Adults and Children

The thing that's totally different between children and adults is that children have the ability to spontaneously use their imagination to forget what's bothering them and be inspired by every pony, feather, or bug that crosses their path.

All about Blood Pressure

I have high blood pressure and I take medication to keep it in check, but in discussions with a few people, I realized there was a lack of awareness among some of what blood pressure is and how it can affect you. 

What is blood pressure? Blood pressure is the force of your blood against your artery walls. When you have your blood pressure checked the reading has two numbers; one on top and one on the bottom.

The top number is your systolic pressure. This is the force of your blood in your arteries when your heart beats. The bottom number is your diastolic pressure. This is the force of your blood in your arteries when your heart relaxes in-between beats. 

Normal blood pressure would be a reading of 120 over 80 and less than 140 over 90 (120/80-140/90). High blood pressure would be a reading of 140/90 or higher. If you have high blood pressure you are at a greater risk of a stroke or heart and kidney disease. 

Many things can cause high blood pressure including physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol use, stress and your diet. These are only a few things. Certain medical conditions and medications can also cause high blood pressure.

High blood pressure can cause your body to have certain effects. For instance, it can cause a stroke. The high pressure can cause a weakened blood vessel to break causing it to bleed into the brain; thus leaving you with a stroke. 

High blood pressure can also sometimes cause your blood vessels in your eyes to bleed or burst. If this happens your vision will be blurred or impaired and might even result in blindness. Another reason it is best to keep control of your blood pressure.

Along with a stroke or kidney disease, high blood pressure can also cause a heart attack. Your arteries are what bring blood carrying oxygen to your heart muscle. If your heart is not getting enough oxygen you will experience chest pain. If the blood flow is blocked as well you will experience a heart attack.

Congestive Heart Failure is very common among people with high blood pressure. This is a very serious condition where your heart cannot pump enough blood to supply the needs of your body. It is never too late to start taking control of your health starting with your blood pressure.

Anyone can develop high blood pressure, even children. It is more common for African Americans to develop it. Many Americans will develop high blood pressure as they age but that doesn't mean it is healthy. 

Obesity plays a role in high blood pressure. If you are overweight you are at a higher risk of having high blood pressure as well as a stroke or heart disease. Try to lose at least ten pounds and this will help lower your blood pressure significantly.

Eating a healthy diet is a great way to lower or control your blood pressure. Limit your intake of salt and sodium and introduce more fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet. Once you establish your healthy diet you will have less worry of developing high blood pressure.

You should always have your blood pressure checked at your regular doctor visits. If you have high blood pressure and are concerned you can easily monitor from home. If you do this you want to have your doctor look at your home monitoring device to help ensure it is effective and you are operating it correctly.

Keep track of your blood pressure readings so you can see what is helping and what isn't. Sometimes regular lifestyle changes alone won't help as much as they would be combined with blood pressure medication. Your doctor will be able to tell you what the best option for your needs would be. 

Senior Bill of Rights

Sometimes when you and your parent are partnering for their care, it seems like an “us against the world” situation.  But since the person you are caring for has very little fight left in them, it seems it’s up to you to make sure that your mom or dad get all they have coming.  Just because a person becomes a senior doesn’t mean their fundamental rights go away.  We deserve and should expect to be treated with respect and for those serving them to live up to expectations.

But just as it was before your parent became a senior a right must be claimed to be a right.  So, while there is no formal “Senior Bill of Rights”, there are laws on the books about how nursing homes must treat seniors.  And even if your mom or dad is in an assisted care facility and not a nursing home, there are some basic expectations that were in that contract and that are fundamentally assumed that the facility will live up to.  And it's up to you as the caregiver to make sure they are living up to what is expected of them.

First of all, the facility your parents, uncle, aunt live at should be reliable to provide the basics of safety and cleanliness.  Look at the evacuation plan for the facility in the event of a fire or another emergency that would mean getting your parent out of the building.  Is it a plan that is clear and is it workable considering the entire facility is full of elderly who may not move very quickly?  And what about emergency power?  In the event of an emergency where the power goes off early, is there emergency backup power to operate elevators and automatic doors so everyone can get out?

If the facility offers food service as part of their package of services and if there is a charge for that service, there is a basic expectation that there will be meals made available three times a day, that it will be healthy food and that your parent will never be denied service.  It is also not out of line to expect that the food could be delivered to the senior citizens' rooms if your parent is ill or injured.  And your parent should be able to get some variety in their diet.   If they are not doing a good job of making foods that your parents like to eat, they shouldn’t be making that additional charge for food service.

As we mentioned earlier, your parent didn’t lose his or her rights as an individual when they move into an assisted care facility.  If your parent is paying to use that apartment, they have a right to live as they please in there.  Within certain constraints, because they are in a community setting such as keeping the noise down after bedtime and the like, your parent should be able to do what he or she wants to do in the privacy of their home without the interference from others in the community or from the staff of the complex.  This includes receiving guests, allowing family or friends to sleep over, how the apartment is decorated and what kind of music your parent enjoys.

A right that really cannot be detailed but can be felt dramatically is your parent’s right to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.  This is an intangible but how the staff of the facility treats the resident’s means a lot to your parent when they see these people every day.  It's not out of line to expect the staff and management of the facility to know your parent’s names and greet them warmly when they come down to eat or go to a social event. 

If the staff of the facility has to work directly with your parent, it should be done respectfully and pleasantly.  If your parent reports verbal or emotional abuse going on by the staff, that is cause for you to investigate it and hold that facility to accountability for that problem. 

Remember the old saying that the squeaking wheel gets the oil.   So, if the facility needs to be reminded of their responsibilities, you be that squeaky wheel.  Squeak loud and squeak often so your parent can live in a place where they enjoy their days and feel that this is a place they can genuinely call home.

7 Things You Should Know about Kittens

My grandson has his first pet, which is a kitten. As the kitten is now about six months old, here are some things that he should know or will soon learn about kittens.

1. They are not unlike fast-growing babies.  They start off lying in your arms looking at peace with the world but before you know it they’re at the “toddler” stage and running up drapes and under rugs!

2. They are fussy eaters.  Even the smallest kitten will spit out everything it doesn’t believe to be the very best available – oh and “the best” is very subjective, it depends less on the price/brand and more on the cat’s likes and dislikes!

3. Which brings us to number 3, a kitten will grow into an opinionated cat with strong likes and dislikes.  It won’t care if that’s your chair, your child’s bed, an antique sofa or fragile houseplant.  If your cat likes it, it’s his!  

4. If you have friends and family who don’t like – or even better, are allergic to – your kitten from a very young age will see these as their new best friend and insist on sitting on their lap!

5. Don’t believe what your cat tries to make you think – it is possible to train a cat to do certain things.  Just take potty training as an example, you can train a cat to use a litter box, so it follows a cat is capable of learning.  Unfortunately, an ability to learn does not automatically mean a willingness to learn, especially in a cat!

6. A kitten will grow and grow fast.  Remember this as you think it’s cute to have that tiny ball of fluff curled up next to you on your pillow at night!  Pretty soon that little kitten is going to take up all the pillow, and not be happy when it suddenly finds itself on the cold floor in a property fight over whose pillow it is!

7. A kitten will quickly worm itself into your heart and stay there – so make sure you only take enough money to buy one or you could end up bringing two or three home because you couldn’t choose between two of them, and then the third one looked so lonely!