Pneumonia. What’s That?

March 18, 2009 By 1 Comment

During normal respiration, air travels through the nose, down the trachea, and into smaller and smaller airways called bronchi. The bronchi divide into bronchioles and finally into tiny grape-like clusters of thin, fragile sacs called alveoli. In the alveoli, oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide in the blood.

Pneumonia is a serious infection or inflammation of your lungs. The alveoli fill with pus and other liquid blocking oxygen from reaching your blood. If there is too little oxygen in your blood, your body’s cells can’t work properly.

Pneumonia affects your lungs in two ways. Lobar pneumonia affects a section (a lobe) of a lung. Bronchial pneumonia (or bronchopneumonia) affects patches throughout both lungs.

Pneumonia is not a single disease. It can have over 30 different causes. There are five main causes of pneumonia: 1) Bacteria, 2) Viruses, 3) Mycoplasmas, 4) Other infectious agents, such as fungi – including pneumocystis, 5) Various chemicals.

If you have symptoms of pneumonia call your doctor immediately. Even with the many effective antibiotics, early diagnosis and treatment are important.

Learn more about pneumonia.

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Pulmonary Embolism. What’s That?

March 11, 2009 By 1 Comment

The circulatory system carries blood throughout the body via an intricate network of arteries and veins.  The venous system is the section of the circulatory system that uses veins to return the used, or deoxygenated, blood to the heart and lungs.  Occasionally, irregularities in the wall of a vein (especially in areas of slow flow, such as the area surrounding a venous valve) can cause a blood clot, or thrombus, to form. Once formed, additional fibrin and red blood cell deposits cause the thrombus to grow inside the vein.

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Emphysema. What’s That?

February 25, 2009 By 2 Comments

For the next few videos in our series in partnership with CareFlash, we look at common respiratory issues common in seniors.

Emphysema Background

During normal respiration, air travels through the nose, down the trachea, and into smaller and smaller airways called bronchi. The bronchi divide into bronchioles and finally into tiny grape-like clusters of thin, fragile sacs called alveoli. In alveoli, oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide in the blood.

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What’s That? Parkinson’s Disease

February 4, 2009 By 1 Comment

The brain is composed of gray and white matter containing millions of nerve cells. These nerve cells, or neurons, communicate through the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters.  Once a neuron is stimulated, a neurotransmitter is released from the neuron and it crosses a gap called a synapse; it then binds to a receptor on another neuron, thus passing on a signal.

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What’s That? Congenital Heart Disease

January 28, 2009 By 1 Comment

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What’s That? How a Stroke Occurs

January 23, 2009 By 3 Comments

I took an informal survey of friends and family this week – those with parents of the age to consider elder care of some sort.  I was trying to understand their knowledge of popular diseases and medical conditions.  Specifically, I was trying to determine two things:

  1. What percentage of them were familiar with common diseases and medical conditions
  2. What percentage of them actually knew what happens to the body and/or what causes these diseases and conditions

I was not surprised that the vast majority of my participants had basic familiar with a number of common diseases.  I was surprised, however, that many were unsure of what actually happens during the course of many medical conditions.

With that in hand, I’d like to introduce a new series of articles called “What’s That?”

Each What’s That? post will provide background information on a disease or medical condition impacting those in assisted living.  An illustrated video (courtesy of CareFlash) will accompany the post, providing a multimedia explanation of just what’s happening when a medical condition occurs.

What’s That?  How a Stroke Occurs

As with all organs in the body, the brain needs oxygen and nutrients in order to function properly. These life-sustaining products are delivered to the brain via the blood that travels through the circulatory system.  A stroke occurs when there is a lack of blood to a portion of the brain, resulting in tissue death and loss of brain function. A stroke can be caused by a ruptured blood vessel, such as an aneurysm, or by an embolism, which is a small free-floating clot or particle that becomes lodged in one of the arteries of the brain and interrupts blood flow.  Depending on which area of the brain is affected, a stroke can cause speech impairments, paralysis, unconsciousness, or even death. (Source: CareFlash)

Stroke Watch the Stroke video

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What Happened to Good Nutrition?

December 18, 2008 By 4 Comments

As a resident of an assisted living community, maintaining good nutrition is one of the most important ways to insure a long and healthy life. Food, for better or for worse, is the fuel we run on. Just like vehicles, bad fuel can cause us many expensive and troublesome problems, especially as we age. Unfortunately, even with this knowledge, nutrition inside many assisted living communities can be more of an afterthought than a norm.  Assisted living communities are not federally regulated so each state develops its own regulations and this can be challenging when choosing a new home. Nutrition, foodservice, and sanitation guidelines can vary widely across the country.

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House Calls or Office Visit: Three Things to Ask Yourself

October 16, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Traditionally, it was thought that insurers like Medicare required that the patient be unable to leave home to qualify for house calls covered by medical insurance. However, clarifications of policies have opened the option of home health care to other patients who would likewise benefit from house calls by a doctor or nurse practitioner.

Home care will not be appropriate for all patients, though. How would you know whether a house call or a traditional office consult with the doctor is right for you? Ask yourself the following questions before you set your next medical appointment. Time, energy, and money could well be saved by picking the better option for you.

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Reader Q&A: Who Should Manage Medications?

October 8, 2008 By 2 Comments

One of our readers, Lynn, posted a comment to our article on why you need to understand medication management. It’s a good question, and it makes sense to share the answer with the broader audience. Lynn asks:

Ryan, my parents are now in an Assisted Living Community. I’ve been told that they must turn over administration of their meds to the Nurse. Problem is, that there is constantly problems with the meds given by the nurse, ie. meds from another patient, not given at proper time, cannot identify the pill, not all prescriptions given. They tell me that this is a Federally mandated law that my parents cannot self administer, is this true?
We live in Tennessee.

Thanks
Lynn

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