their moves before they make them. This can help to prevent falls because you will be able to spot danger a mile off. However, it is not a solution that can be used in the short term, and you do need to be able to prevent falls occurring as soon as possible after you become their primary caregiver.

 

The first thing that you should do to prevent trips and falls actually has nothing to do with the elderly individual in general terms. Instead, you should focus on their immediate environment. You should remove all possible tripping hazards in their home. Everything from rugs and loose carpeting to small objects that are used to decorate a room should be removed. They can all be hazardous in the right situation, or wrong situation as the case may be! You should also look into effective methods of controlling falls.

 

If the elderly individual that you look after does experience a fall in the home, then it is of the utmost importance that you know exactly how to deal with the situation. Firstly, you need to remove all hazards from around the individual to allow you to get closer and assess the damage. You must then administer first aid if it is appropriate to do so. Try not to move the individual until you are certain that there is no damage to joints and limbs. If there is or you think that he or she may have sustained a head injury, then you should immediately call an ambulance. Just keep your relative warm and as comfortable as possible until the paramedics arrive.

 

Falls represent very real hazards in the home and you must always be prepared to deal with them. You will inevitably have to deal with them at some stage, no matter how well prepared you are, but removing the means will reduce the amount of falls and hopefully lower the severity of the injuries.

 

Jim  Pollard, Co-host

Fabulous Fifties and Beyond

http://TheFabulousFifties.net 

Competency to Better Life

Competency to Better Life

Do you have the competency to better your daily living and overall humane existence, or do you lack this character? To better personal living you have to discover competence to take charge. In life we have inner coaches, counselors, etc that help us to accomplish things in life. We likewise have helpful authorities in the world who will take the time to help those who find it hard to help self. You've a lot of options and resources available to you.

Competency is earned. An individual with competence will take what they learn and utilize it to solve different states of affairs in their life. A competent individual always sees the new light at the end of every tunnel.

When an individual has competence, he or she feels joyous. A joyous individual will consider every incident, experience and so forth in life as something they may learn from; as well this individual won't allow bad weigh him or her down. The individual will take the bad; see new light and continuing learning from his or her errors.

You'll have to learn how to suspend judgments of self and other people. You're not the Man in control. Only one spiritual being has the right to call judgment down on anybody. Let this Man take the weight on His shoulders. You might need to pray often to cease judging self and other people.

It's ok to have views, but when you don't have facts to support your claims, why speak. Too many times individuals suspect, offer opinions, speculate, or jump to conclusions, which has caused major issues in the world. If you don't have facts behind you, or to support what you say, be quiet. Allow somebody else in the world to make the next error.

If you wish to live happier, you'll need to build your energy. To build energy you'll need to eat right, exercise and take great care of you. You'll need to associate with positive individuals and learn to help others as well as yourself. The more effort you put forth, the more you'll get back from your efforts.

Altering Habits to Better Your Life

Altering Habits to Better Your Life

           

Habits, oh those foul habits. Habits are acquired from training, influences, observance, and practice. We acquire a lot of habits throughout our life, which some are goodness and others are foul. Good habits we may keep, but if one wants to better their life the foul habits have to take a hike. Eliminating bad habits however isn't simple, especially if a dependency is involved. For this reason, we may learn how to change your habits.

Individuals wander through life making excuses. Anytime an individual sees something complicated, they'll frequently make excuses why they can't deal with the issue. This is a rough-cut problem in the world, which we’ve all heard 1000000000000s of times. If you're out to better your life, you need to state, “This is something that blocks me from accomplishment and I've the might to change it.

           

The first key to success is quit making excuses. You are able to commit by choosing a fresh habit.

Today I'm going to quit judging other people and myself. This is a common error individuals make in the world. They spend time labeling other people and themselves. This gets them nowhere but in a world of chaos.

           

Do you think negatively? I can’t alter this. My life is full of bunk; I can’t swing it any longer. Why me? If you spend your life believing negative and stating negative connotations, attempt changing your ways today. For example, state, I may change something and I'm going to. Rather than stating life is full of bunk, accept it as truth yet move forward to make your life better.

           

Once you begin to make changes to improve your life, begin small. Rather than jumping the gun, take little steps to success. Too many times individuals try to change overnight. This only leads to frustration.

