Authored by BlueAngel on
Saturday, January 15, 2005
The new Elder Care Tips Newsletter is as interesting and informative as usual. The useful suggestion about getting the "urine odor" out of carpets is very practical. I wonder if there are any out there that have suggestions on removing the Urine odor from beds, pillows, seat cushions? Enjoy the newsletter.
Elder CareTips: Mastering The Eldercare Maze (TM)
The newsletter for all elder caregivers. Sent to you twice a month,
and only by request. Please feel free to pass on Elder CareTips:
Mastering The Eldercare Maze (TM) to anyone you think might
be interested.
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Read this issue in full color online:
http://www.eldercareteam.com/resources/newsletter.htm
You are receiving this email newsletter because you asked to receive it. If you've changed your mind, or if you want to leave us for any reason at all, you canremove your name below.
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It's certainly been one memorable New Year in every corner of the globe. If you know of a senior who lives alone, especially where there have been such terrible snow and rain storms, make a visit and check on his or her well-being.
Change the furnace filter if it needs it. Offer to make a run to the grocery store. Bring back a jug or two of drinking water for emergencies. Some fresh soup or a pot of spaghetti sauce might be welcome, too.
Let's all take a minute to check on each other regularly and lend a hand if we can. It really does take the whole village and then some when people are enduring such awfulness.By the way, here's a list of emergency supplies that everyone should have on hand, no matter what their age or where they live:
http://www.eldercareteam.com/resources/articles/emergencyprepare.htmAnd now, on to our regular business...
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>> Prescription Help For You, The Caregiver <<
Studies say that 1 in 10 Americans don't have health insurance.That means that at least one in 10 caregivers don't have health insurance.
If you don't have health insurance you're tempted to let your own health go. Not only is that not a good choice for you, it could have devastating consequences for the ones you care for. If you fall into the no-insurance group, there may be some help coming to you.
Just this week there was an announcement from 10 of the biggest drug manufacturers about a drug discount program for people under age 65 who don't have public or private drug coverage and who have a limited income.
The Together Rx Access program will allow holders to get varying discounts on selected drugs at participating pharmacies. It will not cover mail order purchases. On the list that was released on Tuesday about 275 drugs were included. Some generic drugs are also expected to be offered.
Companies agreeing to offer drugs for discounts include Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen Pharmaceutical Products, Novartis, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Sanofi Aventis, Takeda, and TAP Pharmaceutical Products, Inc.
You can check eligibility or apply for the program at
http://www.togetherrxaccess.com or by calling 1-800-444-4106.
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>> Caregiver Dilemma: Getting Urine Out Of Carpet <<
A reader asked me this question, and I decided to go right to a real authority for the best answer. If you haven't had this problem yet you stand a good chance of facing it in the future, so save this issue somewhere where you can find it when you need it.
My definitive source was the great people at Dalworth Carpet
Cleaning in Dallas, TX (http://www.dalworth.com ).
That "classic" urine odor is really caused by the waste products of bacteria, so get to the problem quickly, before they have a chance to start multiplying.
On a fresh spill, blot up the moisture as soon as you can with towels, paper towels, or whatever you have that's dry, absorbent and colorfast. Don't scrub the moisture down into the carpet because it will naturally wick up to the top of thefibers and you don't want to work it down in.
Then, sprinkle Arm & Hammer (R) baking powder or baking soda (either one) over the damp area, covering it completely to a depth of about a quarter-inch. Don't rub it in. Use more than you think you really need, so you can't see any carpet through the powder.
Because the liquid naturally wicks upwards it will be drawn up from the fibers, out of the carpet, and into the powder. Let it sit one to two days until the powder is completely dry, then vacuum.
This should work if the spill is fresh and if it hasn't soaked into
the carpet padding or the floor beneath.
For an older contamination that has an odor Dalworth says you really only have two choices: professional cleaning, or kill the bacteria growing in the carpet. If your carpet is made of wool or nylon, then you will probably need professional cleaners because products containing bleach will take the color
out of nylon, and bleach will dissolve wool.
If you have carpet made of Olefin (R) or polyester Dalworth says you can mix a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water and soak the affected area with a trigger sprayer. After this mixture has had a chance to work for a couple of hours, then apply the blot, Arm & Hammer (R), let it dry, and vacuum as
above. Reminder - don't use bleach if your carpet is made of nylon or wool. If you aren't sure, don't do it. If you think you're sure, test this on an out-of-the way spot first, just to be certain.
