Category Archives: Health

How to Help Your Aging Parents Stay Healthy

04/13/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

healthy, parents, aging, wellness, mom, dad — Image Credit: Pexels

Keeping fit and healthy can become a challenge as you age. When getting out of the house takes a lot longer than it used to and you simply can’t carry as much shopping or spend as much time in the kitchen, making healthy choices gets harder.

However, there are things you can do to help your parents continue to live a healthy lifestyle without having to spend a lot of time each week. Indeed, with just a few tweaks to your own lifestyle, you can keep everyone happy and healthy for years to come.

Home Care and Help

As we age, we all slow down a bit and things like caring for the household can fall by the wayside. Hiring a cleaner is a good way to ensure that the house stays relatively clean and tidy but you might also consider how you can help too.

FreedomCare could be something for you and your family to consider. Instead of paying someone else to go into your parent’s home to offer care and support, this company will pay you. This means that your parents will still get the help they need and you won’t have to sacrifice your job or spare time to help them.

Homemade Ready Meals

Home cooking is always the healthiest option as it rarely involves lots of additives to extend shelf life and is likely to include a lot more veg! Batch cooking is always the best way to make healthy meals and 2 extra portions is hardly going to add to your stress. All you need to do is cook as you would and then freeze the extras to take over at the weekend. Simple.

When you are cooking, you should consider foods that keep the joints strong as well as ensuring a varied diet to get all the vitamins and minerals. Encourage your parents to add their own veggies to different meals so that they can stay involved in choosing what to eat. Labeling each tupperware with clear reheating instructions will also really help.

Get Active Together

Staying active can be tough for elderly people, especially if they have trouble with mobility. However, with your help, you can get them out and about. Going for a walk on a nice day is a good place to start – just make sure that you go at their pace and you choose a nice flat route. Similarly, planning a day out is a nice idea. You can take a wheelchair so that they can sit down when they need a break and use the chair as a support while they walk.

Doing activities together will take a lot more time just because they tend to go slowly so don’t try to rush things. Make sure that you only need to do one or two things, or just go out for fun. Remember, the main point here is to spend quality time together. Enjoy talking and reminiscing with them and try to slow down too. It’ll probably do you some good!

Health, Life, Parenting

Bumps And Scrapes: First-Aid Tips For Young Children

04/11/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

first-aid, kids, bandage, bruises, doctor — **Pixabay**

Children can be very accident-prone at times. They may slip over when they are playing outside or they could even bump into the furniture regularly when they are learning to walk. Most of the time, these bumps and scrapes are nothing to worry about as it’s all part of growing up. However, there might be times when you need to intervene and provide some basic first-aid for your child. Here are a few tips that will help you with that.

Try To Stick To Natural Remedies

There are a whole load of different creams, ointments, and lotions that you can buy in shops to use on children’s cuts, bruises, and rashes. But these can sometimes be made using quite strong chemicals and ingredients that can irritate sensitive skin. You might want to instead stick with some natural remedies. For instance, honey can be used to soothe a rash. If you apply some honey to the affected area and then cover it with some gauze, your child should stop complaining about how much it itches. Similarly, coconut oil and olive oil both have anti-inflammatory properties so can also be used on various childhood booboos.

Don’t Panic When Toddlers Tumble
When children are learning to walk, they will want to be on their feet all of the time. Unfortunately for them, though, they will be extremely unsteady and this could result in a lot of tumbles. There is usually no need to panic when your young one does fall down, though. After all, this is all part of learning to walk! They will usually try to get back up themselves, but might need your assistance. It might be worth to check for bumps on their head and to give them a quick once over to ensure that they are ok but, more often than not, they will be fine.

Don’t Delay When Taking Them To A&E

Of course, there might be times when things are more serious and they need medical attention from a professional. If you think that this is the case, you shouldn’t delay when getting them to A&E. It’s also worth pointing out that you will need a medical report from a doctor describing their injuries if someone else caused the accident and you are going to Gray and White Law or a similar law firm to find out about compensation. If your child’s injuries are very serious, you should call for an ambulance to get them to A&E as quickly as possible.

