Health Medical Supplies (part 2)
March 28th, 2010 | 
Author: 
Taking Control of your health, your independence and your medical spending
As medical treatment options have continued to grow, many patients have taken a less active role in their general wellness. With more prescription drugs for pain, joint discomfort, erectile dysfunction and diabetes, patients’ often have accepted the inevitability of double digit pills every day from now until the day the die. Not only does this leave patients feeling defeated, but it also takes its toll financially with almost all drugs having co-pays every month regardless of your insurance.
A slightly better option for patients has been a robust Physical Therapy industry with new modalities and treatments. While physical therapy does help some patients take control of their pain and mobility, it has few solutions for diabetes, ED (erectile dysfunction) and advanced mobility needs. The other issue with Physical Therapy is it typically relies on a physical therapist actively pushing a patient toward wellness, but do to insurance and Medicare caps on coverage, patients lose their trainer before they are ready for the fight. If you are reading this article and growing upset because I am telling your story, chin up, there are solutions!
The Health Medical Supplies Industry is the form of health care that allows a patient to take control of their health actively and in their own homes. What is Health Medical Supplies you ask? And what are its advantages for different treatments vs. prescriptions or physical therapy?
Arthritis / Joint Pain / and Chronic Orthopedic Conditions
Health medical supplies offers patients a variety of bracing, hot and cold therapy, and nerve stimulation items that provide pain relief, reduction in swelling and provide support for patients that either need to recover from an injury or prevent future injury. These items are partly covered by Medicare and with the help of a supplement or secondary are available to you at practically no cost. On the other hand most physical therapy uses modalities such as hot and cold therapy and nerve stimulation but only while in the sessions you attend. Prescriptions and shots provide pain relief, but the relief is fleeting. Prescriptions also carry the risk of dependency and are tough on your wallet.
Mobility Issues
Health medical supplies offers patients canes, walkers, rollators, motorized and manual wheelchairs and lift chairs. Again, these items are covered by many insurances and Medicare. These items help patients maintain independence, mobility, and avoid falls and fear of falling. physical therapy can teach you to use these devises but the treatment is focused on you actually continuing to use the Health medical supplies. Prescriptions have no answer for these conditions.
Diabetes
Health medical supplies offers blood glucose monitoring, diabetic shoes and specially designed bed overlays. Again, most are covered by insurance and Medicare. Home Blood Glucose monitoring helps patients manage their diabetes by understanding how their diet and the amount of exercise they participate in effect their blood sugar levels. Diabetic shoes and bed overlays help patients avoid painful sores and swelling often accompanied by diabetes. Prescriptions can help a diabetic patient lower their blood sugar but often times patients take pills to make up for the poor diet and exercise management.
Erectile Dysfunction
As I am sure you’ve seen, the newest commercial for the latest, greatest pill promises to allow you to temporarily return to your youth when intimate. While many have used these prescriptions, they come to realize they are expensive and deliver spotty results. Health medical supplies offers Vacuum Therapy pumps which are covered by most insurances and Medicare and are recommended by the American Urological Society as the best way to treat ED. It is safe and allows you to be ready immediately and in many cases can restore full function.
I am not writing this article to suggest physical therapy and prescription drugs are not good forms of treatment. What I am doing is calling on patients to use health medical supplies to take a more active role in their wellness, save money, and live an all around better life.
Quiz for Healthy Aging
1. As long as your body is heathy you’ll lead a long healthy life.
False: To ensure your well-being, pay attention to your physical health but also to your mental and emotional health.
Advice: It’s important to stay emotionally strong through connections with your family. Strong relationships with loved ones can help motivate you to take better care of yourself – eat right, exercise, and get regular doctor checkups.
2. As a senior citizen, you don’t need as much sleep as when you were younger.
False: Your need for sleep remains fairly
constant throughout most of your adult life – most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep. However, aging can cause you to sleep less soundly. Between the ages of 50 and 60, sleep starts to become less restful and insomnia becomes more common. You may get tired earlier in the evening and wake up earlier in the mornings.
Advise: Napping during the dayis one way you can make up for sleeping less at night. Also try doing more physical activities. Adding in an afternoon walk or a round of golf will keep your heart health and will let your get a better nights sleep.
3. Losing weight without trying is a good thing.
False: Unintentional weight loss shouldn’t be celebrated as it is often a sign of worsening health. You should make an appointment with your doctor. Losing more than 5 percent of your total body weight over a year could be a sign of a problem, including: problems with your medication, depression or other emotional problems, loss of appetite, problems with your teeth, dementia, difficulty eating and/or digestive issues.
