Coping with Stress Incontinence

Episodes of urine leakage can affect your home and work life, but there are ways to overcome the challenges.

A sneeze. A cough. A laugh. Moving too quickly. Lifting too much weight. Any of these can trigger stress incontinence, causing a person to uncontrollably leak a small amount of urine.

And since these triggers are all things that occur regularly throughout life, people with stress incontinence can find it very difficult to maintain a normal work and social life. This is particularly true of women, for whom stress incontinence is the most common form of urinary incontinence.

Stress incontinence does not have to force you to withdraw from work, friends, and family, however. There are ways to protect yourself from urine leakage, and ways to communicate your problem to co-workers, friends, and loved ones.

Stress Incontinence and Work

Researchers have found that urinary incontinence can affect your work life, especially if you are suffering from severe incontinence. A recent study revealed that two out of every five women with incontinence had leaked urine on the job during the previous month. That same study revealed that women with severe incontinence said they had trouble concentrating, performing physical activities, maintaining their self-confidence, and completing tasks.

There are ways to avoid embarrassment from stress incontinence while on the job. They include:

• Using absorbent pads or undergarments to protect against leaking. Be sure the pads contain odor-controlling material.
• Limiting your physical activity to avoid placing stress on your bladder.
• Taking frequent bathroom breaks to keep your bladder empty.
• Strengthening your bladder control by performing Kegel exercises at home.

You must discuss your stress incontinence problem with your employer, particularly if it is severe. Otherwise, you might face criticism for poor concentration or taking too many breaks. And keep in mind that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ruled that employers cannot place unreasonable restrictions on employees’ use of toilet facilities, especially if the employee is suffering from a medical condition.

Stress Incontinence and Social Life

 

So much of life involves physical activity that can cause stress incontinence. At least half of women who exercise regularly are at risk for developing stress incontinence, and athletes in high-impact sports are more likely to report stress incontinence symptoms than those participating in low-impact sports.

Sports that can increase pressure on the bladder, and make stress incontinence more likely, include:

• Martial arts like judo or karate.
• Team sports like basketball or volleyball.
• Horseback riding.
• Body building with heavy weights.
• Track and field.

On the other hand, there are a number of sports that carry little risk of stress incontinence, including:

• Bicycling.
• Swimming.
• Rowing.
• Walking.
• Low-impact aerobics.
• Activities in which at least one foot is on the floor at all times.

Social activities that lead to stress on the bladder, like very active dancing, should be avoided unless you're wearing absorbent pads.  When attending a social event, you might want to limit your fluid intake and go to the bathroom just before leaving for the occasion.  Dark clothing also can help you mask any inadvertent leaking.  Finally, don't be afraid to talk about your problem with friends and loved ones.  They will accept what you tell them with understanding and good humor.

By Dennis Thompson Jr.  Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

Overcoming Caregiver Burnout

Written By : Mark Jordan

Home caregivers are under a great deal of stress, there is no denying. But, along with this it is the ultimate way to show your love. These two types of feelings converge to cause many problems. The daily schedule of care giving, especially for an elderly parent, can cause burnout pretty quickly. You may go from being a person who is concerned and motivated to one who is pessimistic and resentful. Farther down the road you may hit physical exhaustion from the extra work and stress. There is simply too much work and not enough help much of the time. Getting to the burnout stage may cause depression and anxiety. But your love for the person can also then cause guilt.

How Do You Identify The Symptoms Of Care Giver Burnout?

The burnout you may suffer can manifest itself in a variety of ways. It can creep up on you before you even realize what has happened. Do you have one or more of these symptoms?

1. Is your weight fluctuating more than normal? Perhaps you are using food to comfort yourself or withdrawing from food due to a lost appetite.

2. Are you more irritable and having trouble controlling it? This may spill over to the way you treat other family members.

3. Have you quit doing the things in life that used to make you happy such as hobbies or visiting people?

4. Are you experiencing extreme feelings of being overwhelmed with guilt? Sometimes this can even lead to wanting to hurt your self due to the powerful feelings of this stress.

5. How are you sleeping? You may have a change in your habits that you can't seem to break due to feelings of worry and stress. This can mean too little or too much sleep. It goes both ways.

6. Physical Exhaustion. Are you experiencing new pains in joints or your body? How about headaches? This can be from care giver burnout.

Why Does Care Giver Burnout And Guilt Occur?

The physical burnout you suffer may simply be because you have no time to take care of yourself. You may not only have the elderly person to take care of but you may have children and a spouse too, all demanding some time.