           

When you're working to alter your life and habits make certain you seek support and feedback. You don't have to walk the road to success alone. Feedback is discovered at your library, the Net, at colleges, etc. Ask somebody you trust to support you and provide you feedback when required as well

           

Establishing Courage to Better Life

Establishing Courage to Better Life

Once you establish courage, you begin to better your life. Constructing courage will help you take risks to a brighter future that you usually wouldn't take. When you establish courage, you put fear behind you. Bravery is the process of admitting that you have dreads, yet you're willing to determine a way to defeat those fears and not let these fears take charge of you. It's ok to experience your fears at suitable times.

When you establish courage, you'll learn to self-direct you in life. You'll learn to accept punishment and rewards graciously. A courageous individual will frequently feel motivated to accept blame and responsibility while critiquing their actions and utilizing what they learn to move forward. Brave individuals will step to the front, instead of stepping back when opportunities come their way. On the other hand, a brave individual will step back and take a view at his or her errors gracefully.

An individual willing to better their life will relax. This individual will relax even when plans fail. For example, if it stormed the next day the individual will find something else to occupy his or her time and feel just as happy about joining this adventure.

To get successful and better your life you'll need to learn how to trust you. When you trust you, you are able to trust others also. Regrettably, we live in a world where trust is difficult to find, yet when you trust you, you can’t blame other people when things go wrong.

Bettering your life includes utilizing your creative and critical mind. When you can produce fresh ideas, you're off to the road to success. You've many options in this world; it takes you to pull up resources to find those choices.

Occasionally in life, we feel uncomfortable. In fact, this is common. Are you willing to accept your irritations? Maybe at an interview you feel lost. Are you willing to accept this irritation and discover a way to deliver a great speech to impress the interviewer? Alternatively, are you willing to allow negative energies cost you the job.

Acceptance is your key to happiness. When you are able to learn to accept the good with the bad, you are able to learn how to live happier and better your life. If you can't accept however, well, reread this material again.

Anger and Hurt; another lonely place!

Lonely People

Being human can really be challenging, to say the least. We feel emotions with every breath we take, every move we make. Some emotions are so sweet that we never want to lose that feeling. Other emotions cause us so much anger and hurt that we are paralyzed with pain.

 Our minds use anger as a memory of a hurt that we have experienced. The memory is usually due to the fact that we neglected to express our hurt at the time for one reason or another. We tend to not show our anger or hurt because we do not want to cause a conflict or hurt another's feelings or ever admit those feelings. We also hang onto it because once we actually show we are angered, we are showing we are not perfect and that in fact we are human and can feel pain.

 But if we continue to push away our feelings to protect our perfect selves, we become less real and less connected to people in our lives, without even realizing how  far we are pushing them away.

 Protecting another person from our hurts or anger is only imprisoning ourselves, so that they will never be able to reach us. If we do this long enough we cannot find happiness anywhere. When we are questioned why we are upset, we can not even find the beginning to the hurt we have hidden. The longer we hide our hurts and anger the more confusing they become. Things get all tangled up and if we dare try to explain, we are totally speaking another language.

Protecting another person from our hurts or anger is only imprisoning ourselves, so that they will never be able to reach us. If we do this long enough we cannot find happiness anywhere. When we are questioned why we are upset, we can not even find the beginning to the hurt we have hidden. The longer we hide our hurts and anger the more confusing they become. Things get all tangled up and if we dare try to explain, we are totally speaking another language.

 Have you ever been hurt by someone and then they make it impossible for you to explain why you are angered? Those people can do a lot of damage, they are controllers. When you can identify that type of person, only then can you fight back and tell them, "please just shut up and listen". If you want to be unhappy then keep hanging onto that hurt. It will definitely drag your self-esteem to the bottom.

 Hurt is a pain of the moment and it is happening right now. Its reason is right there in front of you. You must deal with it or you will only hide it and end up alone in your prison of loneliness. The longer you hold back, the more angry you become with you, for not acting out. That's when guilt moves right on in and takes over, making you  want to get even with that person. Your negative thoughts are seeded now and nothing feels good. Is this a good thing? NOT!!!

 It is definitely not easy to risk being called oversensitive, or told that you are just causing a fight, or they just laugh you off like you are a child. You may even find that this person doesn`t really care about you. Better to find that out asap, don`t you think? 

 These FEELINGS of hurt and anger have a way of taking over our lives. Is it not better to let it out now than to live in an unhappy life of silence?  Tell someone how you feel, when you feel it, or you will only lock those FEELINGS up inside you and trust me, you will lose yourself.

You may even hurt the one you love, but honesty is the best way. I believe that with a true love you should be able to tell that person anything and yes, even if you feel hurt or angered by them.

