Summer temperatures are increasing and extreme heat events are occurring. Keep yourself safe with these tips. 1. Reduce Sunlight – Keep windows and blinds closed all day 2. Use Appliances Less – reduce indoor heat generation and cook outdoors, or eat cold meals and avoid doing laundry 3. Cooling options – install a small air conditioner or heat pump 4. Increase Air Flow – install a ceiling fan and set it to rotate counter-clockwise. Place a floor fan near a window at night 5. Relocate to a cooler environment – use a digital thermometer to accurately measure indoor temperate, 31 degrees or higher, means it is time to relocate * fans and other measures may not be enough to reduce core body temperature.
Community News
Do I Have Hearing Loss?
Unlike vision loss where people tend to promptly seek assistance by wearing glasses, hearing loss tends to be ignored, become rationalized by age or is blamed on others for not speaking clearly enough.
Hearing loss is common for many people throughout Canada. According to the Stats Canada Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS), 6% of adults over the age of 55 report limitations as a result of hearing loss and this number increases to nearly 36% of adults aged 75 and older. In total, this works out to roughly 966,000 Canadians who are willing to report awareness of hearing loss (and that’s not considering those who are possibly in denial).
Many people are simply unaware of the signs and symptoms of hearing loss, the benefits of early detection and intervention, and what resources are available. In order to reduce the likelihood of a hearing loss going undetected, being ignored, and left untreated, here is what you can watch for:
Is there a problem?: The most common signs of hearing loss are needing repetition, turning the volume up on the television, difficulty hearing on the telephone, difficulty hearing clearly, difficulty hearing in background noise, and failing to hear common household sounds like the doorbell. Schedule a hearing test: Annual hearing testing is recommended for adults over the age of 55, even if they do not suspect a hearing loss. Hearing test results are medical records and, as such, are kept on file for 7 years. These results can be used as a baseline to compare with any future hearing evaluations. The best thing is that hearing testing is complimentary and does not require a referral from your family doctor or ENT specialist. Investigate available resources: While hearing aids are often recommended to treat hearing loss, there are other helpful devices that you may not have considered. For example, amplified telephones boost the volume of incoming calls and can often be adjusted for tone and customized for your hearing loss. TV devices amplified alarm clocks and alerting systems for doorbells and smoke detectors are also available.
If you believe that your parents, grandparents, or friends are suffering from a hearing loss (see hearing loss and parents for more), the best thing you can do for them is to speak up and, if necessary, help them choose a hearing care provider to work with them on their individual needs. For more information on hearing loss and available resources, or to take a free online hearing test, visit www.mainlandhearing.com.
Contributed by Dr. Susan Marynewich, Au.D., RAUD, RHIP
Keep Living Your Best Life
A good retirement residence is not just a convenient place to live, it’s an environment in which you can pursue your passions, thrive and continue living with purpose. It may be daunting to think about moving into a retirement home, but have you considered how your life might improve by making this change? Meet a new network of friends, build new relationships, and take part in activities you once enjoyed, or commit to learning something new! Leave the worrying behind when it comes to home maintenance, meal preparation and your own safety – and have us do it for you!
Search for Meaning
Depression and anxiety are common experiences for many individuals. These conditions can create challenges that feel overwhelming and insurmountable at times. One way to approach this is through Existential approaches to counselling. In Victor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning, he writes how we can fill our lives with meaning by incorporating three main pillars: 1) the freedom to will – choosing your own path to follow; 2) the will to meaning – finding what is personally meaningful; and 3) the meaning to life – one’s personal meaning brought forward by the work or deed and their connection to others.
Father’s Day Gift – Wellness
Does your dad have a closet full of Father’s Day ties? This year, show him that you care about his wellness and give him socks – VoxxLife socks. They have wearable technology that works with the brain to reduce pain, increase strength and endurance and enhance stability and balance. Knee-high socks with mild compression are great when standing for a long time or excess sitting. For the active walkers or runners, chose moisture-wicking socks to keep the feet cool in summer. Socks are available for pick-up or delivery in Central Vancouver Island or order directly from the website.
Sports Betting Support
Sports bettors, who tend to be young men, are the most vulnerable to problematic behavior, according to the NCPG’s National Survey on Gambling Attitudes and Gambling Experiences. The survey reveals that sports bettors are three times more likely to exhibit problem gambling behavior than other types of gamblers.” (Quoted from onlinepoker.com) Given the popularity of sports betting across North America, and Canada’s soon-to-be new law allowing single event sports betting (Canada.ca DoJ), vulnerable sports bettors may find themselves in a position to engage in more impulsive betting behaviour. Contact us for more info on how we can help!
Self-care Is Important
Seniors can benefit from incorporating self-care into their daily routines. Self-care activities include; *Choosing healthy foods, * Daily exercise, *Interesting hobbies, *Spending time with others, *Taking time to relax and *Getting enough sleep. For seniors, having a routine and ongoing self-care support from others is vital. Habits are easier to maintain with consistent actions. Others can support your self-care goals by encouraging you to keep them up if you feel discouraged. They can also help you find ways to overcome any limitations that may arise as you age or walk alongside you as you build these routines into your life.
An Antioxidant Powerhouse
In the spectrum of nutrition, berries rank near the top, and among berries, none are more nutritious than the Aronia berry. That’s because powerful antioxidants in Aronia berries remove harmful free oxygen radicals from cells. Research shows that in diabetics, Aronia berry juice reduced blood glucose, and its extracts reduced inflammation and improved immunity. An extract of Aronia berries injected into highly malignant brain tumor cells killed malignant cells within 24 hours without harming healthy cells. And in hard-to-treat cancers, combining Aronia with chemotherapy improved the effectiveness of conventional drugs.
Help for Ankle Pain
Ankle pain can be frustrating. What helps? Exercises for your knees, quads, and glutes help. Just like the song “The Skelton Dance” states: “Your heel bone connected to your ankle bone, Your ankle bone connected to your leg bone and so on…”. Everything is connected. Once you have resolved the ankle pain, keep doing the stretches and exercises to prevent the pain from returning. Work with a physiotherapist and a Pilates teacher to help with pain and discomfort through the whole chain. They can help keep you pain-free.
Pool Therapy for Joint Pain
Everyone needs to exercise to improve and maintain their general health. As we age, hip and knee joints can become painful from normal wear and tear! Mild Exercise therapy can help! Pool therapy is an excellent way to both manage pain and maintain strength, flexibility and mobility in joints and muscles. Warm water provides an environment that relaxes muscles allowing individuals to move with greater mobility and with less pain. Exercise and pool therapy pre-and post-surgery create greater surgery success and a more rapid recovery. There are many benefits to developing an at-home, gym or pool-based exercise routine. We are happy to help!
Information & Energy are Key to Health
“Have you ever considered that in a state of total wellness, the body’s cells and organs always know what to do, and do it perfectly? The latest science is revealing the mechanisms that allow the body’s optimal functioning, and also what can cause it to lose resilience and efficacy, and to even malfunction. All of the science, along with NES’s extensive research and testing, has demonstrated that the root cause of malfunction – as well as the source of optimal functioning – exists beneath the physiology of the body. We must look to the physics underlying our biochemistry.”
