Why not join Alzheimer's Society for their Carols at Christmas concert? This year you can join in person at Southwark Cathedral or stream the event online from the comfort of your own home.
Get more information and tickets HERE
If you love music, sign up to be notified when our One Button Radio comes back into stock HERE
Relevant points for recovering after an illness.
These techniques help people with long-term conditions and those recovering from illnesses. In a survey of people with long-term conditions, most said that they used these techniques to conserve energy and help manage their fatigue. (Royal College of Occupational Therapists 2020)
When recovering from an illness, you are likely to have less energy and feel tired after doing even a simple task. Putting on your shoes or socks can feel like hard work.
To help you conserve your energy throughout the day and over the week adopt the 3Ps principle. (Pace, Plan and Prioritise)
Pace
Pacing yourself will help you have enough energy to complete a task or activity. It you work on a task until you are exhausted you will need longer to recover. Work until you are tired but not exhausted. For example, climb up five steps of your stairs, have a short rest of 30 seconds and then carry on with another five steps.
Plan
Plan the activities that you want and need to do on a daily and weekly basis. Develop a plan for how you can spread them out so that you spread them out throughout the day. If gardening, laundry, food shopping are tiring activities do them on different days and have a rest day in between.
Plan how you will carry out the activity and collect all the things that you will need together before you start. For example, get out and prepare all the ingredients, utensils and kitchen weighing scales before you start cooking a meal or cake. This will save you the energy of bending down into cupboards and lifting and carrying articles once you have started your cooking.
Utilise products which may help so that you minimise bending, stretching, and lifting. For example, using a long handled mop to clean the floor rather than bending down with a cloth or brush.
Top tips for energy conservation
Don’t hold your breath during any task
Try to avoid pulling, lifting, bending, reaching, and twisting if possible
Push or slide items as much as possible, instead of lifting them
Bend with your knees rather than from your waist
Prioritise
Some daily activities are necessary, but other things aren’t. We sometimes build in extra activities out of habit or a desire to not let our standards slip in the home. This can lead to anxiety and extra pressure when we are recovering from an illness and need to prioritise our recovery.
A couple of questions when prioritising are what do I need to do today and what do I want to today?
If all of our energy is used on the activities that are needed to be done then we are not able to do the things that we want to do. The activities that we choose to do are often the ones that are uplifting to our mental health and wellbeing. Try and keep a balance between “need to do” and “want to do” activities. It may be better to put a task off until another day and conserve some energy for some leisure activity. It may also be possible to ask someone else to do something for you. People are often pleased to be able to help and feel that they can help with recovery.
General tips for carrying out daily activities
Sit down where possible, for example cleaning teeth and washing your face
Sit in the shower if possible and use long handled equipment to reach your feet and back. Click HERE for bath and shower seat. Click HERE for long handled sponges.
Have rests between activities
Keep all the things that you will need in the same place, be organised and tidy
Use long-handled equipment such as a long handled sponge or long handled shoe horn
Use long handled mops for cleaning the floor, not bending down to reach the floor
Spread the activities out throughout the week, for example vacuum a different room each day
Being diagnosed with a visual impairment can have a devastating impact and it may take time to adapt, accept and embrace a new way of living.
Whether from birth or developed over time, visual impairment is a term experts use to describe any kind of vision loss, whether it's someone who cannot see at all or someone who has partial vision loss.
Living with a visual impairment can limit a person’s ability to perform daily tasks and, as a result, it can affect their quality of life. What a sighted person may find easy, someone living with a visual impairment - of any severity - will need a different approach.
The brain of a blind person makes new connections in the absence of visual stimulus which results in complementary abilities such as a heightened sense of hearing, smell or touch, as well as cognitive functions including memory and language.
An ophthalmologist will be able to measure your vision and determine if you are eligible to register for a certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI). Registering your loss of sight is not compulsory, but it can help you claim several benefits including parking concessions, reduced fees on public transport and Disability Living Allowance.
Blindness is the most severe form of visual impairment and it can reduce a person’s ability to live life unaided, but it doesn’t mean the visually impaired individual cannot live an independent life. In order to aid everyday living, why not consider the following:
Products that can help
At Ravencourt Living, our purpose is to create innovative products that are simple to operate and make a real difference to the lives of elderly and disabled people every day; we have over 20 years’ experience of designing market leading products for low vision users and we’re passionate about making these products more accessible to more people.
Below we have listed some of our top products designed to help people live well with visual impairment and remain independent for longer:
Talking kitchen scale with easy to see jug – the talking scale measures both liquids and solids and announces weight in grams, pounds, ounces and volume (ml) in a clear, English voice. It’s easy to operate and will not tip over easily - so if you have a passion for baking, there’s no reason you can’t whip up a Victoria Sponge!