Advice: See your doctor. If you have loss of appetite or have difficulty eating try drinking nutrition shakes. They are designed to be high calorie and nutrition so you wont have to eat much to get your all of your recommended daily nutrition.
4. If you’re over the age 65, you should refrain from exercising to preserve your strength.
False: Exercising every day can significantly reduce your risk of hearth disease and other health problems. It can boost your energy, reduce your risk of depression, osteoarthritis, diabetes as well as some kinds of cancer and broken bones. Strengthening your leg muscles also reduces your risk of falling.
Advice: It’s never too late to start exercising even if you’ve never done it. There are many exercise programs for those over the age of 65, which can be tailored to your capabilities. Again go see your doctor before you make these type of changes.
5. Whether you end up sickly in your later years is largely determined by your genes.
False: Your genes enter into only about one-quarter to one-third of the aging process. The rest of the effects of aging can be traced to your lifestyle, environment and chance. For example if your parents both died young due to hearth attack you may be inclined to believe the same fate awaits you. Although you may have a genetic tendency towards hearth disease, your diet, exercise, blood pressure control, medication and tobacco use play a significant role n weather you actually develop a hearth condition.
Advice: Take care of yourself physically and mentally throughout your life. You have more say what happens to you than your genetics. When we surround ourselves with positives it becomes much easier to live stress free and to stay mentally and physically healthy.
6. By the time you reach retirement age, its too late to erase the effects of a lifetime of bad health habits.
False: It’s never too late to clean up your act. If you quit smoking for instance, your circulation begins to improve immediately and your lungs go to work repairing damage. After one smoke free year, your risk of hearth disease and cancer falls. If you are overweight, losing a modest 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can lower your blood pressure and help prevent type 2 diabetes.
Advice: If you have trouble trying to quit smoking or losing weight, think about your loved ones and make the effort for them. This will give you the motivation needed to succeed.
7. I can take a pill to solve all of my health problems.
False: We are not there yet, 10% of the doctors in this country prescribe 90% of the medication. This tells us that many people are being overmedicated. Exercise and dieting are extremely powerful when dealing with common health problems like cholesterol, diabetes, hearth disease, blood pressure, arthritis, and much more.
Advice: Always ask your doctor about alternatives for dealing with some of your health problems. Also know the possible side effects before you start a new medication.
some excerpts taken from
www.mayoclinic.com/health/anti-aging
Posted in health and safety management | 
Tags: anti-aging, healthy aging, senior health, senior health management | 
23 Comments »
Senior Health Safety for the Home – Room by Room
- Provide strong, secure handrails for stairways
- Cover steps with non-slip surfaces that are securely fastened.
- Do not use small or loose rugs at the head or foot of stairs.
- Keep stairways free of boxes or any debris to prevent tripping.
- Provide adequate lighting controllable from both ends of stairways.
- On outside steps, remove ice, snow, and leaves to prevent slips.
Fall Fitness Plan: Get Out & Exercise
Pack a lunch so you don’t have to wait in food lines.
Keep small pre-workout snacks on hand, like almonds, walnuts, string cheese, cottage cheese, oatmeal — so hunger won’t slow you down.
As we head into the holiday season, these workouts are especially important. Just don’t stress out about exercise. With just a little planning, exercise should eliminate the stress! From: http://ping.fm/ugIZe
Medical Supply Store Commercial
Allstate Medical Supplies ? Helping Seniors Everywhere
Live Well, Age Well
Self Growth From: http://ping.fm/FsE5d
Medicare Covered Mobility Equipment Guide
There are many levels of mobility problems out there. Whatever severity of your mobility issue, you should not let it slow you down or discourage you. Take advantage of what’s available and get your independence back. There are many kinds of mobility products covered by Medicare, so lets take a look at what you can get for no cost from our medical supply store that will make your life easier. Keep in mind every product has a bariatric/heavy duty version that is capable of supporting more weight.
Which Mobility Equipment is Right for Me?
CANES
Canes – A cane can serve several different functions as appropriate to the needs of the individual user; it can aid balance, it can support a weakened or painful limb or joint, and it can aid in sensing the environment. Most use either a single cane, usually in the hand opposite the affected limb, or may use one in each hand where greater support is needed or both legs are affected.
