Learn From Your Neighbors – How Life And Home Change With Age

Posted by Harold Smith on Jul 28, 2016 in Uncategorized |

Most of us see our parents as our rock and refuge from the storms that life brings our way. However, when they get older, the roles will reverse. It’s up to us to take care of our parents the way they’ve always cared for us.

The aging process can be cruel, especially to those who are losing the ability to live on their own. How does one know if his or her parents require a little extra help to maintain their freedom? One thing is for sure: The idea probably won’t come from them. Most seniors refuse to feel like a burden to their children, and would rather not admit that they have a hard time accomplishing daily tasks.

With that in mind, here are a few ways to tell if your parents are in need of senior care.

Serious Diseases

Sometimes all it takes is a traumatic event to urge aging individuals to consider assisted living. Suffering from a heart attack or a stroke make seniors understand that it is impossible for them to live alone. People with lung conditions will have a hard time accomplishing daily tasks on their own. Those with cancer will also find it difficult to live without assistance. If your parent suffers from any of these conditions, they almost certainly need some extra assistance – whether they are too stubborn to admit it or not.

Inability to Perform Daily Tasks

The inability to perform simple tasks or activities of daily living should be another consideration. These tasks include bathing, grooming, dressing, toileting, walking, and eating. Look closely and you should be able to see the signs that this is occurring.

One might notice burn marks on a parent’s skin, from having trouble with cooking or ironing. Your parent may exhibit bruises due to mobility problems. A home’s interior will look shabby or unkempt, due to lack of maintenance. Parents may exhibit lack of proper hygiene or grooming, or look gaunt and stressed. And their inability to thrive on their own will likely cause them to seem frustrated and withdrawn.

Sometimes, just a few hours a week to provide a hand around the house is enough to keep seniors in their homes. Seniors Helping Seniors is just one of the many senior care agencies that can provide this kind of help.

Alzheimer’s and Other Forms of Dementia

Dementia is a mental condition that progresses quite slowly. Many patients are not diagnosed until the later stages. This is why it’s important to have one’s parents checked by a physician regularly, especially if they are genetically predisposed to dementia.

The symptoms of dementia can be hard to spot. Usually a person may seem more confused and forgetful. They might fail to recognize neighbors who have lived near them for decades and acquaintances that they see daily. They will start losing things like car keys and may even forget to pay their bills. These subtle changes should be noted, as these are early warning signs of dementia and should never be ignored.

If you see any of the signs listed above, and believe your parent needs senior care, be sure to discuss the issue with him or her before searching for options. It is important to allow them the dignity to choose what option is right for them. It would also be best if they decided that they truly require assistance, instead of being forced to receive help.

The best way to go about this would be to talk with them first and then seek out an experienced senior care specialist who can help them pick an option that will suit their condition best.

Posted by Harold Smith on Jul 28, 2016 in Uncategorized |

Nowadays, people are looking for ways to cut back and save a little money. For some, that means skipping scheduled maintenance checks on their car. But too many find that skipping maintenance won’t really save money at all; that’s because, without it, you can expect your car to break down frequently, consume more fuel, and even put you in harm’s way.

A lack of maintenance on the braking system, for example, can put you in great danger since the poorly-maintained brakes can fail to work when needed. Lack of engine maintenance, on the other hand, can lead to freezing of the engine, which may leave you stranded on the road. And instead of saving money, you may be forced you to overhaul the entire engine, have it replaced, or replace your car.

Think of it this way: Proper maintenance will actually save money in the long run. Here are some good car maintenance practices to embrace:

Regular Oil Changes

Your engine consists of dozens of moving parts, the most notable being the crankshaft, pistons and connecting rods. These parts are constantly moving when the engine is running and are often subjected to strong forces. This means that there is a lot of friction in the engine; this leads to wear-and-tear that can eventually cause a system breakdown.

For this reason, an essential maintenance practice for any vehicle is changing the oil on a regular basis. The level of oil should also be checked several times a week, and topped to the required level if necessary. It’s also important that you use the recommended type of oil for your engine to ensure optimal performance.