 Love conquers anger and hurt. It battles jealousy and helps lift you to a higher self-esteem!

 To be truly happy and not endure the prisons of negative emotions, we need to be heard. We need to be understood. We need to be forgiven. We also need to be loved and cared for.

 And my sweet readers, on that note, I will leave you with another tip to strengthen

your courage to keep climbing that mountain to a better you!

Take responsibility for your life.

You have the power to make things better.

And most importantly, you have a choice!

Dorothy Lafrinere

Owner/Operator

Website- http://www.womensselfesteem.com

Weblog- http://www.justblogme.com/Dorothy

Forum- http://womenselfesteem.proboards29.com

email- dorothy@womensselfesteem.com

A FREE HALLOWEEN GIFT FOR OUR FOLLOWERS:

 Click Here HALLOWEEN SAFETY GUIDE

Jim and Jeanetta Pollard

The Best Christmas Gift http://www.SantaSpeaks.com

Activities Promoting Healthy Aging

Lack of activities can prevent you from living healthy. When you do not enjoy activities, you may feel fatigue or find it difficult to sleep at night. When you awake in the morning, you may feel tired until you finally fall asleep. As we, age our body change and we have to make changes to accommodate our lives.

Having a good night sleep makes the mind think more clearly. A good night sleep also boosts your energy while controlling your weight. You can also make decisions with less stress. Sleeping well at night makes our immune system stronger to keep us healthier.  Researchers have proved that a good nights sleep is necessary for our health.  Researchers have found that lack of sleep reduces the growth hormones in our bodies, since it changes muscles to fat. Sleep overall is most important, yet it stands behind activities. To improve your health, try walking each day.

Walking will help to loosen our muscles, reduces stress and depression along with anxiety. By reliving these things, it will help us to sleep for a longer and deeper period.  So, when we wake up in the morning we feel happier and more rested.

When you exercise, you get a good night sleep, which promotes metabolism. Without the right amount of sleep, our bodies crave energy. Our body will release insulin or glucose into the bloodstream, which slows down metabolism. This action causes the body to gain weight, rather than control weight.

When a person feels exhausted, they will feel weak and repressed from enjoying activities. This leads to additional problems. Sleeping right balances out our bodies giving us, more energy leading to more activities that will satisfy our sleep needs.

What to avoid:
To rest proper and feel active you must reduce your intake of caffeine, nicotine, harmful chemicals, such as over-the-counter meds that keep you awake, alcohol and so on. The chemicals and substances will keep you awake. Try to avoid drinking anything after 8 p.m. in the evening. Nicotine should be avoid if possible, yet if you must smoke try to avoid smoking after 8 p.m.

Start a walking program in the morning to help wake you up, while boosting your energy. You will feel better since the joints will feel flexible enough to move freely. In addition, walking will help you burn fat and calories. You’ll notice a big change in how you feel the rest of the day.  Start out walking at a slow steady pace for as far as your comfortable.  Each day pick up the pace a bit and walk further. Just remember when walking that you want to work up to a steady brisk walk to make you sweat but not out of breath. Take a short walk before and after meals to calm your nerves, and burn calories too, it will give you energy, relieve that stress from the long day and help you sleep.

If you start a walking program for yourself, it is a lot more fun if you have someone to go with you. Talk to that neighbor you don’t know and maybe they’ll walk with you. Just think about it; you’ll be acquainted with someone new, talk about new things will relieve stress and get in you exercise as well. This might help that neighbor too who maybe hasn’t seen or talked to anyone in a couple of days and than they can sleep better at night.

After walking that brisk walk your doing be sure to cool down. When walking at a vigorous pace your heart rate will go up and it needs to be back to normal. Just walk a bit slow and relaxing until you’ve cooled down.

If you can’t go to sleep at night instead of getting up and turning on the TV try pacing around the house. Do some stretching and shake your arms and legs. Even walking around the house can relax you especially when everyone else is in bed and you can relax more.

Jim and Jeanetta Pollard
Co-host and producers
"The Fabulous Fifties and Beyond" TV Show
Jim@JimPollard.com
http://jimpollardministry.blogspot.com/

7 Unique Ways To Make Someone Smile

Learn 7 new ways to put a smile on someone's face. You won't know how many people are encouraged by your kindness because smiles are contagious. Try out one or more of these 7 ways today to make the world a better place.


Do you want to put a smile on someone's face?  Maybe make their day a little bit brighter?  It doesn't have to take much time or money on your part.  In fact, many things can be done as a part of your normal routine and cost little or nothing.  You won't know how many people are encouraged by your kindness because smiles are contagious. Try out one or more of these 7 ways today to put smiles on their faces.