Think of the role reversal that may be taking place as well. You now find yourself taking care of a loved one who once was healthy, self-efficient and could communicate with you better. It is difficult to now see this person as something different. You may encounter an identity crisis as you are now the care giver of a parent or friend who once was your equal, or who may have taken care of you in the past.

Home care giving becomes so stressful at times and so burdensome that the extra burden on your time and money makes it unfathomable and difficult to manage. It sometimes seems like everything happens at once and there is little or no good and steady help.

As well the new demands on your physical and mental heath take its toll rather quickly. You may feel you aren't doing all that you can and so are hard on yourself. This is usually just the result of feeling overly responsible.

What Should You Do To Prevent Burnout?

First off you have to be realistic about your loved ones situation and condition. You need to realize from the beginning that you can't do it on your own. Talk to friends and family about the situation to see if they have ideas. They may have gone through already what you are going through.

Set some specific goals for yourself and set schedules in caring for your loved one. Make an effort to enlist the help of others if for no other reason than to get an hour of free time to take a breath or get some exercise. Put this time on a written schedule so you have a clear picture of this new life of yours. On this schedule you should also put things to do that you enjoy such as taking a bath, phoning a friend or catching up on a hobby.

Read and research all you can on your loved ones condition so you have the knowledge to make better decisions. You can only do so much and don't rule out institutional care, or a visiting nurse, if necessary. Seek backup care such as home health care agencies or adult day cares.

Make sure you take physical care of yourself. You will be under more physical stress than usual so this means you should get the necessary exercise, eat well and take vitamins if you can. Support groups for some comradeship are a big help. The last thing you want to feel is alone. Help may be just a question away or at the end of a short phone call.

Seniors List; Home Care Agency; Assisted Living; Senior Care

Watch Out For These Warning Signs

	Watch Out For These Warning Signs by Carol Bradley Bursack
	Holiday visits are a good opportunity to check on your parents' health and determine if they need extra help. Observe how they behave during your visit to get an accurate view of their needs. Do they seem depressed? If your parents are sleeping too much, have no interest in their hobbies, or have a decreased appetite, they may be suffering from depression. Ask someone who sees them frequently about their moods when you aren't there. Are they having balance problems? If a parent is walking unsteadily, insist they see a doctor. Balance problems could be an early sign of an inner ear infection, bad joints, or dementia. Have they lost a lot of weight? Look in their refrigerator and pantry to make sure they have nutritious food on hand. If eating isn't the issue, suggest they get a complete physical to discover the reason behind the weight loss. Services that can help Often, elders don't want to disclose that they are having trouble because they fear they'll have to move to a nursing home. Let them know there are other options, including: In-home care. These services offer trained professionals who visit your loved one to provide companionship, help with daily tasks, and more. Adult Day Care. Adult day care centers offer coordinated programs, including a variety of social, health and support services in a safe, protective environment. When you visit, don't try to change everything right away. Just get a feel for what is going on and note what needs to be done to keep your parents safe, happy, and healthy. _________________________________________________ Here at Touching Hearts Senior Care, we can help in assessing what services your parents or loved ones may need.  We can also assist in setting up those services.  Please do not hesitate to call us at (251) 445-4204 if you any questions. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Living With COPD

With ongoing care and preventive strategies, you can manage your COPD symptoms and keep them under control.

COPD has no cure yet. However, you can take steps to manage your symptoms and slow the progress of the disease. You can:

• Avoid lung irritants
• Get ongoing care
• Manage the disease and its symptoms
• Prepare for emergencies

Avoid Lung Irritants

If you smoke, quit. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. Talk to your doctor about programs and products that can help you quit. Many hospitals have programs that help people quit smoking, or hospital staff can refer you to a program.

Try to avoid secondhand smoke and other lung irritants that can contribute to COPD, such as air pollution, chemical fumes, and dust. Keep these irritants out of your home. If your home is painted or sprayed for insects, have it done when you can stay away for awhile.
Keep your windows closed and stay at home (if possible) when there's a lot of air pollution or dust outside.

Get Ongoing Care

If you have COPD, it's important to get ongoing medical care. Take all of your medicines as your doctor prescribes. Make sure to refill your prescriptions before they run out. Bring all of the medicines you're taking when you have medical checkups.

Talk with your doctor about whether and when you should get flu and pneumonia vaccines. Also, ask him or her about other diseases for which COPD may increase your risk, such as heart disease, lung cancer, and pneumonia.

Manage COPD and Its Symptoms

You can do things to help manage your disease and its symptoms. Depending on how severe your disease is, you may ask your family and friends for help with daily tasks. Do activities slowly. Put items that you need often in one place that's easy to reach.

