Articles

Deciding Your Accomodation Life In Retirement What a subject this has become. In the past there were fewer challenges to consider than what we find today. To start with most of us love our home and what that means to us. Lying in a hospital bed you may even recall the...

Growing Old With Dignity 1. When my children tell me I should no longer drive, I will believe them and quit, because I know they love me. 2. When it becomes apparent that I need extra help, I will accept it from outsiders because my children cannot do everything. They...

September Is World Alzheimer’s Month September is World Alzheimer’s Month with World Alzheimer’s Day taking place on 21 September. 2017 will mark the fifth World Alzheimer’s Month, which aims to raise awareness and challenge the stigma and misinformation that...

Our Best is Good Enough The decisions caregivers of elderly loved ones must make during the Christmas holidays are fraught with opportunities to make mistakes in judgment. Chief among them is how much to include a loved one who has dementia in the festivities. Will...

Superbugs In Hospital Approach Crisis Levels A range of largely uncontrolled superbugs are making hospitalisation a risky business. That’s not what you would reasonably expect from a place of healing, but it is undeniably true. Superbugs like CRE (carbapenem-resistant...

How To Beat The Stress Of Caring For A Loved One There are very few people who plan for the time that they will need caregiving. At some time in our lives we will be responsible for caring for our parents or ageing relatives and friends. From our experience most...

The Caregivers Code Of Conduct

How To Interact With Persons Living With Alzheimer’s & Dementia One of the biggest challenges facing the family of persons living with Alzheimer’s and dementia is learning how to effectively communicate with their loved one. Because it is such a devastating and...

Preparing Yourself For Caregiving There are very few people who plan for the time that they will need caregiving. At some time in our lives we will be responsible for caring for our parents or ageing relatives and friends. From our experience most families are very...

Caregiving For The Late Stage Of Alzheimer’s Having cared for your loved one through the early and middles stages of Alzheimer’s, you now find yourself having to provide more intensive care, as his or her condition worsens quite significantly. You will notice, for...

Caregiving For Middle Stage Alzheimer’s Usually the longest stage of Alzheimer’s, the middle stage is far more challenging than the early stage. During the early stage, the focus is on basic caregiving, such as establishing routines, creating a safe and familiar...

Caregiving for Early Stage Alzheimer’s In medical terms there are actually five stages of Alzheimer’s but for purposes of caregiving we break them down into early, middle and late stage. This article deals with early stage. Although a person may not always appear to...

Don’t Feel Guilty About Using Professional Caregivers One would automatically assume that bringing in professional help to take care of your loved ones is by default an act of kindness and love. Yet some people see it as abdicating their responsibility and feel guilty...

Growing Old With Dignity When the time comes to get caregiving help for your parents you need to be sensitive to the points of resistance that they may have. Denial, fear and the unwillingness to lose their independence rank high in the elderly’s opposition to...

How Caregivers Can Help The Visually Impaired Losing one’s eyesight is a traumatic experience that robs the afflicted of many of their daily pleasures, such as reading, sightseeing, television viewing and seeing children and grandchildren. Even those who are partially...

The Growing Demand for Home-Based Care Why the demand for home-based care and nursing is a growing option in South Africa The demand for home-based caregiving and nursing in South Africa is growing at a rapid rate. What is driving this phenomenon? Simply stated, the...

Coping With Anxiety for the Family Caregiver COPING WITH ANXIETY & STRESS FOR THE FAMILY CAREGIVER When taking on the responsibility of caregiving it is not uncommon for children and spouses to suffer from varying degrees of anxiety and stress. It’s not...

The Debt We Owe The Elderly “The human race is characterized by a long childhood and by a long old age. Throughout history this has enabled older persons to educate the younger and pass on values to them; this role has ensured man’s survival and progress. The presence...

Dentifying The 7 Stages Of Alzheimer’s Stage 1- Absence Of Impairment Person is fully functional without any impairment, judgment, communication or daily activity. Stage 2- Minimal Impairment Person experiences some memory lapses that are undetectable by friends or...

Growing Old With Dignity In medical terms there are actually five stages of Alzheimer’s but for purposes of caregiving we break them down into early, middle and late stage. This article deals with early stage. Although a person may not always appear to have dementia,...

Our Best is Good Enough The decisions caregivers of elderly loved ones must make during the Christmas holidays are fraught with opportunities to make mistakes in judgment. Chief among them is how much to include a loved one who has dementia in the festivities. Will...

Ten Warning Signs For Alzheimer’s Memory changes that disrupt daily life. One of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s, especially in the early stages, is forgetting recently learned information. Others include forgetting important dates or events; asking for the same...

How To Support A Terminally ill Loved One Memory changes that disrupt daily life. One of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s, especially in the early stages, is forgetting recently learned information. Others include forgetting important dates or events; asking for...

How To Prevent Falls With the help of a trained Caregiver, falls can be prevented and serious injury can be avoided. There is no reason that your loved cannot be safe when getting in and out of bed and enjoy a sense of freedom that greatly improves their quality of...

The 5 Stages Of Loss & Grief The stages of mourning and grief are universal and are experienced by people from all walks of life. Mourning occurs in response to an individual’s own terminal illness or to the death of a valued being, human or animal. There are five...

How Families Can Cope With Amputation Few medical conditions are more traumatic for both the family and the patient than amputation. Caregivers and the family need to adopt a specific approach to physically assisting the amputee, as well as raising their spirits. Take...

How To Take Care Of Elderly Parents In Your Home The decisions caregivers of elderly loved ones must make during the Christmas holidays are fraught with opportunities to make mistakes in judgment. Chief among them is how much to include a loved one who has dementia in...

How To Take Care Of Elderly Parents In Your Home Taking care of your elderly parents, relatives or friends in your home can be very rewarding and a great comfort for your loved one. It does, however, come with special responsibilities that ensure they are safe and not...