Coming Next Week! September 8th to September 12th 2014 By Sondra Forsyth article HereΓÇÖs a sneak preview of the articles, slideshows, and blogs weΓÇÖll be posting during the coming week on ThirdAge, the biggest and best site for ΓÇ£boomer and beyondΓÇ¥ women since 1997. As always, weΓÇÖll bring you the latest information from top experts about maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit as you navigate both the challenges and the joys of being a ThirdAger.
I've Fallen in Love with Someone New ΓÇô Happy Grandparents Day! By blog September 7th is Grandparents Day!!!!!!!!!!!! On August 8th 2014 in Seattle, Washington, our daughter Sarah and her husband Sol brought a beautiful pink bundle of joy into this world. I am a grandma! Now, I understand why grandparents go on and on, bragging about their grandchildren.
_ Preventing Falls and Fractures By Jane Farrell article A simple thing can change your lifeΓÇölike tripping on a rug or slipping on a wet floor. If you fall, you could break a bone, like thousands of older men and women do each year. A broken bone might not sound awful. But, for older people, a break can be the start of more serious problems.
_ Caregiving 5 Questions About Long-Distance Caregiving By Sondra Forsyth article What is long-distance caregiving? It can be helping Aunt Lilly sort through her medical bills or thinking about how to make the most of a weekend visit with Mom. It can include checking the references of an aide whoΓÇÖs been hired to help your grandfather or trying to take the pressure off your sister who lives in the same town as both your aging parents and her aging in-laws. Here, from the National Institute on Aging, are the answers to five key questions about long-distance caregiving:
_ Sex The Talk That Can Jump-Start Your Love Life at Any Age By Sondra Forsyth article By Eve Marx How long has it been since you and your partner made love? Six weeks? Six months? Six years? You may be surprised to know that many committed couples in seemingly happy relationships have not engaged in sex with each other in a very long time.
Menopause: Trigger for the Boomer GenerationΓÇÖs Encore Career By blog Seems like when youΓÇÖre raising kids or climbing the career ladder, itΓÇÖs all about checking off ΓÇÿto doΓÇÖ lists. Constant activity, travel, ballgames and baby-sitters can make your head spin. Suddenly, youΓÇÖre done. The kids leave the nest; your career is winding down, leaving you to wonder, whatΓÇÖs next?
_ Pets Vitamins + Supplements Should Your Pet Take Supplements? By Sondra Forsyth article Our pets are like our family, right? Even pet food manufacturers now refer to ΓÇ£pet ownersΓÇ¥ as ΓÇ£pet parentsΓÇ¥ in their marketing! This humanization trend has been fueled by us Baby Boomers who are refocusing our discretionary spending on our pets rather than spending it on feathering our now empty nests. So itΓÇÖs no wonder we ΓÇ£pet parentsΓÇ¥ are now pondering the question of vitamins and other supplementation for Fido and Fluffy. But whatΓÇÖs the real scoop of pet supplements? Good idea or bad?
_ Heart Health Mayo Clinic Challenges Cholesterol Guideline By Sondra Forsyth article A Mayo Clinic task force has challenged some recommendations in the updated guideline for cholesterol treatment that was unveiled by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) in 2013. The task force concludes, based on current evidence, that not all patients encouraged to take cholesterol-lowering medications such as statins may benefit from them and that the guideline missed some important conditions that might benefit from medication.
_ Dental Health Oral Health Mixed Messages About How to Brush Teeth By Sondra Forsyth article Advice on how we should brush our teeth from dental associations and toothpaste companies worldwide is ΓÇ£unacceptably inconsistentΓÇ¥, according to research done at the University College London and published in August 2014 in the British Dental Journal. The study looked at the brushing advice given by dental associations across ten countries, toothpaste and toothbrush companies, and in dental textbooks. The team found a wide range of recommendations on what brushing method to use, how often to brush, and for how long.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Caffeine Lowers Incidence of Tinnitus By Sondra Forsyth article Researchers at Brigham and WomenΓÇÖs Hospital in Boston found that higher caffeine intake is associated with lower rates of tinnitus, often described as a ringing or buzzing sound in the ear when there is no outside source of the sounds, in younger and middle-aged women. This study was published in the August 2014 issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
_ Aging Well Brain Health Right Brain Stays Youthful as We Age By Sondra Forsyth article At least one part of the human brain appears to be able to process information the same way in older age as it does in the prime of life, according to research conducted at the University of Adelaide in Australia and presented at the 12th International Cognitive Neuroscience Conference in Brisbane in July 2014.
Rectangular Salmon By blog You know your life is busy when your dinner preparation consists of taking out a frost-covered package of frozen salmon wedged deep in your freezer…cracking it open, and placing the two perfectly rectangular frozen chunks (frozen together, of course) on a baking pan. I actually admit I did this last week, and let me tell you a little something about rectangular salmon… It isn’t good.
_ Protecting Yourself Against Rabies By Jane Farrell article Most of us love looking at wild animals in their natural habitat. But unfortunately, some animals are carrying rabies, a dangerous virus that you can get if you handle or are bitten by the critters. Here, from the experts at the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), are some tips on what you should know about rabies so you can protect yourself, your family and your pets: Each year 30,000 to 40,000 people in the U.S. require a series of post-bite shots because of potential exposure to rabies.
_ How Safe Are Your Dietary Supplements? By Jane Farrell article WeΓÇÖre bombarded daily by commercials that promise everything from weight loss to sexual fulfillment if we just buy the dietary supplement theyΓÇÖre advertising. But how do we know whether the substance is safe, let alone effective? Here, experts from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outline what you should know about these supposed curatives:
Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys By blog This is the ninth blog in a series. To read the earlier entries, click here: Archive: The ThirdAge Romance Saga of Sally Franz. I just heard this phrase: ΓÇ£Not My Circus, Not my MonkeysΓÇ¥. It is purportedly translated from an old Polish saying. And it has become so popular you can buy T-shirts with the saying plastered across the front. I wish I could buy one for every stepparent alive.
_ Lung Cancer Lung Cancer Diagnosis Tool Safe for Older Patients By Sondra Forsyth article A 2014 study done at the University Hospital of South Manchester in the UK has found that a procedure to take tissue samples from lung cancer patients can be used safely in the elderly, allowing doctors to make a more accurate diagnosis and to choose appropriate treatment. The results were published their results in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.
_ Loud Noise Can Affect Your Brain By Jane Farrell article A lot of loud noise may do more than damage your hearing: It actually alters the way the brain processes speech, neuroscientists say. Researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas said that could eventually lead to difficulty in distinguishing speech sounds hearing loss. The investigatorsΓÇÖ findings were published in the journal Ear and Hearing.
Medical Care Migraine Relief from Cosmetic Surgery Technique By Sondra Forsyth article Dr. Oren Tessler, Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, is part of a team of plastic and reconstructive surgeons who report a high success rate using a method to screen and select patients for a specific surgical migraine treatment technique. More than 90% of the patients who underwent this surgery to decompress the nerves that trigger migraines experienced relief and also got a bonus cosmetic eyelid surgery.