Find very simple ways to cook, clean, and do other chores. Some people find it helpful to use a small table or cart with wheels to move things around and a pole or tongs with long handles to reach things. Ask for help moving things around in your house so that you will not need to climb stairs as often.

Keep your clothes loose, and wear clothes and shoes that are easy to put on and take off.

Prepare for Emergencies

If you have COPD, knowing when and where to seek help for your symptoms is important. You should seek emergency care if you have severe symptoms, such as trouble catching your breath or talking.

Call your doctor if you notice that your symptoms are worsening or if you have signs of an infection, such as a fever. Your doctor may change or adjust your treatments to relieve and treat symptoms.

Keep phone numbers handy for your doctor, hospital, and someone who can take you for medical care. You also should have on hand directions to the doctor's office and hospital and a list of all the medicines you're taking.

Article found on www.everydayhealth.com.

Guide to Gift Card Giving

BBB Advice for Purchasing Valuable Gift Cards

With the holiday season right around the corner and the economy putting the

squeeze on budgets, many shoppers are going to be looking for the best gift

options this holiday season. For those looking to give gift cards to family and

friends, BBB is recommending that you do your research before purchasing a

gift card.

So far, in 2011, BBB has already received more than 440 complaints against

the gift card industry, a huge increase from the 33 complaints received in

2010. In some cases, consumers are disgruntled when they are given an

expired gift card with loaded cash that isn’t usable until the expiration date is

corrected. After sending the expired card in for replacement, the consumer is

left empty handed when the card fails to ever return to them.

“Consumers need to be on the lookout for gift cards that appear to be ‘open’

or out of their original package, and cards that state an expiration date that is

coming up or that has passed,” said Tina Waller, president and CEO of the

Better Business Bureau of South Alabama, Inc.. “Shoppers should be wary of

online auction sites that promise ‘full value guaranteed’ gift cards. It’s sites

like these that are prone to selling old, valueless cards that leave the gift

giver and receiver distraught.”

BBB recommends the following tips for both givers and receivers of gift cards:

Know the rules.

New federal rules that took effect in August of 2010 are designed to protect

consumers, and will restrict fees and affect gift card expiration dates. These

new rules apply to two types of cards: Retail gift cards, which can only be

redeemed at the retailers and restaurants that sell them; and bank gift cards,

which carry the logo of a payment card network like American Express, Visa,

or Mastercard and can be used wherever the brand is accepted.

Check it out.

Make sure you are buying from known and trusted sources.  Always check

out a business at www.bbbsouthal.org.  Avoid online auction sites, because

the cards sold there may be counterfeit or may have been obtained

fraudulently.


Read the fine print before buying.
Is there a fee to buy the card?  Are there shipping and handling fees for cards
bought by phone or online?  Will any fees be deducted from the card after
it is purchased?


Inspect the card before buying it.
Verify that no protective stickers have been removed, and that the codes
on the back of the card haven't been scratched off to reveal a PIN number. 
Report any damaged cards to the store selling the cards.


Provide the receiver with back up.
Give the recipient the original receipt in case the card is later lost or stolen. 
Also, before you buy retail gift cards, consider the financial condition of the
retailer or restaurant.  A card from a business that files for bankruptcy or
goes out of business may be worthless.  If the business close a store near
the recipient, it may be hard to find another location where the card can be
used.  A business that files for bankruptcy may honor its gift cards, or a
competitor may accept the card.  Call the business or its competitor to find
out if they are redeeming the cards, or if they will do so at a later date.


Treat the gift card like cash.
For receivers, it's important to report lost or stolen cards to the issuer
immediately.  Some issuers will not replace cards that are lost or stolen,
while other issuers will, for a fee.  Make sure to use gift cards as soon as
possible, because it's not unusual to lose or forget about them.

For more consumer tips you can trust, visit www.bbbsouthal.org.   

Three Numbers to Know to Prevent Heart Disease

The equation for a healthy heart is pretty simple: all you need to know are three numbers to help prevent heart disease.

 

By Diana Rodriguez

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

 

If you're active and you feel healthy, you may think you've got plenty of time before you have to start worrying about medical issues like heart disease.  But don't assume that you have a healthy heart just because you haven't been diagnosed with heart disease. The beginnings of heart disease could be present in your body even if you feel well.

To know whether you’re at risk, you need to know three numbers: your cholesterol, your blood pressure, and your waist circumference.

Cholesterol Numbers

High cholesterol puts you at risk for heart disease and other cardiovascular problems, such as stroke. Cholesterol is often reported as a single number referred to as “total cholesterol”. But there are both bad and good forms of cholesterol. The bad kind — LDL cholesterol — flows through your blood and sticks to the inside your blood vessels, forming plaques and making it tough for blood to flow freely and get to your heart and brain. The good cholesterol — HDL — can help to minimize this damage. Your levels of LDL and HDL cholesterol are more important than your total cholesterol level.

