What Causes Constipation in Older Adults? Exploring the Age-Related Factors

Constipation is a common problem for the elderly. It’s not just uncomfortable; it can really affect how they live their lives. As we get older, our bodies change in ways that make constipation more likely to happen. 

Combined with certain lifestyle choices and health issues, this explains why so many old folks struggle with it. If you work or live in an aged-care setting like a senior living facility, understanding these factors could help heaps. Tailoring diets and care plans according to each person’s needs can improve their quality of life greatly.

Changes in Digestive System Function

As we get older, our digestion naturally gets a bit lazy. Our gut muscles don’t work as well, and food moves more slowly through us. This means that stools can become hard because they stay in the body longer and lose water content, making them tough to pass.

On top of this, aging might mean fewer digestive enzymes are made by our bodies. These help break down what you eat so your body can use it efficiently. So if there’s less enzyme action going on inside you than before, constipation could be another unhappy result.

Medication and Medical Conditions

Lots of seniors need multiple meds for their health problems, which can sometimes mess with bowel movements and cause constipation. Painkillers like opioids are common culprits, as well as some antacids, blood pressure pills, or antidepressants.

Certain diseases common in older people, like diabetes, underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), or Parkinson’s disease, may also slow down your poop schedule. So it’s really key to understand how all these medicines and illnesses could be affecting bathroom habits when treating constipation later in life.

Dietary and Lifestyle Factors

What you eat matters a lot for bowel health. As we age, our diets often skimp on fiber, the secret weapon to smooth toilet trips, mainly due to reduced appetite or trouble with tasting, chewing, and swallowing.

Also, many older folks don’t move around as much either because of physical limitations or just feeling weak overall. This lack of movement can mean things get sluggish in your digestive tract, too. So, getting more active where possible, along with loading up on fibrous foods, could really make a difference when it comes to preventing constipation.

Psychological Factors and Routine Changes

Your mind and everyday habits matter to your bowel health, too. Stress, anxiety, or depression, all common in older folks, can throw a wrench into regular bathroom breaks.

Changes to routines, like when you eat or sleep, can also mix things up for your bowels. This happens often if you’re living in senior communities. So, looking after mental well-being and keeping daily life stable could be helpful tools against constipation as we age.

Conclusion

This piece sheds light on what’s behind constipation in seniors, underlining the need to tackle these problems head-on. By weighing up bodily changes and medical factors, food habits, exercise patterns, and mental health issues, we can find smart ways to ease this all-too-common problem among our aging population.

Tips for Shopping for Healthy Food

Eating healthy is a key part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Eating the right kinds of food is how you’ll have more energy, maintain a healthy weight, prevent or manage many chronic diseases, etc. But making smart decisions when shopping for food can be challenging not only because there are so many options available but also because there are budget, nutritional, and personal preferences to consider. 

To make it easier, here are some tips for shopping for healthy food, whether you’re a cook at an assisted living facility or a college student who needs help.

Don’t Impulse Buy

Impulse buying is not a good idea when it comes to healthy eating. When you shop without a plan or list you’re more likely to buy things that aren’t part of a healthy diet. 

Making a grocery list before shopping is an excellent way to guarantee you purchase the right types of food. If you don’t like lists or don’t have time to make one, at least have a general idea of what you need before you begin shopping; try to think of healthy foods that will last throughout the week you can use to prepare meals in advance or snack on. 

Shop the Perimeter 

Most stores have their produce, meats, dairy products, and other healthy foods along the perimeter of the store as they want to entice you to purchase fresh and perishable items. Try to focus on these sections when shopping for groceries. 

The middle aisles of the store are where most processed and unhealthy foods are located, like chips, candy, soda, etc. There may be some healthy options in the center aisles but it’s best to avoid these sections to stick to your healthy eating plan.

Read Labels 

Reading labels is important when shopping for healthy food as many foods that appear to be healthy actually have added sugars, fats, sodium, and other unhealthy ingredients. Always take the time to read the nutrition label on the back of each product to help you make informed decisions about what to buy. 

Pay close attention to not just the ingredient list, but also the serving size, calories, and other nutrition facts listed on the label. 

Look for Discounts

There’s no need to break the bank to shop for healthy food. Look for discounts, store brands, or coupons that will help you save money on your grocery bill. Additionally, there are usually sales or deals on certain items each week, so be sure to read the advertisements and take advantage of any deals available. 

To find out more information, talk to the store manager or look online. Additionally, many stores offer loyalty and rewards programs that can help you save a ton of money. 

Shopping for healthy food doesn’t have to be expensive, or time-consuming. With a bit of planning and following these tips you can easily find nutritious foods while staying within your budget. Remember to read labels for key nutrition facts, plan ahead by making a list and look for discounts so you can save money on healthy food!  

