Did You Know?

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I’m not trying to insult anyone’s intelligence here. I realize that everybody knows how to wash their hands. But here’s my concern. The CDC recently announced that more than 900 people in the U.S. have died from influenza-related illnesses over the past two months.

Imagine if a previously unknown illness suddenly killed 900 people in our country. Wouldn’t we panic? And wouldn’t we do everything possible to avoid catching and spreading the illness?

Unfortunately, I think we’ve become so accustomed to the flu going around every year that we’ve become complacent. The statistics don’t scare us anymore. That is until one of those people that dies from influenza is your mother, brother, or child.

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As we continue our series of articles about how our senses change with age, this seems like the perfect month to consider our sense of taste. After all, the holiday season is filled with opportunities to enjoy an array of delicious foods.

Unfortunately, it’s normal for our taste buds to lose some of their sensitivity as we enter our 50s or 60s. This is because our taste buds begin to shrink in size. In addition, they regenerate less often as we grow older.

Besides aging, other factors can also affect our sense of taste. These include:

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I hope you’re enjoying my series of articles on the five senses. When we understand how senses change with age, we can take steps to provide a better quality of life for our residents.

In case you missed the previous articles, you can find information on the sense of smell in August’s post. I also wrote about the sense of hearing in this post from September.

Today I’m focusing on two significant areas of touch: temperature sensitivity and pain perception. We’ll also consider how we can help prevent something known as touch deprivation among our residents.

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This post may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links. 

Welcome to the second in my series of articles on how our five senses change as we age. Last month we explored our sense of smell. In case you missed it, you can find the article through this link.

Today we’ll explore the sense of hearing. We’ll look at the causes of hearing decline with aging and what we can do to help our residents. I’ll also share some information about hearing aids that may be new to you.

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This post may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links. 

The other day, I asked several people if they knew the definition of POLST. They offered a variety of interesting answers. One person said it sounded like something people ate in the old country. Another guessed that it’s a creature in a scary movie. (Rather like a miniature poltergeist, perhaps?) Yet another thought it might be a piece of farm equipment.

A few people knew the real meaning of a POLST: Physician’s Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment. (In some states, they may use a different acronym.) Even though POLST has been around since 1991, I find most people aren’t familiar with this concept. That’s why today I’ll try to answer some of the most common questions about POLST.

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