How Can You Provide Quality Care to Your Aging Loved Ones?

Taking care of our elders can be a challenging task. Many have no idea where to start or how to handle senior care duties with the sensitivity it needs. Older adults need proper care to maintain their quality of life, which includes as much independence as possible. Here are a few tips to help you provide better care to your aging loved ones.

• Healthy meals – It is important for the seniors to eat a healthy and nutritious diet for overall good health. Make sure to provide a healthy meal that includes enough fresh fruits, vegetable, and whole grains. Consult their doctor or a nutritionist to help find a diet plan based on their health.
  
• Medication management – Make sure your loved one takes their medicines on time. Help them keep track of all their medicines, dosages and when to take them ensure proper medication management.
  
• Regular exercise – In order to stay physically fit and active, regular physical activity is important. Encourage them to join a senior fitness club or an exercise program through the community. Not only with this help them stay fit, but also provide an opportunity to engage and socialize with people of same age that will benefit their mental health.

If you are unable to provide the care your loved ones need, consider hiring an in-home caregiver. Always Best Care is a leading senior care organization that has highly trained, bonded, and insured caregivers who provide compassionate in-home care services in Harford County.  For more information, call (410) 877-3787.

Always Best Care Offers Free Referrals for Assisted Living in Harford County

Since 1996, Always Best Care has been North America’s premier senior care giving provider. Their services include in-home care as well as free referrals for senior living communities. Seniors, who are interested in learning about either one, or both, are encouraged to contact Always Best Care to schedule a free consultation.

If you are a senior living in the Fallston area, and would like to schedule a free consultation to learn about in-home care in Cecil County or about how to obtain free referrals for assisted living in Harford County, you are encouraged to contact the Always Best Care Fallston location today. This location serves the Upper Chesapeake area and has a solid reputation with strong relationships with other professionals who work in area hospitals, social workers, senior communities, and other various senior resources.

What can you expect from in-home care services in Cecil County? Well, the Always Best Care caregivers are always licensed, bonded, and insured, as well as highly-skilled and well-trained. Always Best Care takes the time and effort to pair the right caregiver with the right senior so that a good-fitting bond can form. The Always Best Care caregivers provide a number of services that fall within the home helper, personal care, and companion categories. Some of these services include:

• Assisting with morning wake ups and evening tuck ins
• Aiding with reading
• Planning outings, visits, and trips
• Maintaining calendars
• Planning, preparing, and cleanup after meals
• Caring for pets and houseplants
• Organizing and cleaning closets
• Writing letters and correspondence
• Discussing current and historical events
• Preparing grocery lists
• Answering the door and phone
• Assisting with entertaining
• Reading religious material
• Shopping for groceries and supplies
• …and many others

Seniors who are thinking about transitioning into a senior living environment can obtain free referrals for assisted living in Harford County by scheduling a free consultation. These referrals are free because the cost is ultimately absorbed by the senior living community that is chosen by the senior. It is just one more way that Always Best Care has dedicated itself to the well-being of its senior clients.

Seniors can call the Always Best Care in Fallston today at 410-877-3787 to set up their free consultation.

Why Seniors Should Get a Shingles Vaccine

Varicella Zoster: it’s the name of the virus that causes chickenpox as well as the shingles virus.Most adults and seniors have had chicken pox, though with the new chicken pox vaccine, it’s unlikely children and teens will have to worry about this virus in the future. It’s believed that one out of three American adults will develop shingles in their lifetime, and it can prove to be excruciatingly painful and debilitating.

After a chickenpox outbreak the virus that causes shingles stays inside the body, and basically goes into “hiding” until a later date, if at all. If it does reactivate, shingles appear which amounts to blisters and a painful, itchy, tingling rash all over the body. Once the rash clears, it’s still possible for people to develop postherpetic neuralgia, which is a severely painful condition in place of the rash. This painful condition can last anywhere from weeks on up to years.

Seniors need to be especially aware of the risk of shingles because over half of shingles cases are people over the age of 60. If shingles appear on the face or even near the eyes, the condition and the rash aftermath can cause permanent hearing or vision problems. Plus, if the individual’s immune system has been previously compromised in some way, whether it’s due to chemotherapy, radiation, a previous transplant, or the existence of HIV, it makes the risk for shingles and the debilitating and painful skin condition even greater.

Get the Vaccine

It is recommended by the Center for Disease Control for anyone over the age of 60 to get the shingles vaccine. Some insurance companies will even cover it for people over the age of 50. In trials, the vaccine proved to cut the risk of developing the disease in half in people over the age of 60, and reduced the risk of developing the painful rash afterwards by nearly 70%.

Always Best Care Senior Services has been in the industry of caregiving for the past 20 years. With locations all over the United States and Canada, they are proud to provide their senior clients with compassionate and dedicated care. If you live in the Upper Chesapeake area and are interested in learning about in-home care in Cecil County, or assisted living in Harford County, call the Always Best Care Upper Chesapeake location at 410-877-3787 today.