Hospital Safety And Personal Injury Cases

Every single personal injury law firm heard countless stories about medical horrors that happened to their customers while having to stay inside a hospital. If we look at statistics, the situation is pretty grim. We now know that around 100,000 people die every single year due to hospital errors. Medical negligence is much more common than you might think right now. 

Even if you can obtain financial compensation for the medical errors you suffered from, it does not mean you want to be in that situation. This is why you should always think about prevention. Here are some great tips to help you do just that. 

Directly Speak With The Doctor

This is something you should never be afraid of. You are practically the customer of the doctor so it is your right to demand that you speak with the doctor and not a secretary or a nurse. This allows you to get the important medical information you need about your treatment right from the most qualified person. 

Ask Any Question You Have

When there is something that you do not understand or know about your case, you have to ask questions. You need to ask doctors, nurses, your family, and patients. No matter how large or small your question is, you have to ask it. This will give you the comfort you want and will guarantee that you always know exactly what happens. 

Have A Trusted Advocate With You At The Hospital

You can always get groggy because of medication or pain. This makes it difficult to talk to your nurses and physicians. The best thing you can do because of this is to have someone with you capable of speaking on your behalf. That person can make sure that all your needs are going to be met during your hospital stay. 

Double-Check Treatments And Medications Before You Accept Them

There are several situations in which you cannot understand something when you are in the hospital. For instance, you might not understand the handwriting of your doctor. If this is the case, the nurse or the pharmacist might also not be able to understand. This is why you absolutely need to always ask questions. Then, get your answers until you agree to anything or you do anything inside the hospital. 

Take Notes

When in a hospital, there are so many things you need to remember. For instance, you need to remember medications and conditions. You might even need to remember the names of doctors and nurses. This can be quite difficult to remember so why not take notes? Also, you could write down a list of possible questions you would ask the physician when you meet with him the next time. 

Always Be Polite

Last but not least, whenever you are in the hospital, it is really important that you are as polite as possible. Remember that hospital staff is often overworked and it is easy to understand why care is more compassionate when treating friendly and polite patients. There is no reason for you to be rude since everyone in the hospital only wants to help you, regardless of what you might feel in the heat of the moment. 

Get This Information After Car Accidents For A Successful Personal Injury Claim

Being involved in car accidents is stressful, overwhelming, and jarring. This is especially true when you are injured. Even so, what you do following the accident is very important and can be the difference between being successful in the personal injury claim you will start and having the claim denied. 

According to Detroit truck accident lawyers Mike Morse, right after the car accident, you should focus on the following, whenever possible. 

Right After The Car Accident

Always remain calm and do what you can so you do not panic. The following quick steps are very important:

  • Check for injuries – Do so for you and if possible for the other motorists. 
  • Make sure you are safe – When the vehicle creates a safety problem for others, it can be moved. If not, at least turn off the engine and then turn on your hazard lights. 
  • Call 911 – This should be done as soon as you are safe. 

Exchanging Information

After you are safe and you called 911, try to exchange information with the other drivers. You will need to focus on the following:

  • Contact information
  • Names
  • License plate numbers
  • Driver’s license numbers
  • Insurance information
  • Details about accident location
  • Color, model, and make for the vehicles involved
  • Eye witness contact information

Take Photographs

Photo proof is very useful in personal injury claims. You can use your cell phone and always remember this for taking useful photographs after a car accident:

  • Try to take photos from various angles so that you capture details about what happened, like fluids on the road and physical damage. 
  • Try to take some photos that show the scale of what happened. 
  • Always take pictures from a distance and close-ups. 
  • Photograph all vehicle damage.
  • Photograph the injuries you or other people involved suffered. 

Go To The Doctor

Even if you think you were not injured, it is important to get checked out by a medical professional. This is because some conditions only show symptoms some time after the collision. 

It should also be known that going to the doctor is very important because you are going to then get medical records that support your personal injury claim. You will need copies of several medical records whenever injured. The medical records have information about all health care phases. This includes diagnosis, treatment, follow-up treatment, billing information, and medications. 

Make sure you gather these very important medical records, even if some have to be requested separately:

  • Hospital admission
  • Emergency room services like stitches, surgery, and X-rays
  • Emergency medical services
  • Ambulance ride records
  • Physical therapy records
  • Chiropractic treatment records
  • Prescription medications
  • Mental health professional treatment records

Document Lost Wages

Last but not least, you need to gather records that prove what income you lost. This includes copies of direct deposit reports, paycheck stubs, tips records, and all documents capable of showing how much work you missed together with wages lost. In the unwanted situation in which the injuries are really serious and you cannot get back to work, extra financial compensation is gained to cover future wages lost. 

