If you have a loved one that needs help at home, you might be thinking about hiring a caregiver. What is a caregiver and what are the benefits of having one? Caregivers are professionals who assist seniors in their everyday lives. Any senior who feels that they're falling behind in their daily tasks or simply want to reduce the number of responsibilities on their to-do list may benefit from a caregiver. If you've never considered hiring one to help you or a loved one, the list of benefits may just change your mind. Explore the ways a caregiver can improve your life or the life of someone you love.
Working with a caregiver adds another dimension to a senior's life. Seniors can often feel that their lives have been reduced to a series of medical appointments. Medical issues are important, but a singular focus on problems associated with the body can make life feel impersonal and limited. A caregiver looks at the fine details of the whole person rather than the big-picture issues of the body. For many seniors, this kind of personal long-term care and attention paid to comfort and happiness provides welcome relief.
For more information or to set up a one on one consultation, call 5 Star in Chattanooga at 423-893-8181. For middle Tennessee, call 931-474-7823 or visit www.5starHomeCare.com .
If you're facing kidney disease of any kind, especially during this pandemic, it can be difficult knowing where to turn and what to expect, but Chattanooga Kidney Centers offers a variety of services and strives to help ease patients' minds and meet their needs.
"We are committed to providing excellent care and support to all our patients through the latest patient care technology and continuous quality improvement with a focus on superior customer service in a safe, affirming environment," reads the company's mission statement on their website, and once you step inside of their six locations you can see it's true.
Services provided by all of the Chattanooga Kidney Centers located in Chattanooga, Cleveland, and North Georgia include:
Staff assisted in center hemodialysis.
Transient dialysis services.
Evaluation, teaching, and support for home peritoneal dialysis (KCMR and KCC facilities only).
Back-Up dialysis for home dialysis patients.
Ongoing patient education in all aspects of ESRD therapy and treatment options.
To learn more, visit ckcdialysis.com to read on or set up a consultation.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a weakening of the artery wall that results in a ballooning or bulging aorta, the largest artery in your body that runs from your heart, through your chest and down into your abdomen. It's one of the quietest – and most lethal – medical conditions of our time despite the relatively simple tests for diagnosis and treatment.
"The most dreaded complication of an aneurysm is rupture – and it's the 13th leading cause of death in the US, leading to approximately 15,000 deaths each year," says University Surgical Associates (USA) vascular surgeon Dr. Michael Greer. "Death from ruptured aneurysm has remained relatively constant because many AAAs are undetected and untreated. Unless we go looking for it – or it's discovered because of screening for some other health issue – many people with an aneurysm will continue to go undiagnosed. Instead of accidentally finding an aneurysm, the smart choice is to look for them first in people who are at increased risk of AAA."
Not everyone needs immediate treatment when an aneurysm is discovered. For smaller AAAs, you may need to make changes to your habits including stopping smoking and controlling your blood pressure. You should also be carefully monitored by a board-certified vascular surgeon, who routinely evaluates you to make sure your aneurysm hasn't changed. Although the majority of aneurysms never rupture, those that do often lead to sudden death.
"When surgical treatment is needed, stent grafts or an open artery bypass are used to correct the problem," says USA vascular surgeon Dr. Karen Rudolph. "Most people can be treated through minimally invasive procedures that are similar to the stenting procedures used to treat blockages in the heart. Many who get stent grafts can home the day after surgery. The great thing about our team at USA is that we are all trained in open and minimally invasive surgery, which means we can provide our patients with the options that are best for them."
To schedule your free abdominal aortic aneurysm screening at USA Vascular Group, call 423-756-1342 or visit universitysurgical.com/screening.
It's no secret that everyone has experienced higher stress levels as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. From sudden changes at work and school to heightened anxiety from worry about health and meeting basic needs, stress has run rampant and taken its toll on our bodies in a variety of ways, including our oral health. Drs. Mandy and Robert Shearer at Soddy Daisy Smiles shared that they've actually seen an increase in teeth-grinding and feel its a direct correlation.
"With all the pressure of the pandemic, people are more stressed than normal and clenching and grinding," Dr. Mandy said. "We have seen an increase in cracked teeth lately, and we think it is due to all the added stresses we have all been through."
Excessive tooth wear has several different causes and identifying the specific cause is crucial in choosing the correct treatment. It can happen rapidly due to one particular cause, or gradually over a longer period of time and go seemingly unnoticed.
"There are a number of steps that can be taken to prevent teeth grinding," said Dr. Mandy. "If it is stress induced, patients can work to reduce stress in their lives, and should make every effort to do so, especially now with the fight against Covid-19."
Tooth wear is a serious problem that should not be ignored, especially if your stress is at a peak for any reason. In any case of particularly excessive tooth wear, the key is proper diagnosis. Informing and educating people is much easier when they are able to recognize that a problem exists so that the correct treatment can be provided.
For more information on the causes of worn teeth, or to schedule an appointment, call Soddy-Daisy Smiles at 423-332-5275 to schedule an appointment or visit soddydaisysmiles.com.
Total knee replacement is a big, brutal operation with a long recovery. It is usually effective at eliminating debilitating knee pain from end stage arthritis, but it comes with some risks and a long arduous rehabilitation. Some studies have shown up to a 20 % rate of dissatisfaction after surgery. In one local orthopedic surgeon's opinion, at least half of these surgeries are not needed, instead a much safer technique that spares muscle and ligaments and utilizes a short incision and a small fraction of the amount of metal and plastic. This procedure, minimally invasive partial knee resurfacing using the Repicci technique, has been a special interest of Dr. Marty Redish for nearly 20 years.
"At least half of the patients who undergo total knee replacement today do not need the surgery in my opinion," explained Dr. Martin Redish, local surgeon who is both practicing and advocating for a new, less invasive option. "This is because they have unicompartmental arthritis and could instead get a better result with less risk and recovery with minimally invasive partial knee resurfacing (MIPKR). Roughly 60-70 percent of the knee replacements I do are partial knees; the rest I do total knee replacements."
The procedure itself consists of an outpatient surgery that utilizes a small high speed burr that requires the surgeon to freehand sculpt only the diseased portion of the knee so that small metal and plastic implants, the same material as used in total knee replacement, are implanted to patch the worn surfaces.
To learn more about MIPKR, its benefits, and whether the procedure is right for you, contact Dr. Redish's office at 423-493-5220 or visit his website at partialkneedoc.com.
It is a fact of life that aging can bring changes to your physical, mental and emotional health. However, smart choices based on today's knowledge and research can lessen the impacts of aging, helping you have a happy, healthy life during your golden years. One of those smart choices is to address hearing loss when you first notice you are struggling in your listening environments.
For years, hearing loss has been viewed as an inescapable consequence of aging, something you must accept rather than address. People also tend to think that hearing loss has little bearing on other aspects of health, but research has proven the opposite. That is great news because, while hearing loss can impact older adults in far-reaching ways, treating hearing loss-with one or a combination of options that technology now makes available-can mean a longer, fuller, happier life.
Hearing aid technology continues to advance every year. Smaller devices offer ever-improving sound quality. Plus, a hearing aid wearer can have complete Bluetooth connectivity as your hearing aids stream to your mobile phone, your television and through your car speakers. Nowadays, adjustments to volume and even various listening environments can be changed through the touch of a button on your aids and/or through an app on your mobile phone.
To learn more, contact the team at Johnson Audiology to schedule a consultation or appointment at 423-710-1432 or visit johnsonaudiology.com.