Always Praise Children For How Well They Cope

No matter what kind of bumps or scrapes your child goes through, you should always praise them for dealing with the situation so well. This will help them grow in confidence. If their injury looks a lot worse than what it actually is, you should also continually reassure them that everything is going to be ok and they don’t have anything to worry about.

Bumps and scrapes can sometimes be scary, but these tips will help you keep a level head!

Going Strong, Health, Life

Looking After Your Joints – Practical tips

03/27/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

As we get older joint pain becomes more common. Sometimes we push on and ignore it, but that could be the reason you end up with a hip replacement, shoulder surgery or long term issues.

Typically joint pain will start due to an injury, which is easy enough to get when you’re in the yard playing with the kids. Other times it is the onset of arthritis. Whatever happens, there are plenty of ways that you can take care of your joints.

joints, health, aging, healthy living, pain — **Photo by Caroline Attwood on Unsplash**

Salmon

Or more precisely – most oily fish. Tuna, sardines, or mackerel are all perfect choices. Depending on your preferences, you can find high-quality and cheap fish to eat. Additionally, fish is a healthy and nutritious source of protein. Eating fish can also help to reduce cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of certain diseases. Besides, eating fish that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, alongside them being packed out with antioxidants, could as much as half the risk of arthritis.

It has long been noted the positive impact of fish oils on joints. If you don’t particularly like fish, then you might want to try a cod liver oil supplement. If you’re vegan, then flaxseed supplements are going to be your choice.

Move It Move It

If you sit for most of the day because of work, it might be time to work with a Pomodoro timer. This little trick will make sure that you get up and walk for at least five minutes every hour. There is also the added bonus that they make you more productive.

If you are simply at home and have more control over what you do and when you should stand up and stretch at least once every 15 minutes.

While you are standing and waiting for something, you likely (like most people) lean to one side. This causes excessive pressure in one area. Try to spread your weight across both legs for a more even distribution.

Regular exercise will also help you protect your joints. It will keep your weight in check for a start, and following on from that it will keep your energy levels up – which will avoid pain and swelling.

Joints are designed to move and move often. Try to stick to things that won’t put them under any unnecessary stress. Swimming, yoga, pilates and walking are all great places to start. Even cycling is great!

Don’t Play Hero

We all like to think that we can carry the weight of ten men from the car to the house, but in reality, that train of thought will land you in a lot of trouble. Try not to overload yourself and carry too much at once.

It might be the food shop, or it might be the big Christmas shop, whatever it is, take shorter trips or use the shopping cart all the way to your car.

Simply put? Avoid overloading yourself, and you’ll avoid pulling a muscle or damaging your joints.

Don’t Ignore Pain

One of the quickest ways to end up with permanent damage is to ignore the initial pain. We often put things off, being absolutely sure that it is nothing serious. But, unless you’re a doctor, then you simply don’t know.

If you have a recurring pain, or an injury recently that has taken a while to feel better – get it checked out.

The quicker you are to get it checked out the sooner you will be able to treat it – if you need to.

Watch Your Weight

It might not really need to be said, but the more extra weight you carry, the more work your joints will need to do. The additional stress can cause damage over a period of years.

So work on shaving a few pounds off when you can.

Footwear

What you wear on your feet chances your posture. They should be comfortable and supportive in all the right places. When you can, head to a reputable shoe store and get your feet measured. Over the years, and even during a single day your feet will swell and change shape. Buy shoes that will accommodate that.

If you intend to run, or even walk for long periods, you should go to a specialist sports store. They will analyse your gait and instep and show you the exact shoes that will provide you with support in the arch of your foot.

It doesn’t take too much to look after your joints, small changes in your daily life and plenty of water can keep your joints in good working order for years to come. Of course, a little extra helping hand in the form of a capsule supplement is never a bad thing either! Take care of your joints, and they will take care of you too.