If your total cholesterol is too high — above 200 mg/dL — you also need to know your LDL cholesterol level. Your LDL cholesterol should ideally be below 100 mg/dL, says C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD, spokesperson for the American College of Cardiology and director of the Women's Heart Center and the Preventive and Rehabilitative Cardiac Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. And you want your HDL cholesterol to be as high as possible; 60 mg/dL or higher is the most protective level for your heart.

Blood Pressure Numbers

High blood pressure can make your arteries rigid instead of flexible, which can also restrict blood flow to essential areas such as your heart and brain. When your blood pressure numbers go up, you're at an increased risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack or stroke.

Ideally, you want your blood pressure numbers at 120/80 or below. Prehypertension is considered anything above that level up to 139/89, and full-blown hypertension is 140/90 and up. If you fall into these categories, it's time to take action to help prevent heart disease.

Waist Size

You may already know that obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease — and it's a huge problem in the United States. If you carry your weight in your belly (think of a body shape like an apple), you're at an even greater risk. Women should have a waist circumference of no more than 35 inches, while men need to stay below 40 inches. Above those measurements, heart disease risk rises.

Keeping Tabs on Your Numbers

Knowing your heart-health numbers is one of the first steps in preventing heart disease.

While you may know if your waist size is getting too large, high cholesterol and high blood pressure usually don’t cause symptoms. So it’s important to have these numbers checked regularly by a family physician. If the numbers start creeping up, your doctor can advise whether you need to take medication.

The best option to prevent heart disease is to keep your heart numbers in control before they get too high. And monitoring these numbers regularly is key to a healthy heart.

Recognizing the Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder

The signs of bipolar disorder can vary, but are often a combination of extreme highs and extreme lows.

By Krisha McCoy, MS

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

People with bipolar disorder can have a range of symptoms. Many experience dramatic mood swings, going from emotional highs to emotional lows with more normal moods in between, while others have much milder mood changes.

Bipolar Symptoms: Mania

Mania is a term that describes the emotional highs of bipolar disorder. Mania, or a manic episode, is usually characterized by feelings of extreme energy, restlessness, or irritability.
In general, symptoms of a manic episode may include:

• High energy, excessive activity, and/or restlessness
• Overly good mood
• Irritability
• Fast, erratic talking
• Racing thoughts
• Inability to concentrate
• Little need for sleep
• Feelings of power
• Poor judgment
• Reckless spending
• High sex drive
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Aggression
• Refusal to admit that there is a problem

The severity of manic symptoms can vary in bipolar disorder, and most people will not experience all symptoms. In some forms of bipolar disorder, people will experience hypomania, a milder form of mania that usually feels good. People who are experiencing hypomania often can function well and be more productive than usual. But if left untreated, hypomania can develop into severe mania or can change to depression.

If your elevated or irritable mood is accompanied by manic symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for at least one week, your doctor may diagnose a manic episode.

Bipolar Symptoms: Depression

In bipolar disorder, manic episodes alternate with periods of emotional lows, which are known as depressive episodes. Signs of a depressive episode may include:

• Sadness, anxiety, or a feeling of emptiness
• Hopelessness
• Feelings of guilt, feeling worthless, or feeling helpless
• Lack of interest in activities that were once enjoyable, such as sex
• Low energy
• Trouble with concentration or memory
• Restlessness or irritability
• Excessive sleeping or insomnia
• Changes in appetite or weight
• Pain or other physical symptoms not explained by an illness or injury
• Thoughts of death, or suicidal thoughts or attempts

A diagnosis of depressive episodes is made if at least five of these symptoms are present for most of the day, nearly every day, for two weeks or longer.

Bipolar Symptoms: Mood Swings

Symptoms of mania and depression can vary dramatically among people with bipolar disorder. All people with bipolar disorder experience mood swings, but the severity of these mood swings can vary.

In the form of bipolar disorder known as bipolar I, there are recurrent episodes of mania and depression. In bipolar II, severe mania never develops, but periods of hypomania alternate with depressive episodes.

The severity and symptoms of bipolar disorder can change over time, and the way the condition is treated may need to change as well.

If you are experiencing mood swings that are disrupting your life, speak to your doctor, who can recommend a mental health professional. Mental health professionals can talk with you about the symptoms, and diagnose and treat bipolar disorder if that is necessary.

Medication and other therapies can help you manage the bipolar symptoms and smooth out the highs and lows that interfere with living a normal, productive life.

Source:  www.everydayhealth.com