Talking ear and forehead thermometer – this product reports your temperature (and the time and room temperature) which is ideal for those with a visual impairment or who prefer a vocal option. It also states the date and time (am and pm) and keeps up to 30 memory records of ear and forehead temperatures.
Daylight LED touch desk lamp - the daylight simulation helps low vision users and promotes long term eye health. The touch sensitive on/off buttons with dimming options makes this lamp ideal for any daily activities that require a little extra light (reading, sewing, crochet and jigsaw puzzles etc).
One Button Radio - operate a radio with ease and continue your love of music without a fiddly button in sight.
Charities and Voluntary Organisations
With almost 2 million people in the UK living with sight loss, if you or someone you love has been diagnosed with a visual impairment then you are not alone.
Living well and learning all you can about your visual impairment can help you cope and find strategies to live life fully. The following services can offer help and support to blind and visually impaired people and their families, especially when recently diagnosed:
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
Helpline: 0303 123 9999
Helpline: 0300 3030 111
International Glaucoma Association
Helpline: 01233 64 8170
Helpline: 0300 111 4000
Helpline: 0345 123 2399
Helpline: 0207 723 5021
Memory loss can be hard to cope with and lead to frustration and anxiety. If you have memory loss you may also have problems with organising, thinking clearly, concentrating, speaking, and reading (language) or seeing things properly. These symptoms may be due to a diagnosis of dementia.
Early signs of dementia may be difficulty planning or problem solving. This could be planning a holiday or a home improvement and may be an activity that you have managed to do without difficulty beforehand. Another sign of dementia is difficulty completing a familiar task which may be remembering how to cook a favourite dinner or finding the way home from the shops.
Being able to tell the time is an important skill as it helps us orientate ourselves in our day. If you glance across to your bedside clock and it is 7.00am you may think it is time to get up and make a cup of tea. As dementia progresses the ability to tell the time declines and can be lost completely.
An important sign of dementia is losing track of time and place and this can lead to confusion and anxiety. As dementia progresses it may become difficult to read a traditional clock face. This is because the part of the brain that enables understanding of the positioning of the clock hands is damaged. If you forget what time of day it is or which month or season it can lead to practical problems like not knowing that it is 2.00am instead of 2.00pm and going out to the shops in the middle of the night.
A clock with a digital display rather than a traditional clock face can be easier to read and help overcome this problem.
You can also use a clock that states the day and whether it is morning, evening or night which is easier to read.
A talking clock with verbal reminders can also be helpful if you have problems seeing the clock face and you may feel reassured by the spoken voice.
Memory is very complex, and you use different types of memory when you do different activities.
Different types of memory are working memory, episodic memory, semantic memory, procedural memory, and prospective memory.
You use prospective memory when you remember an appointment or to take your medication at a certain time. If you have difficulties with remembering a date or an event that is due to happen in the future and you forget to do something at a particular time you may have a problem with your prospective memory.
A reminder clock can be used which will remind you to carry out your tasks throughout the day.
A common memory problem is misplacing items like keys or glasses around the house. Having a consistent place for keys like a bowl somewhere obvious can be helpful.
You may find a key finder helpful.
There are a range of electronic devices that can be used to help with memory problems. Some will be easy to use but others may need the support of family and friends to choose the ones that are most suitable for you.
Some of our products you can see below;
A quartz clock with a clear display.
Clear colour contrast of numbers against a white background
Features a Day/night picture
This product would help a person with dementia that has difficulty distinguishing night and day.
The clock prompts them and for example they can see that it is 4.00am rather than 4.00pm. During the winter months when it is dark early this clock will also indicate whether it is night or day.
This clock would be good to use in a person’s own home or in their room in a care setting.
It would also be helpful in a hospital or respite care setting as it has a clear, easily read clock face that all people would find helpful.
The picture of day and night would work well for an older person or for children.
The Reminder Clock is a mains powered digital clock with a choice of four different clock displays and twenty helpful reminders that can be set to aid daily routine.
People living with dementia can find difficulty knowing whether it is day or night or morning or afternoon.
The clock has 4 easy to understand displays to chose from
The reminder clock simplifies the time and adds the time of day, for example “It’s now Tuesday afternoon”.
The reminder clock has a choice of 20 reminders to help prompt the user to carry out daily tasks that they may forget like eating and drinking and attending medical appointments.
A reminder is an image or text that appears on the screen with a voice prompt.
