January 2019 Newsletter
Too Much Sitting Around is Bad for Your Health
Many of our modern conveniences allow us to sit more than we should. Remote controls, drive through restaurants and banks, and online shopping have replaced getting up to change the TV channel, going into the bank lobby, standing in lines, walking through the mall to shop and buy. Online games have replaced outdoor sports. Even at work, many people simply sit in front a computer screen for eight hours.
All of this sitting is linked to a host of health problems including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and cancer.
Research shows it’s important to change position often – even standing for one or two minutes every half hour can help. Here are other simple ‘tricks’ to use if you are sitting to much:
- Pace the room while you talk on the phone.
- Put your laptop on the kitchen counter for a few minutes at home or get a work station that allows you to sit and stand when you are on the computer.
- Go into the fast food restaurant to get your meal, or into the bank to deposit a check.
Act now, to keep active into your retirement years.
- A new product for senior living facilities consolidates social media messages and makes them available on TV. Offered by LifeShare, a box connects to the TV to allow you and your family to stay connected via email, social media, text messaging, pictures and videos using a remote control or wireless keyboard. The device includes access to games, music, weather, news and more. Messages and videos show up on the TV and pictures automatically go into a slideshow.
- The latest Apple watch can detect falls and heart problems. Sensors in the watch track a person’s gait and note if it becomes unsteady. If a fall is detected emergency services are alerted after a minute’s grace period – in case the watch is dropped or the wearer is OK. Other sensors monitor the wearer’s heartbeat and send alerts if it’s too fast or slow with a goal of detecting atrial fibrillation. Critics say this feature may create more worry and trips to the doctor or ER than it helps.
Too Much Medicine?
Approximately 21% of medical care is unnecessary, according to physicians who responded to a survey by Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical School. This includes prescriptions, tests and procedures.
Overtreatment costs $210 billion in U.S. but it can also cause harm to patients from side effects to unnecessary treatments including surgery as well as stress and anxiety.
Side effects from prescriptions can range from simple dizziness to nausea and more. Sadly, side effects can have a cascading effect in that a doctor may treat a side effect with more medication because he did not realize the symptom was a side effect from a medication. Adding new prescriptions may result in complicated drug interactions. You can see how this snowballs.
Over-testing with x-rays, imaging and scans can lead to worry, stress, more testing and sometimes unnecessary treatments. Even a finding of cancer from a screening test may not warrant treatment depending upon the age of the patient, other conditions and the nature of the cancer itself. Some cancers develop so slowly that an elderly patient may be fine without treatment.
Why do physicians overtreat? Fear of malpractice, pressure from patients and lack of access to a patient’s medical history.
What can you do?
- Ask your doctor about options before you start a new drug or agree to a procedure ‘Do I need to decide/act today?’
- Understand the downside of your treatment options – many seniors suffer more from certain treatments than from the illness.
- As you grow older, evaluate how you want to live your life and end your life. Would you prefer to be home with your family or in a hospital fighting for every breath? Tell your doctor and your family what you want. Include your wishes in your estate planning documents.
Plan Before Crowdfunding for Someone Who is Disabled
Many of us have been quick to send a few dollars to a Crowdfunding effort for a child who lost a parent or victims of a natural disaster but if you are t