Are Hair Drug Tests and Shampoos for Marijuana Efficient

Are Hair Drug Tests and Shampoos for Marijuana Efficient

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We can all agree that drug testing is essential, especially for employers that are working in risky industries regulated by federal laws. Therefore, hair drug screening is one of the most convenient ways to detect whether you have drug abuser in your team.

It became popular in the last few years as the pre-employment and workplace drug screening because it can check for patterns of drug abuse. At the same time, parents prefer it to test their children because it is convenient.

In several countries such as Canada, the UK, and the USA recognize the importance of this particular testing method, which is why it is used for court systems as well. 

It is highly challenging to tamper with the results, which will provide employers as well as companies ability to rest assured.

Of course, you can buy a hair cleanser for a drug test, but you have to follow specific guidelines that you will find on the link we shared with you. 

Things You Should Know About Hair Drug Testing

Hair analysis is the conventional method that requires taking hair strands as a specimen for detecting the previous substance abuse. Have in mind that drug metabolites tend to enter your bloodstream and through it, they will reach your hair follicle.

Since long-term substance abuse will create a large number of metabolites that will enter your hair follicle, this particular method will provide you long detection window when compared with other tests that you can use.

It can detect the usage up to three months from the last consumption, of course, depending on how many substances you are being tested for.

Similarly, to other methods, hair analysis features advantages and disadvantages. Understanding them will help you determine whether it is suitable for your workplace or not based on the preferences and requirements that you wish to achieve.

You should click here so that you can learn more on screening methods. 

Benefits of Hair Analysis

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  • Non-Invasive – Have in mind that this particular method tends to be painless and convenient. The collection process will not provide you any embarrassment and pain, which means that you can rest assured. The entire process requires from administrator to cut the hair samples from your head, near to the root, but if you do not have enough on your head, they can take from other parts of your body too. 
  • Long Window Of Detection – Since drugs that enter your body will produce byproducts or metabolites that will go all over your system, the blood will deposit it into hair follicles. Since the administrator will take approximately 1.5 inches of your hair, they can detect the drug abuse for up to three months, which is enough for them to determine whether you consume something frequently or not.
  • Challenging To Adulterate – We have to state important notice because it is almost impossible to cheat this particular drug test. The main reason for that is that the administrator will take samples directly from your hair, so you cannot wear a wig or something else that will help you cheat the test at the point of application. Hair screenings are highly accurate when compared with other methods, and since the metabolites will be in your hair shaft, you will not be able to consume anything that will help you cleanse with ease.
  • Simple To Collect – When it comes to administering it, we have mentioned above that it is completely non-invasive, which means that you do not have to handle needles and painful moments that will embarrass you along the way. Hair specimens are simple to collect, manage and store when compared with other drug testing methods such as saliva or urine.

Disadvantages of Hair Analysis

  • Expensive Price Tag – Have in mind that when compared with other methods for screening, hair analysis is the most costly choice that you will make. The main reason for that is because you will not be able to perform it at home, and it requires an administrator as well as lab technicians that will determine the outcome. It involves complex processes so that you can get accurate results promptly.
  • Inconclusive Time – Even though it is accurate and can help you determine the long-term abuse pattern, they cannot detect anything you consumed five days before the screening. The main reason for that is because metabolites will enter hair follicle through blood, and you will need between five and ten days for the hair to grow from them.
  • Results Depend On Sample Length – We have mentioned above that administrators will take 1.5-inches of your hair sample because it tends to grow for 0.5 inches every month. Therefore, they are taking this sample as the way to check what you consumed in the last three months, while for more extended detection periods the accuracy drops and some regulations are banning more extended detection because it is a breach of privacy.
  • Long Waiting Period – When compared with oral fluid or urinalysis, hair drug tests take longer times because the entire process requires laboratory testing so that you can get accurate results. Therefore, you will be able to get the outcome in two to three days after the date of screening.

How It Works

  • Taking Sample – First, they will receive 1.5 inches of your hair as well as approximately 100 hair strands so that they can have conclusive results afterward. Since the hair growth varies from person to person, they will have the effects, but it is not 100% accurate, and you should know that before the screening. They will cut hair as close to the scalp as possible, while they can also take samples from other parts of your body in case you do not have enough on your head.
  • Laboratory – Administrators will send the sample to the nearest laboratory, and technicians will check it for drug metabolites. They will wash the hair with an idea to remove external contamination, and it will undergo an EIA procedure, which is efficient for getting proper results.
  • Confirmation – After the first part of screening in which they will determine whether the test is positive or negative, they will know what to do base on the results. In case that you have a positive test, they will send it to confirmation through GC/MS procedure (check this link: http://www.bris.ac.uk/nerclsmsf/techniques/gcms.html to learn more about it), which will provide the ability to detect, the presence of individual drugs and reduce the chances of false-positive results.