Regular Tire Checks

If you want your tires to last, they should be checked on a regular basis. Be sure to check the inflation at least twice a month. If your tires have the recommended pressure, your vehicle will roll much more easily, thereby improving the vehicle’s fuel efficiency; they’ll also wear out slowly and evenly.

If tires aren’t properly inflated, they can wear unevenly and several times more quickly. (I became a regular customer at Aarrow Transmission in Richmond after they solved an inflation problem that was burning through tires). Or, if you notice abnormal wear patterns, take your car to an expert for proper wheel balancing. When their thread depth drops below the recommended minimum of 1.6mm, your tires should be replaced.

Cooling System Checks

Your vehicle relies on water and coolant, which move around the engine to absorb heat; the radiator acts as the heat exchanger responsible for dissipating that heat. Without this process, your engine would rapidly overheat and could suffer catastrophic damage. So be sure to check the level of water in the radiator every few days and refill it if necessary. The coolant should also be refilled before it runs out. However, if your radiator requires frequent refills, it may have a leak that must be repaired.

Braking System Check

Despite knowing that brakes are one of the most important systems in a car, some people elect to skip brake inspections. This is a mistake. Brake failure when the vehicle is moving can put you in serious danger of colliding with other vehicles, hitting pedestrians, or plunging into a ditch or cliff – all of which you’d gladly pay the price of a brake inspection to avoid. In between inspections, check the amount of brake fluid in the tank and refill if necessary. Be sure to watch out for squealing, unusual vibrations and poor performance.

Don’t wait. Schedule that maintenance you’ve been putting off. You’ll pay a few bucks this week, but you’re sure to save much more in the future.

Posted by Harold Smith on Jul 28, 2016 in Uncategorized |

Your health, and health of your family, matter a great deal to you.  An important factor that influences your health is the indoor air quality in your home. When there are allergens in the air you breathe every day, it can trigger a range of health concerns. Understanding allergens, and what you can do to remove them, is a key step in protecting you and your family from their negative effects.

What Allergens Are In Your Home?

Let’s start with dust mites – very tiny spider-like creatures that love bedding, upholstery, and carpets. A warm, humid carpet is the ideal place for dust mites to thrive.  Even though you may vacuum and change bedding often, you may have large numbers of them living in your carpet. These common allergens can trigger asthma attacks, and also affect your skin, eyes, nose, and lungs.

Pet dander is the tiny bits of skin your pets normally shed, and another common allergen found in your home. If you have birds, cats, or dogs in your household, they produce dander regularly. Dander can accumulate in carpets and circulate throughout the air in your house. Some people can develop respiratory issues when exposed to dander for a period of time.

In addition to these common household allergens, carpets contain bacteria. Bacteria can also become a serious health issue for you and your family.

What You Need To Know About Carpet Cleaning

If you vacuum the carpeting throughout your house regularly, and use expensive cleaning products, your carpets will look nicer and your home should smell cleaner. But vacuuming won’t resolve the problem of allergens and their potential health risks. Maintaining air quality requires effective allergen removal, and that means calling in the professionals.

Only professional carpet cleaners have the experience, equipment, and supplies to remove nearly every trace of mold, dander, and dust mites from the carpets. Their cleaning process uses equipment that’s more effective than vacuums at pulling up allergens. The professional cleaner I use, Peachy Kleen Chem-dry, removes 98% of allergens from carpets and upholstery.

After an expert treatment, in addition to looking nice, your carpet will be almost entirely free from allergens and bacteria. Every room in your home will be beautiful, clean, and healthy. When you want the healthiest environment for your family, scheduling regular professional cleanings is a good way to start.

Routine cleaning with your vacuum can help to manage the allergens in your home, but it can’t do the job on its own.  For a deep cleaning that removes almost of the allergens, you need to call the experts. It is a simple step to keep you and your family healthy, and everyone will benefit when they can breathe fresh air every day.