If you have nylon or wool carpet and the spill is old and smelly, you can try thoroughly re-wetting the spill with water and then using the blot, Arm & Hammer (R), vacuum method, but your chances of success are greatly reduced because this won't kill the bacteria actively growing in the carpet. You'll probably have to call in a professional.
The best cure is prevention, of course. If you have carpet in he bathroom, take it up if you can. If mishaps are occurring in other rooms - by the bedside, for instance - get some inexpensive rubber-backed bath rugs. Tape them down so
they aren't a trip hazard. When an accident happens you can pull them up right away and throw them in the wash.
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The great secret that all old people share is that you really haven't changed in seventy or eighty years. Your body changes, but you don't change at all. And that, of course, causes great confusion.
-- Doris Lessing
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>> Elder CareTip <<
Prevent someone from being scalded: Stick a thermometer in the water coming out of the "Hot" taps. If it's more than 120 degrees, turn the thermostat on the water heater down low. Wait 24 hours so the water cools off and test again.
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If you have a caregiving question please send it along to me:molly@eldercareteam.com . If you have a question, there are surely lots of other people who have the same question and who haven't asked. If I don't know the answer I'll do my best to find someone who does.
This way, we'll all learn together.
And don't keep us a secret. If you know other people who should be reading this too, then do them and us a favor by telling them about Elder CareTips. Just send them this link:
http://eldercareteam.com/resources/newsletter.htm
We have an ever-growing collection of articles on the subject of caring for older adults. Some have appeared in this newsletter, some haven't. Browse around as much as you'd like at
http://www.eldercareteam.com/resources/articles/index.htm
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That's it for this time,
Molly
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© 2005 Molly Shomer, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from Elder CareTips: Mastering The Eldercare Maze (TM) as long as you include complete attribution, including ive web site link and email link. I would appreciate it if you would let me know where the material will appear.
To subscribe, send a blank email to
eldermatters@aweber.com
Molly Shomer
Head Coach
The Eldercare Team
http://www.eldercareteam.com
mshomer@eldercareteam.com
(972) 395-7823
Box 700291
Dallas, TX 75370
To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?TAyMjCxstMysHKxMjAwc
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Authored by BlueAngel on
Sunday, January 02, 2005
With the winter season on us here are some useful hints caring for our equipment, envoirnment and ourselves.
Cold winter weather means kids are spending more time indoors. WD-40 can help clean up after playtime. Keep a can handy and use it to:
-Remove crayon from walls – even Crayola® recommends it! Spray a light coat of WD-40 on junior’s “wall art,” allow it to set for a few seconds, then wipe away
-Get Playdough® and Silly Putty® out of the carpet. Spray WD-40 onto the affected area, allow it to soak in for 30 seconds, then rub the area with a rag or paper towel to work the mess out. WD-40 can be removed by
using straight mineral spirits.
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Authored by BlueAngel on
Saturday, January 01, 2005
This is the first ElderCare Team Newsletter for 2005 sent out by Molly Shomer of Dallas. It has a very vital gift that will enhance your chances of having fewer medical errors regarding your emergency care. Please take heed and listen well! The gift is the "VIAL OF LIFE"
The New Name of the Newsletter or the organization is now Elder Care Tips: Mastering The Eldercare Maze (TM) Newsletter for January1, 2005.b>
Ethel Taylor, ret. RN
aka Blue Angel
Eldercarerequest. You are welcome to pass on Elder Care Tips™ to anyone you think might be interested. You'll find information about how to get your personal subscription below.
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A True Story
I'd like to start out the new year by telling you a story and by giving you a small gift. The story is true. The gift is yours to use for yourself and anyone you care about - you may have as many as you'd like to use.
Here's the story:
The week before Christmas I was asked to visit with an elderly lady and the profoundly disabled woman, about age 45, she was caring for. I arrived at the appointed date and time, and no one answered the door or the phone. I could see mail in the box at the front door. Two days later, after making several more calls that went unanswered, I began to feel uneasy. I drove by the house again. More mail in the box, and still no answer to the bell.
I knocked on several of the neighbors' doors, but no one knew anything about the two women who lived in the house in question. Knowing that I would feel like a fool if I were wrong, but also knowing that I couldn't ignore a possibly serious problem, I called 911.
Within half an hour of my call emergency responders were able to gain entry to the house. Inside they found what I had hoped they wouldn't...an elderly lady deceased in her bed, and a younger woman still alive, but in terribly bad shape, near death and unable to communicate.
