Happy New Year to everyone! Thank you for reading our newsletter. This month we have included an article on a technological advancement that provides easy, non-invasive treatment for a variety of ailments. We also have tips on retro-fitting a home for people with cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer's, and five resolutions for the new year. This month we are reporting on a medical study that warns against a heart danger from the supplement l-arginine and a few tidbits of good news from the medical journals.

Scroll through our newsletter or click on a specific article title below to skip ahead:

Home Health Care for the New Year

Focus: Anodyne Therapy

Health Care Tips: Retro-fitting a Home

New Year's Resolutions for a Healthy Year

Newsbrief: New Studies on Heart Disease and Stroke

Home Health Care for the New Year
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Many of us have made our resolutions for the new year and are now doing our best to live up to them. Unfortunately, as the year goes on, time constraints and other obligations might stand in our way. For some, these constraints are medical or are a commitment to caring for a loved one with a medical condition.

A medical condition, whether yours or loved ones', need not, however, keep you or them from living life as you or they would like to. Don't let anything stand in your or your loved ones' way. Call us at 317-733-8779 to speak to a qualified professional about the options open to you.

Focus: Anodyne Therapy
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Picture this: a small, black pad attached by a cord to a black box that, seemingly by magic, cures what ails you.  Sounds like infomercial snake oil?  It’s not.

Anodyne therapy involves using a pad of infrared light-emitting diodes to speed the healing of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, bursitis, tendonitis, fibromyalgia or certain ulcers.  Its unique, tingling sensation has also been shown to improve balance and reduce falls.

The application of its non-visible light, which creates a deep feeling of gentle warmth, spurs the body to produce nitric oxide, not unlike how sunlight helps the body produce vitamin D.

Nitric oxide causes veins and arteries to dilate and allows more blood to flow to and from a wound site, providing the resources needed for the body to repair itself.  Eventually, the body even produces more blood vessels in the area.

Anodyne therapy has found wide use, even within the military, because it is safe, drug-free, non-invasive and even a 30 minute session can lead to a feeling of improvement.  Scientific studies and clinical data have shown this treatment to be effective.
It is not, however, a cure-all.  Unfortunately, it is not safe for use in cancer patients, (as the cancer cells may also benefit from anodyne’s healing properties), and it augments, but does not replace more conventional wound care, like dressing applications.

Though anodyne therapy is widely available in hospitals, few home health care agencies utilize the new treatment, due to the costs of equipment.

Home Services Unlimited provides anodyne therapy, in conjunction with, and inclusive in the costs of other treatments.  If you are interested in enjoying the benefits of this new technology in the comfort of your own home, call us or e-mail us to speak to one of our qualified health care professionals.

Health Care Tips: Retro-fitting a Home for a Loved One with Cognitive Impairment
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Eliminating the dangers in one’s home is essential to creating a safe environment for a loved one with reduced cognitive abilities to live in.  If you have a relative or care for someone with Alzheimer’s or another cognitive impairment, you should “retro-fit” his or her home to prevent unfortunate accidents. 

We have included a few tips to make a home safer in this month’s newsletter.  Contact us and one of our qualified, health care professionals can provide further guidance.  Retro-fitting reduces hazards, but is no replacement for supervision.

Retro-fitting Tips:

• Remove poisonous or corrosive household substances, such as cleaning products, or lock them up somewhere safe.
• Install handrails or safety gates to make stairs safer and put anti-slip strips and a handrail in the shower.
• Use anti-scald devices on faucets or turn down the water heater.
• Disable the stove and oven and mount working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

 

New Year's Resolutions for a Healthy Year
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Many people use the New Year as a time to reflect on their lives and make changes for the better.  Many of these changes concern one’s health care.  Here are a few suggested New Year’s resolutions to help you make responsible choices about your health:

• The number one change you can make for a healthier lifestyle is to stop activities that hurt your body.  That means cutting out smoking and excessive drinking.  Alcohol and tobacco are leading causes of health problems and premature death.
• Develop a balanced diet and an exercise plan.  As Americans become more and more overweight, concern about obesity also grows.  It is important to develop a balanced, healthy diet, high in fruits and vegetables and exercising daily, according to the American Medical Association.  Prior to starting any new diet or exercise program, you should consult with your physician.
• Plan for the unexpected.  You should discuss, with your family and your primary-care physician your wishes should you become unable to make such decisions.  This means deciding if you would like a “do not resuscitate” order in case of certain medical tragedies and clearly stating your wishes in regards to end-of-life care planning.
• Learn about the new Medicare prescription drug plan if you or anyone close to you is affected and make the right choices.  Check our past two newsletters for information about the new drug plan and tips on navigating the choices available to you.
• Prepare for flu season.  Flu season peaks in February.  Check with your physician to see if a flu shot is appropriate for you.  Wash your hands often and try not to touch your nose or mouth or rub your eyes.  If you are traveling to areas affected by the “bird flu,” make sure to avoid live or raw poultry.

 

Round-Up: This Year's Newest Studies
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The medical journals never stop publishing new studies, not even for the New Year.  This year’s first articles include studies about the development of a new vaccine, a warning about taking a supplement and news on weight-loss and kidney health.

Starting off our round-up is a warning: l-arginine is not safe for heart health.  A John’s Hopkin’s study focusing on l-arginine’s heart benefits was stopped, because six patients taking the supplement died, while none of the placebo group died. 

The other studies are full of good news, though.  Two vaccines against rotavirus have been found to be effective and will be licensed soon.  Rotavirus is the leading cause of diarrhea in infants and easily spreads to the rest of the family.

Let’s switch from infants to adults.  The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that post-menopausal women who stick to a low-fat diet that is high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, lose weight.  Contrary to what Dr. Atkins and followers of the South Beach and Zone diets say, carbs aren’t always bad.  Just eat healthy.

When you do have that baguette, as part of your celebratory, off-Atkins’ meal, feel free to have a drink with it.  Sweden’s Karolinska Institute has found that one drink a day lowers the risk of kidney cancer in women over 55 years of age.

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