1. Write an encouraging note to others that have encouraged you or that need encouragement. Handwritten notes that are given to encourage, not just for thanking someone for a gift, are rare. That makes handwritten notes even more special. Start a new practice of sitting down and writing an encouraging note on a regular basis. You just might start an epidemic!

2. Take a friend out to lunch or invite her to your home for a meal.  You will get to know each other even better than you do right now. If you feel like being more adventurous, throw a party for several of your friends and put smiles on a multitude of faces.

3. Give someone an inspirational book to read. You will feel good doing it, reading the book will change the person, and they will think of you every time they read it.

4. Ask a friend or relative if you can take care of their kid(s) for a day or evening. If you have been a parent, you know the value of being able to have a few hours of "adult time" without worrying about the children. Don't wait to be asked to baby-sit when it is required. Offer to do it at a time when the parent can do something fun and relaxing.

5. Deliver a meal to someone you know that is sick or having a rough time. We have all been sick and know the last thing you want to do is be out of bed. There are also times when life is tough and it is hard to do all of the daily chores. You can be a tremendous help by providing a meal that can be enjoyed.

6. Volunteer time to supporting your local church or charity.  Every minute you dedicate to a church or charity will cause many smiles.  You will put a smile on the face of each leader just for helping without being asked.  You will also be putting smiles on the faces of those that are being helped through the organization.

7. Thank everyone that supports you throughout the day.  The list of those that you come in contact with is endless.  Remember family and friends, secretaries, co-workers, teachers, Sunday school teachers, pastors, store employees, janitors, gas station attendants, those that deliver your mail and newspaper, and servers at restaurants.

I know this is a list of 7 ways to put a smile on someone's face, but there is one more way that can't be ignored. Reveal a genuine smile to everyone you meet. You will experience how easy it is to get others to smile!

Informing - Inspiring - Motivating

Remember use it or lose it!


Jim Pollard
Jim@TheFabulousFifties.net

Here's the "Smile" song 

the over50 gang will remember.

Enjoy

"Smile" by Nat King Cole

"Secrets of a Positive Attitude"

Are you constantly bombarded by thoughts of negativity? Plagued by feelings of insecurity? Do you see everything in a negative manner? The reason for this lies deep within your heart.

Greetings self help reader,

Are you constantly bombarded by thoughts of negativity? Plagued by feelings of insecurity? Do you see everything in a negative manner? The reason for this lies deep within your heart. You are what you mentally and spiritually eat. If a person drinks alchohol on a daily basis, odds are their body will be affected in some way. They may have liver issues, develop cancer or incur some other type of health problem directly related to the amount of alcohol they have consumed. In the same way, a person who constantly feeds themselves negative thoughts will simply turn into a negative person.

This is the time to go on a diet. A diet of positive attitude food. You have to literally stop feeding your mind negative things. Ask yourself is this thought negative or positive or negative? What do negative thoughts look like? Well, they start with can't rather than can, no as opposed to yes, will and not won't. The Bible which is the greatest self help book ever written, speaks about taking every thought captive. The problem in our society has become that our thoughts have taken us captive. We have begun to let our thoughts control us.

A great way to know what we are negative about is to ask those people who are closest to us. You can ask your spouse or another person in your life who really knows you how they would rate your attitude on a scale of 1 to 10. 10 being super positive and 1 super negative. Ask this person to be totally honest with you. You will benefit from their honesty even if it causes you pain. Ask this person what it is that you specifically say that they perceive as negative. Write down what they say and look at the actual words. Now is the time to be honest with yourself. Those words are a reflection of what is inside you. They are who you are. The great thing is that you can change. It is as simple as making a choice to do so. You must decide to replace the thoughts of negativity with thoughts of positivity. Decide what words you will change the negative words on your paper to. Once you have done this, make an effort to insert these new positive thoughts in your mind. You will begin to notice a positive change taking place in your life. Your family, friends and co-workers will all notice it as well. They may not know what is different about you. But they will know that you are not the same person that you were.

The items which are causing negativity in your life could very well be the news, movies, constantly replaying tragedy in your mind and the list could go on. These things should be eliminated if you want your new mental health regimen to be a success. The news is very negative and does not help someone who is trying to rid their mind of such thoughts. When you are feeding yourself thoughts of death from a war or gunshot or car accident visually the outcome will be negative. I do believe there is a time to grieve over the death of a loved one. However, if a person constantly replays this negative event in their minds it can lead to depression. The person who has passed away is not coming back and we must close that chapter in our lives and move on to the next chapter. This is a difficult task which can only be done by making a decision to proceed with our own life, no matter how hard this may be.