I couldn't answer most of the paramedics' questions. I had not yet met the women, so I didn't have much information about the younger woman's health history. I didn't know her physician's name or what medications she was taking. All this vital information I had planned to gather during my first
assessment visit.
The emergency room doctors were gravely hampered by not knowing much more than their patient's name. Most of the critical information they needed to treat this young woman died with her caregiver. Some has since surfaced as distant relatives have been able to fill in some blanks, but the doctors
are still working with sketchy information.
It appears now that she will probably live, although this is far from certain. The doctors and nurses have done a heroic job of caring for a medically complex patient under the worst of circumstances with absolutely no information. How much faster and more efficiently could they all have addressed her needs had they had even the most basic information?
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What Would Have Helped?
One of the first things I suggest to clients when I visit them for an assessment is a Vial of Life. The Vial Of Life gets its name from the container that was originally used to contain vital medical information about an individual in a private residence. When the idea was first introduced, a large pill bottle was suggested - hence the "Vial."
(With reference to medication, "vial" usually indicates a glass container of liquid medication, but we won't quibble with the concept). Emergency Medical Personnel were instructed to look for a "Vial of Life" - a brown pill bottle containing a homeowner's medical history - in the refrigerator.
There was quite a push for this program several years ago, but the momentum seems to have slowed down. When I stopped into a local fire station a while ago to ask about the Vial of Life program in my own hometown of Dallas, Texas, the paramedics just looked at me blankly. They had never heard of it.
So, because not every EMS knows to look in the refrigerator for medical information, now the idea is to place it in a clear bag taped to the outside of the refrigerator. Paramedics can locate the information immediately without searching, which they are often not allowed to do.
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A Vial Of Life On Every 'Fridge
If you've been reading this newsletter for any length of time at all, or if you've poked around the Eldercare Team website, you know that I strongly recommend...advocate... push for...insist - by any name you want to call it - that you have medical information for the people you care about handy.
But what if emergency personnel need to help your loved one right now? They don't have time to look through purses and wallets for I.D. and emergency contact information, and in some communities they aren't permitted to. They don't know what medical problems your loved one might have. By the time someone in an emergency room gets around to calling you, assuming they know you exist, critical time can be lost.
If one of your parents is caregiver for the other, would your less able parent be able to give critical information to emergency personnel if the caregiving parent were taken ill?
The solution is a Vial of Life bag on the refrigerator in every home where medical history and medication information would be critical to emergency care.
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My New Year's Gift To You
I've put together a Vial of Life kit that you can use to make as many sets as you and your family might need.
Complete the information form as soon as you can, and tape your small plastic bag to the refrigerator. Put your alert sign on the front door.
Like any insurance, you hope you never need it. Unlike most insurance, it costs you absolutely nothing but a few minutes of your time, a bag, and some tape to make potentially lifesaving information immediately available to emergency personnel who might urgently need it to help someone you love.
Make this one of your achievable resolutions today - grab a Vial of Life kit. Get one up on the refrigerator in every home where emergency personnel might one day need vital information.
Please pass this gift on to everyone you know. Ask them to pass it along, too. If you'd like to put the URL in an email to someone, it's: http://www.eldercareteam.com/pdffiles/vialoflife.pdf
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Happy Birthday Baby Boom
January 1: Baby Boom Birthday - The 18-year period known as the baby boom began on January 1, 1946 (the first full year of peace after WW II). 600,000 more babies were born in 1946 than in 1945. Kathleen Casey, born one second after midnight, was the first baby boomer.
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And on that note to all Baby Boomers everywhere, I'd like to remind you that:
Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese.
-- Billie Burke
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Don't keep us a secret. If you know other people who should be reading this too, then do them and us a favor by telling them about Care Matters: Mastering The Eldercare Maze ™. Just send them to this link: http://eldercareteam.com/resources/newsletter.htm
We have an ever-growing collection of articles on the subject of caring for older adults. Some have appeared in this newsletter, some haven't. Browse around as much as you'd like at
http://www.eldercareteam.com/resources/articles/index.htm
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Happy New Year, everyone!
Molly
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Molly Shomer
Head Coach
The Eldercare Team
http://www.eldercareteam.com
mshomer@eldercareteam.com
Box 700291
Dallas, TX 75370
(972) 395-7823
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© 2005 Molly Shomer, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from Elder CareTips: Mastering The Eldercare Maze (TM) as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link and email link. I would appreciate it if you would let me know where the material will appear.
To subscribe, send a blank email to
eldermatters@aweber.com
Get Your Copy of What You Need To Know When You're Planning For
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