You can have reminders for day to day activities like taking medication, having a drink and making lunch or an event like a visit from your family or a medical appointment.
You can upload your own reminders by USB memory stick
Key finder helps you to find lost keys, remotes, purse, walking stick and other easily lost items quickly.
The key finder is placed on a base support which keeps it tidy and it can be removed from the base and carried with you to find lost items
People who are living with dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s Disease lose items such as keys. This is often one of the early symptoms of the disease. Losing keys and other essential items is frustrating and can also be a safety hazard if the person is unable to easily open or lock their door.
This product is also useful for people who have visual problems. Items such as keys are small and difficult to find. This product offers a simple and effective solution to finding misplaced items.
The product is supplied with its own battery.
It may be necessary for a carer to assist with sliding the back panel of the base support down and fit the battery.
This is a simple action but may difficult for a person with poor vision or perceptual problems.
Working to prevent falls is important for everyone as the impact of a fall can be damaging to both you and the people you care for and about.
A fall can hurt you physically, breaking bones or causing bruising and pain. If you have experienced a fall, you may also feel upset and anxious. Many people lose confidence and worry that they may have another fall, have an injury, and lose their independence. The feelings of fear and anxiety can stop you doing the things you want and need to do, like using your shower and going out in the garden.
Trying to keep as fit and able as possible is a positive approach as if you are strong and have good balance you are less likely to fall when you are walking on uneven ground or catch your foot on an obstacle in your home.
There is a cause for every fall and sometimes it is due to a medical condition that limits your mobility or causes unsteadiness. There are also hazards in the home which if you can spot them early can be modified and managed. Home hazards could be poor lighting, loose carpets and rugs, electric cables, clutter on the floor and slippery floors.
Medication can also contribute to the risk of falling as it may have a side-effect of causing drowsiness, dizziness, or lower blood pressure. Being aware of the risks of your medication (even prescribed) and taking at the right time is important. Too many “pain killers” can cause drowsiness and therefore make you less aware of falls hazards.
A reminder to take your medication can be helpful if you are forgetful or a dispenser if you have lots of pills to take every day. Click here for a reminder clock.
Poor vision contributes to your risk of falling and it is important to have your eyes regularly tested and wear the correct spectacles. Good lighting is important to help you see if you have impairment to your sight. Common eye conditions that make it more difficult to see in your home are cataracts, age related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. After a stroke it is possible to have Hemianopia when you see only half of the image in each eye.
If you are experiencing trips and falls due to poor vision it helps to remove clutter, simplify the layout of your rooms, remove loose rugs and tidy cables. It is advisable to use modern high-wattage light bulbs rather than older style bulbs that take time to reach full brightness.
Wearing shoes that support your feet and help you to walk in a stable, secure way is good. Sometimes slip-on sandals and “mules” can cause a trip because your foot slips out sideways or you trip on the stairs. It may be helpful to consider a long-handled shoehorn to assist putting on shoes to avoid bending. The shoehorn also helps to keep the back of the shoe in good shape so that you don’t break it down by pushing your foot down and crushing it.
If you are finding it difficult to climb up steps, Support rails fitted to the wall can be helpful in some cases. Climbing up outside steps to reach your front door may be difficult without a rail or support. A solid banister rail on your staircase makes going up and down stairs safer and easier.
Many people worry about falling in the bathroom because of slippery, wet surfaces. If possible, in your home a walk-in shower is easier to manage than getting into and out of a bath. Support rails can be fitted to the wall of the shower cubicle or on the wall beside the bath to help with walking into the shower or to help you climb out of the bath.
Long-handled sponges can make it easier to reach your feet and wash them if standing in the shower. Long-handled sponges also help you reach and wash your back and feet if sitting on a shower stool. Click here for long-handled sponges.
If you are using a walking aid such as a walking stick or walking frame, ensure that it is the correct height for you and that the rubber ends are in good condition. If your mobility deteriorates or you are needing more support from your walking aid then it is good to seek the advice of a Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist who will provide advice.
If you are a carer for a person living with dementia they will be at risk of falls because of their medical condition. The person living with dementia may forget to use their walking aid and get up from their chair or bed without it and fall. A reminder “Don’t forget your stick” poster or verbal reminder can help. If the person living with dementia becomes upset and agitated they are not concentrating on walking in their environment and may trip or fall. They may have visual perceptual difficulties and see the world in a different way. An example could be a patterned carpet which appears to be in 3 dimensions and look like steps. The individual then lifts their feet to walk up steps on a flat surface. Good lighting is important for people with dementia as it enables them to see their world more clearly and helps to alleviate some of the disturbances of visual perception.
