Health
How can you help your parent stay well for as long as possible and find their way through a complex health system?
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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Why regular walks are good for you and your parent
Written by Rebecca Lenton If you read certain newspapers or visit the BBC’s news website regularly you’ll know there’s a constant stream of studies reporting on the efficacy of various lifestyle regimes. We’ve gathered a few together that suggest that taking time out for a walk every day is a very good idea. Preventing dementia […]
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Safe exercise in later life expands horizons
Our friend Kevin Morgan (aka FitOldDog) tells us how his training injury and other health issues, including an abdominal aortic aneurysm, led him to leave his career in science to set up Old Dogs in Training LLC. He shares his advice for exercise in later life and talks about ways to improve your parent’s mind […]
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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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Age and swallowing problems – how speech therapy helps
Swallowing difficulties can be associated with ageing, or might be the symptom of another health issue. Speech and language therapist Laura Dawson describes how problems can be identified and addressed. Swallowing food and drink is something we take for granted. It’s part of everyday life, and without the ability to swallow we would compromise our […]
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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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