Canes are generally made from lightweight materials, but, because they transfer the load through the user’s unsupported wrist, are unable to offload equal loads from the legs. The height should be just below the waist so that you don’t have to bend over and strain your back.
There are many different types of canes; Choose from Offset Canes (min support, best if used for balance), Wooden Specialty Canes, 4-legged Quad Canes (weight bearing), Folding Canes and T handle Canes. Remember when walking with a cane, you hold the cane in the hand opposite of your injured or weak foot. It is used as a counter-balance, not a foot replacement.
Shop all Canes
Shop all Cane Accessories
CRUTCHES
Crutches are for both people with short and long term disabilities. They are also used to counter a mobility impairment or injury that limits your walking ability. There are two common types of crutches; Forearm and underarm crutches.
WALKERS
Walkers are great for people who have more severe mobility issues than cane users. They provide the additional support of four legs (sometimes wheeled). Most are made of light weight materials and can be folded up to put in your car. There are a few variations when considering a walker; A walker with no wheels would be for patients with severe mobility issues, these are usually difficult to move across the floor. There is also a two wheeled walker and a four wheeled walker. The two wheeled walker is most common, most patients purchase walker ski glides which make it easier to glide across the floor. You can put all of your weight onto a two wheeled walker when moving and it won’t roll away when you let go of it. Walkers are also available in the 4 wheeled variety but patients using these type of walkers should have better balance because a four wheeled walker can roll out from underneath you if your not careful. Most four wheeled walker have brakes.
Shop all Walkers
Shop all Walker Accessories
WHEELCHAIRS
Wheelchairs - Before choosing a wheelchair you must review your goals, lifestyle, current and future needs, living environment, how you will use the wheelchair, whether you will drive a car or transport the chair as a passenger. This evaluation process will help you decide which type(s) of chair will work for you.
For passengers weighing more than 250 lbs, take a look at the manual Heavy Duty Wheelchairs as they are built to hold more weight than a Standard Weight Wheelchair.
Lightweight Wheelchairs are easy to maneuver (reduces upper body stress) and to lift for transport. The frames and components are made of aluminum or titanium so they are very strong, but light. The only drawback may be the passenger weight capacity, so be sure to check. Ultra Lightweight Wheelchairs offer the ultimate freedom and are great for active paraplegic and quadriplegic users.
Transport chairs are a good choice for those who cannot roll themselves in a manual chair. The transport wheelchairs have handles on the back allowing someone to push the passenger. They are a wonderful solution for transporting someone out of the house, to the car, down the hall, around the zoo, through the airport, etc. See all transport chairs, along with pool wheelchairs, transport/rollator combos, beach wheelchairs and travel chairs in Transport/Specialty Chairs.
Shop all Wheelchairs
Shop all Wheelchair Accessories
POWER WHEELCHAIRS
Power Wheelchairs may be the perfect solution for those who are completely incapable of rolling even a lightweight manual wheelchair. They generally have a tight turning radius so they can get in and out of small spaces. On the flip side, they are generally very heavy and difficult to transport.
Shop all Power Wheelchairs
SCOOTERS
Mobility Scooters – For those with limited mobility, poor upper body strength but good manual dexterity, an electric mobility scooter (power scooter) is a fun alternative to a wheelchair. They travel on battery power and have lots of options – which means they demand special consideration when purchasing.
Shop All Scooters
Whether it is a cane, walker, manual wheelchair, power chair or mobility scooter, we wish you all the best in maintaining your independence and living life to the fullest.
Allstate Medical Supplies has mobility experts ready to assist you in choosing your mobility equipment. Please feel free to call our customer service department, toll free at 1-888-781-60741.
Bye-Bye Pain: Easy Ways to Feel Better Now
Look Out for Seniors in Hot Weather
Living in homes without air conditioning
A lack of mobility
Illness or medical conditions
Being seriously overweight or underweight
Not having access to transportation
Wearing too much clothing in hot weather
Visiting overcrowded places
Not understanding how to respond to hot weather conditions, which includes staying indoors during the hottest part of the day or when air pollution alerts are in effect.
If you know a senior who may be at risk for hyperthermia, encourage him or her to spend as much time as possible in places that have air conditioning. In addition to the locations mentioned above, many communities set up cooling centers at community centers or religious organizations to help people cope with the heat. The NIA offers more information about hyperthermia. Call the NIA Information Center at 1-800-222-2225 or look online for the hyperthermia information page in English or Spanish. From: http://ping.fm/nqwD7