Tag: family member

Arthritis Pain: Daily Tips to Gain Control

If you suffer from arthritis, you may not only experience joint pain and swelling, but difficulty functioning from day-to-day. Arthritis is not a walk in the park. Whether you are prone to spurts of pain or experience it all the time, going about a normal day may seem like an impossible task, but it doesnt have to be. What can you do?

Make it easy to get around your home. If you suffer from arthritis of the toes, feet, hips, or knees, it is difficult to move. Walking from one room in your home to the next, may trigger pain. Make it as easy as possible to move around. Is your home an obstacle course with furniture in the way? Enlist the help of a trusted friend, family member, or neighbor. Rearrange your furniture to create a straight path. The less turns and steps you have to make, the better.

Make sure all needed items are within easy reach. Regardless of what joints hurt, it can be difficult to reach for and grip. So, dont. Do you find it too difficult to reach to the high shelf in your kitchen cupboard? If so, dont use it. Place all foods and dishes on lower shelves or utilize your countertop. Do you find it too difficult to grasp dresser drawer handles? Instead, use your closet to hang clothes. With one simple tug, many fall right off the hanger. Learning to prevent and manage the pain and discomfort associated with arthritis includes making your life at home easier.

Keep pain relievers handy. All arthritis patients suffer from pain. Depending on the type of arthritis, this pain may be constant or it may come and go. Either way, pain relievers are a lifesaver. They typically provide relief in as little as 15 minutes. Some over-the-counter arthritis creams provide pain relief as soon as contact is made with the skin. Since they do work, keep them on hand. Keep some pills and creams in your home, car, and purse. There are many ways to reduce the risk of arthritis pain, but there are no guarantees. Anything can trigger pain, so always be prepared.

Rely on walking aids. If you suffer from arthritis of the toes, feet, hips, or knees, walking can be difficult and painful. With each step you take, pressure is applied to your already painful joints. What can you do is lessen the pressure with walking aids. These may include knee braces, crutches, or canes. Remember, the less pressure you apply to your joints, the less pain you should feel.

Ask for help. Arthritis patients experience times when they feel helpless. This is often when they cannot open a jar of spaghetti sauce, walk to the mailbox without experiencing pain, or lift a heavy box. It is very frustrating to be unable to handle daily tasks without pain. Yes, you are encouraged to try, but not it if will bring on pain. Although it can be hard, dont be afraid to ask for help. Ask your neighbor to deliver your mail to your home and save a heavy box until a family member can help you.

Keep a journal. One of the many problems arthritis patients face is difficulty managing their pain. Talking about the difficulties you face can help. For most, the worst thing to do is to keep these emotions bottled up in side. Are you mad that you are suffering from arthritis, get that anger out of you. Deal with ease issues or complication as they arise, dont keep things bottled up inside. When they do come out, it will be huge. It is best to talk to someone at home or join an arthritis support group. If you opt not to, keep a journal instead. Write down all feelings, including the good and the bad.

In short, there are many ways to treat and manage arthritis pain. Over-the-counter products are a lifesaver for many arthritis patients, but they are not you only option. The first step should be focusing on day-to-day tasks. When these seem easier and less painful, the rest will simply just fall into place.

PPPPP

Word Count 688

Friends and Family Can Help with Alcoholic Problems

You do not have to go it alone. You can join a support group and talk with family and friends about what you are living with. It is important that you are not alone in what you are living with. If you think that it will make people feel differently about the person, you may be right, but then again, the alcoholic does not care anyway. You need to have someone to talk to or confide in if you do not join a support group. You would be surprised at how many friends and family already know that there is a problem.

Talk to your family about the problem. You need the support of your family to make it when you live with an alcoholic. They can offer advice and support, but also they will know what you are going through. Some of your family made be understanding sand some may be a bit skeptic about the problem. It is not unusual for family members to be in denial as much as the alcoholic is if they think that he or she is the greatest. You still need to let everyone know what is happening.

Talk to your friends about the problem. Many times a friend can see things that you cannot. Sometimes they already know, but did not want to say anything until you brought it up for conversations. If you do talk with friends, you have to make sure that they are not going to gossip about the situation, which could make matters worst. You can talk to close friends that understand. Maybe they have even been in the same situation. This can help you more than you think. If you do not or cannot join a group, the friends and family are the next best thing to have supporting you.

Talk to his or her family about the problem only if you feel that they care about it. The same goes for his or her friends. Since you can talk to your friends and family, it would be nice if you could talk to his or her family. This can be a touchy area, as most families do not want to admit that their family member has a drinking problem. If you can find just one member of the family or just one friend, you can talk to them for help and support. Sometimes they can help by talking to the family member when you are not around.

You need to have family and friends that can support you if you want to live with an alcoholic. This is the only way that you will be able to stay sane. If you have an abusive relationship when the person is drinking, you need to have someone that knows what is going on in your home. It is always better to talk to a support group, but for some reason, that might not be an option for you. They may even be able to help you if you need to get away for a while and breathe easy for a few days.

Be open and honest. If things are not good, explain this and ask for suggestions. Many times, it is easier to hide behind the scenes and not say anything. Unfortunately, this is not a good idea. If you live with an alcoholic, you have to have support and someone that knows what you are going through. This is important if something would happen to you or the alcoholic. Even if you think that nothing could ever happen, you are wrong. Someone that drinks and for long periods, does not always think rationally or even know what they do.

