Health issues
Meeting the physical challenges of later years
Avoiding the age-related muscle loss of Sarcopenia
Age-related muscle loss affects all of us as we age. Typically from the age of 45, people lose 1-2% of muscle every year. This eventually causes fatigue, frailty and increased risk of falls. Dr Max Gowland, founder of Prime Fifty, shares top tips on how to fight it. Some of our older friends and family […]
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Am I too old for braces?
Derek Lotts, a reader from Australia, first started researching dental health because of challenges his father was experiencing. Derek continued the research in order to reach out to people and share experiences and tips. Here are his helpful findings. This is a question a lot of us senior citizens ask. When we think of braces […]
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Helping your parents with toilet problems and incontinence
Incontinence is something that most don’t like to talk about yet it’s incredibly common among older people and can be a difficult condition for your parent to cope with. Affecting the bladder or the bowels incontinence carries an unfortunate stigma that often prevents suffers from getting the help they need. How can incontinence start? Your […]
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How to cope with your parent’s Parkinson’s diagnosis
Written by Rebecca Lenton Last year for Parkinson’s Awareness Week we featured two stories from a father and daughter who shared their experience of one man’s Parkinson’s diagnosis and the impact it had on their family. Chris’s father, our own Rebecca’s grandfather, Trevor struggled to maintain control over his life as his Parkinson’s began to […]
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How to cope with sleep problems in the elderly
Written by Rebecca Lenton Most of us have, from time to time, had trouble sleeping. As our parents age they can become more prone to sleep issues. Their sleep patterns change and health conditions can get in the way of a good night’s rest. Why isn’t my parent sleeping well? Whether they’ve been waking during […]
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How to help your parent prevent heart disease
Written by Rebecca Lenton Heart disease affects just under 500,000 people aged 75 and over in the UK. We’ve gathered together some tips to help your parent reduce the risk of heart disease as they get older – and they are relevant to the middle years as well. Debate continues as to which of these […]
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How to help your parents manage tinnitus
Emily Broomhead, Projects Manager for the British Tinnitus Association, shares practical tips for managing your parent’s tinnitus and delves into the different devices you can buy to help. Approximately 10% of adults in the UK have tinnitus. People of any age can have tinnitus but it often affects the elderly as their hearing may worsen […]
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How to safely lift your parent
Written by Rebecca Lenton One of our lovely readers, Jane, asked us the following question: “How can I and my husband safely, and confidently, lift his 89 year old mum upright out of her chair, onto her zimmer frame, and then back into her commode seat, without damaging our backs or her?” We don’t pretend […]
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Living with blindness
Written by Rebecca Lenton Blindness affects almost 2 million people in the UK and as our parents get older there’s an increasing chance that they may experience some degree of sight loss. 1 in 5 people aged 75 and over are living with sight loss and for those with a service record accepting their blindness […]
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How speech therapy can improve communication
As our parents age they can face challenges that make speech more difficult. Speech and language therapist Laura Dawson explains how to identify the issues and how our parents can be helped. Why is communication important? Communication is vital. We communicate our decisions, needs and opinions verbally. It’s the basis of forming relationships. When anyone […]
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