Knowing Symptoms of Eye Conditions Could Help Avert Damage Q. My 79-year-old mother has been experiencing some unusual eye problems including blurred vision.  She doesn’t seem concerned, but it’s hard for me to know how serious this is since I live several hundred miles away.  Should we be worried? What problems commonly occur with seniors’ [...]

10 Senior Mealtime Challenges Research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care® network reveals 10 mealtime challenges for older adults. The following percentages refer to the number of seniors who believe these are challenges for older people who live alone. After each are tips for how to make the most of mealtimes for older adults [...]

Denture Health Requires Care and Maintenance Q. My 83-year-old father is getting dentures, but he doesn’t seem to know much about them.  I’m concerned  he won’t know how to care for them, since he’s suffering from some dementia and lives alone.  Can you help educate me? Eventually many people do need dentures whether they’ve lost [...]

Table Talk: How to Get Mealtime Conversations Going The shopping is done, and the meal is ready and on the table. Your work is complete, right? And now comes the fun part. You sit down to dine with an older loved one. But what is there to talk about? A senior’s world may have shrunk [...]

The Loneliness Factor Loneliness – it’s one of the most serious obstacles to good nutrition that your senior loved one could face. In the United States, approximately 40 percent of the population age 75 and older – 6.7 million people – lives alone, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. These seniors face significant socialization challenges, [...]

Nutritional Risks: The Warning Signs Two of five seniors who live alone (44 percent) have at least four warning signs of poor nutritional health such as eating alone, taking multiple medications and illness, according to research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care® network. “Nutrition is certainly a key factor to an individual’s overall health [...]

What Is Long-term Care Insurance? Long-term care insurance can be an effective way to minimize expenses for older adults. Long-term care insurance is intended to reduce out-of-pocket costs if someone winds up needing long-term care from a paid provider. Long-term care insurance can pay for a nursing facility or home care, and many policies also [...]

Decreased Strength a Sign That Senior May Need Assistance Physical weakness may be an indication your senior loved one is struggling at home. If so, a little extra help around the house could be the answer. Q. I’ve noticed that my 82-year-old mother does not have the strength and stamina she once did. Are these [...]

Staying Active Can Reduce Colon Cancer Risk, Study Reveals Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer in the United States. However, there are many ways to reduce the risk of colon cancer. One is exercise. Make sure your senior is doing all he or she can do to minimize the risks of [...]