Never ask a family or friend to talk to the alcoholic unless they know the person better than you do. This could make him or her upset with you, but it might help if they have a respect for that person. Living with an alcoholic is not easy and you will find times that you even make mistakes, but you are only trying to help and some day he or she may be able to see that.

XXXXX

Word Count 697

Dealing With Alzheimers Disease

Alzheimers disease is a degenerative disease, meaning it gets worse and not particularly better over time. It affects the area of the brain that is involved in language, judgment, and behavior. This is the most common form of brain malfunctions or mental decline in older adults. Causing severe or mild memory loss, the adult may experience mood swings, personality changes, and the ability to think clearly, or even carry out normal daily routines without difficulty. The persons brain is not so mixed up that the person does not realize that there is a problem, but in most cases it is the family member who first notices changes. Still unclear why these changes occur, doctors have developed treatments to assist with the symptoms of the disease.

Symptoms include memory loss, confusion of time and day, frequently getting lost in familiar places, or trouble with learning and processing new information. The person may have a hard time expressing himself and may act out of frustration. Development of seemingly strange or odd behaviors may occur, like withdrawing from family or paranoid episodes. If you have begun to notice similar odd behavior in an older relative or friend, you should consider Alzheimers as a very real possibility, though you should not panic or blow out of proportion. If it turns out that your worst expectations were true, then you will definitely be able to get the support and help that you need.

Forgetting how to perform basic tasks like washing clothes or bathing oneself will become increasingly common. It has been noted that some people with the disease in very late stages will forget how to walk and talk. As serious as this disease is, there is still no cure but quality of life can be maintained with the help of others. Keeping the person active by working on tasks that are easily completed and providing a safe environment under careful eye is the best way to ensure that they can still enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Treatments only include improving memory, dealing with behaviors that may develop and depressive medications. Older people with this disease are aware of what may be happening to them and can become saddened at their inability to perform basic tasks. Alzheimers is becoming an increasing problem with a rising rate of occurrence, because people are living longer and physically healthier lives.

Because caring for a person with this disease is both financially and emotionally draining, it is important that the caregiver seek as much assistance as is available. In the early stages of the disease decisions about making your home safe for the person, tailoring tasks for the person, an assisting the person will be of great importance. Monitoring behavior and constant checking of appliances used may be necessary. The person should begin planning for the future by handling all financial and final affairs while they still are able to think clearly and still make some decisions. Once driving privileges are revoked the person may need additional attention with dealing with immobility or simply grocery store runs and the like. Later stages will mainly be with behavior problems and tasking problems for the individual. This is draining on the care giver as it will require more time and emotional input. Thus, the caregiver must remember to care for themselves and seek as much support as possible. The main thing is to not give up hope and make the person quality of life good while maintaining your own health. Hang in there and try not to shoulder all of the responsibility by yourself. Enlist the help of family, friends, and those who may know the individual. All involved will need to lean on one another.

For more information and support related to Alzheimers disease, you should ask your doctor for information on any local support groups for people who have relatives afflicted with the disease. It is a great way to get rid of some of the stress that will surely accumulate.

What Are the Causes of Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a difficult illness to manage and to treat. Many who have it may ask themselves, “Why me? What caused all this?” There are great disagreements as to the causes of bipolar disorder. They all tend to go back to the old nature/nurture controversy. In other words, does a thing happen to a person because of who he or she is, or because of the environment he or she grew up in?

The nature side of bipolar disorder causes has always been seen in family histories. This, however, can be misleading. Families often pass behaviors on from one generation to the next, regardless of whether family members are natural relatives or adopted ones.

The scientific concept of correlation without causation may account for shared histories of bipolar disorder in biologically unrelated siblings. This concept is easy to grasp. For example, a man could state that all summer, every time he got a sunburn he ate fish. So, did the sunburn cause the man to eat fish? No, but the act of fishing both caused the man’s skin to burn and allowed him to catch a fish, which he then ate. In a similar way, bipolar disorder can occur in families without anything in one family member’s bipolar disorder causing the bipolar disorder of another.

Also, for whatever reason, people with bipolar disorder are often drawn to each other. In this case it is unclear whether the families formed come together because of their shared genetically similar predisposition towards bipolar disorder, or whether some members of the families are genetically more prone to bipolar disorder but the illness of some other members of the family becomes exaggerated more than it would in another environment.

Research into the genetic causes of bipolar disorder is often done using twin studies. It is assumed that twins will have environments that are as close as is possible. Identical twins are used to show the effects of genetics, since they will share the same genetic materials. Fraternal twins are used as a control group. While these twins share nearly identical environments with their twins, the fraternal twins have less genetic material in common.

It has been shown through these twin studies, and other studies where identical twins are compared to adopted siblings, that there does seem to be a genetic basis for bipolar disorder. Only one percent of the population has bipolar disorder. Fraternal twins, who share some genetic information, are 20 percent more likely to have the disease if one has it. The percentage for identical twins is even higher, at around 60 to 80 percent chance of one having it if the other does.

Environmental causes of bipolar disorder are more difficult to assess. Bipolar disorder has been proven to have a chemical basis in the brain, but the chemical reactions can be caused by any number of factors. A history of losses early in life can be a contributing factor, as can any major source of stress. Physical illnesses such as cancer and others can lead to a depressive state, which is then often followed by mania.

Neither genetics nor environment can fully explain the causes of bipolar disorder. Research is constantly being undertaken in both areas. In the meantime, the nature/nurture controversy is just beginning to heat up.