You can do it. You can and will have a positive attitude, if you simply take the steps outlined above. You do not have to be what you were in the past. You can be different in the future. The choice is yours. I know you will make a positive one.

Much continued positive attitude success,

The creator of "Positive Attitude Secrets"

See you soon.

Santa Jim Pollard

For more infomation contact us at Jim@TheFabulousFifties.net
http://jimpollardministry.blogspot.com/

4 New Shows Posted

Today we have posted four new shows taped this week. The shows are timely and loaded with information for you our readers and you who watch our show "The Fabulous Fifties and Beyond".
The new shows are:
1. McCracken County-Paducah City Merger. Merger of McCracken County and Paducah City is a hot political topic. Jim and Jeannetta Pollard speak with Tom Garrett, Vice Chair of the Joint Merger Commission. Garrett tries to dispel some of the myths and rumors about the proposed merger.
2. What Did You Say? Are you being accused of mumbling? Do you know someone who is constantly turning up the volume to the television set? Hearing loss can be a difficult stigma for adults to overcome. Learn about hearing loss and the various ways to deal with this problem. Jim and Jeanetta Pollard speak with Mike Stone, BCHIS, President and Owner of Stone-Lang Company.
3. Easter Seal Art Show and Auction. The 6th Annual Heart & Soul Art Celebration is just around the corner. Join various artists on Thursday, Sept. 29th from 6pm until 8pm at LowerTown Paducah's Madison Hall. West Kentucky Community & Technical College's Culinary Arts Department is providing the heavy hors d'oeuvres.
You'll have the opportunity to purchase a masterpiece at the live and silent art auction featuring the works of local artists and Easter Seals adults. Jim and Jeanetta Pollard speak with Stephanie Benjamin and Diana Davenport of Easter Seals West Kentucky.

4. Frauds and Schemes. Frauds, schemes, swindling, deceit, tricks, rip-offs: these things are on the rise especially in the elderly demographic. How can you help combat this growing epidemic? Jim and Jeanetta Pollard speak with Malinda Elrod-Baltz, Investigative Assistant for the Paducah Police Department. Learn things to watch out for. If it's too good to be true, then you are probably being scammed.

We hope you learn from and enjoy all the shows.

You can contact us at Jim@TheFabulousFifties.net . We would love to hear from you.

"The Inside is What Counts"

This article will deal with what is on the inside of us. Who we are on the inside, seems to show up on the outside no matter how hard we try to hide it

Greetings self-help readers,

This article will deal with what is on the inside of us. Who we are on the inside, seems to show up on the outside no matter how hard we try to hide it. You have no doubt heard of people wearing their hearts on their sleeves and this is because what is in our hearts are some deep emotions. You can be the best actor/actress in the world but if you are hurting inside you are in bad emotional shape. You can mask your pain with a smile or a laugh but that pain is still there. You can not make that pain disappear with alcohol or drugs it simply returns when the narcotic is out of the system. Medication will also need to be constantly taken if one is on anti-depressants. Why? Because the heart itself, what is on the inside of every single person on this planet is never dealt with. God speaks of people who honor Him with their lips but their hearts are far from Him. God knows what is inside of all of us. The choice can be to run from who we are. To pour ourselves into various addictions to get away from who we are. We must however deal with who we really are if we are to move past any pain in our lives.

Before my darling mother passed away, she uttered the words it is time to move on to my wife and I. Those words were very hard to hear but they still ring true today as I am reminded of them when I reflect back on my last days with her. I could have chosen to stay in the emotional state of numbness that I was in during her last days on earth or proceed to keep all the great memories of my mother in my heart and enyoy the rest of the time that God has given me on the earth. The choice was mine. It was a difficult one but one that I believe that all of us must make when it comes to dealing with who we are. If I chose to stay in a state of numbness and deal with it by working too much or withdrawl I would too busy focusing on myself. I would miss out on spending time with my amazing wife and daughter and I would never be able to get that time back.

Take a look at who you are inside. Talk about the pain with someone you can trust and move on. You can do it. You must do it if you are to be the very best that you can be. Choose not to live in the past because you will miss the very future that God has planned for you.

Much continued positive attitude success,

Jim and Jeanetta Pollard

http://jimpollardministry.blogspot.com/