With more sunny days and warmer temperatures, it is time to get out there and have fun. Here are some summertime wellness tips: *Protect your skin; wear a mineral-based sunscreen (chemical-free/ocean friendly), and hat and sunglasses for face and eye protection. *Stay hydrated; keep a water bottle with you. *Eat more fresh raw fruits and vegetables and take advantage of local produce. *Get some exercise; outdoors whenever possible. Exercise and getting outside helps you to stay fit, feel energized, and improves your mood. *Do what you love; take up a new or favourite activity. Take care of your mental wellbeing to help you stay positive and happy!
Community News
Managing Multiple Medications
Your pharmacist offers solutions that can help you manage multiple medications. *Synchronized Refill Dates. The quantities of your medication may be adjusted to coordinate refill dates. All medications can be refilled at one time reducing the number of visits to the pharmacy. *Blister packaging to arrange your medications in a weekly or monthly schedule. *Extension of Expired Refills. Sometimes a prescription expires before you can see your doctor. Following an assessment, your pharmacist may be able to renew your prescription.
Dealing with Grief & Trauma
Trauma and grief often go hand-in-hand, and learning how to mourn can be a crucial part of healing. Grief is the reactions that we must mourn through to shift to an active, shared response instead of a passive, isolated one. Six ways to help active mourning include: 1) Acknowledging the loss is real. 2) Interacting with the pain instead of avoiding it. 3) Honouring what you loved about who/what you are mourning. 4) Discovering the new you in the context of loss. 5) Finding meaning and purpose beyond what happened. 6) Getting ongoing support and talking with loved ones and/or a professional.
Your Choice of Skin Care Matters
Our skin is an organ that absorbs everything on it, passing it along through the bloodstream. This includes any skincare products we apply to our skin. Mainstream skincare and beauty products have a long shelf life and look and smell nice. However, most of them contain chemicals such as parabens, phthalates, synthetic colors, formaldehyde, fragrances and propylene glycol. These can trigger or exacerbate an array of problems including allergies, hormone disruption and can even act as irritants and carcinogens. When looking for skin care products, look for brands that are truly transparent and list ingredients you understand.
Are You Having Fun?
As an older adult, you know that you need to stay active for optimal mental and physical health. But are you having FUN? Fun and joy are what make us feel truly alive, engaged, and connected to others. The world becomes more vibrant and inviting when we give ourselves permission to laugh and play. Every senior deserves to pursue enjoyable pastimes that make him or her lose track of time or feel like a goofy kid at heart. Plus, many of the best activities for senior citizens cost little or no money. Explore activities that spark the kid in you!
Community Profile – Woodgrove Manor
For your loved one whose health demands a heightened level of care there is Trillium Boutique Senior Living. Footsteps from shopping and dining, and with easy accessibility to the Island’s northern communities, Woodgrove Manor is a 43-suite home, centrally located in Nanaimo. Nestled in the scenic Woodgrove neighbourhood, its interiors are inspired by nature, bringing the outdoors in with oversized windows and natural light. Nurses provide 24-hour support for long-term residents’ unique health challenges, from falls and immobility to memory loss and dementia. The homes are equipped with cutting-edge technology to ensure the safety of your loved ones.
Enjoy LIfe to the Fullest
Good hearing means being able to enjoy every moment in life. When you start experiencing hearing problems, you quickly feel you cannot enjoy all the things you care about. A hearing professional will work with you to get you back to better hearing. They can give you back the ability to enjoy your life to the fullest. Quality hearing professional are there every step of the way to identify the best solution for you. Look for a hearing centre that offers an extensive, complimentary hearing test, free follow-ups, and a wide range of innovative and discreet products. We can help.
Is It Safe to Go to the Dentist?
Dental offices follow very strict guidelines set by the BC Centre of Disease Control as well as the College of Dental Surgeons of BC. The flow within the office will be highly regulated and there will be more forms and questionnaires to answer. Staff will be wearing a greater amount of PPE and barrier equipment to ensure the patient’s safety. Most offices are also adding air filtration and viral killing UVC light technology. This is part of the layering strategies that makes dental offices safer than a public space. Dental offices can see less patients in a day so there may be minor delays getting an appointment.
Help at the Push of a Button
Falls are a real concern for older adults. The good news is that most falls are preventable. Seniors can lower their risks by changing risky behaviour, proactively managing their health, and safety proofing their homes. Talk to your primary care provider about a fall-risk evaluation. Ask yourself, if I were to fall tonight, how would I get help if I couldn’t reach the phone? A medical alert service ensures that you can access help 24/7 at the push of a button. Some services also offer automatic fall detection. It’s never too early to protect yourself before a fall. Take these precautions today to live more independently and confidently.
Time to Clean Out the Medicine Cabinet?
Here are a few tip to clean up your Medicine Cabinet and other places where medication and vitamins are stored: *Gather all medications in one place. *Check the expiry date of each item. *Set aside any medications that you no longer take or has expired. *Set aside any medication that is not in its original container or whose appearance, consistency or odour has changed. Take all discarded mediations and vitamins to your pharmacist for safe and ecological disposal. Do not throw them into the waste basket, sink or toilet. The Medicine Shoppe can help with the cleanup process and disposal.
Keep Moving!
Daily movement is essential for physical and mental wellness especially during COVID-19 restrictions and isolation. Healthy movement can be as easy as a bike ride with your family, a walk on the beach, playing tag with the kids or doing your stretch routine. At minimum, keeping up a gentle movement routine such as stretching or prescribed stretches and exercises from your Physiotherapist is beneficial. Whatever movement you do, do what you love because that is what makes it worth doing!
