Gentle Caregivers AT HOME

23/01/2024

There are only four kinds of people in the world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver. With GENTLE CAREGIVERS AT HOME, we intend to provide one-stop-shop for our clients whose desire is to be nursed and cared for.…✍️👨🏾‍⚕️👩🏻‍⚕️🏘🏥💉💊❤️

23/01/2024

‪A difficult time can be more readily endured if we retain the conviction that our existence holds a purpose, a cause to pursue, a person to love, a goal to achieve. And as business work schedules continues to be tight for most people, taking care of the aged or adult family members continue to be a challenge for many. We provide healthcare services for the chronically ill and aged with Stroke, Diabetes, Hypertension, Cancer, Arthritis etc. …✍️👨🏾‍⚕️👩🏻‍⚕️🏘🏥💉💊❤️‬

22/01/2024

Nursing care provided by well skilled and experienced nurses with license to practice from the Nursing and Midwifery Council(Ghana).
We are committed to providing genuine and quality home nursing care services to clients and families.
Our mobile qualified nurses can provide support & assistance with palliative care, medication management,personal care etc.
Our nurses develop a personal care plan that suits you at the comfort of your home.

21/01/2024

Ageing is part of life and it comes with it diverse challenges, hence must be handle with professionalism, emotional, spiritual and physical well being. Treat the aged as you want to be treated, at GENTLE CAREGIVERS AT HOME, we provide you quality health care at the comfort of your home, we are concern about your wholist healing. Call us on 0551690483

20/01/2024

Offering care means being a companion not a superior. It doesn't matter whether the person we are caring for is experiencing cancer, flu, dementia or grief. With GENTLE CAREGIVERS AT HOME, you and your loved ones will get the necessary assistance and immediate care needed to maintain a safe, independent and satisfactory lifestyle 🏥🌡💊🩸

19/01/2024

As your loved ones get older, you may find that they no longer adhere to the personal hygiene routines they stuck to for years. You know how much better you feel after bathing and doning a fresh set of clothes but many resistance aged are fixated to the process itself rather than the end results, turning these ones simple task into an ongoing battle.

Coping with their disheveled appearance and body odour can be incredibly frustrating and embarrassing since you strive to provide them with the best possible care, but nothing you say or do can get them to shower, change, shave or brush their teeth. At this point, it's necessary to take a step back, take a deep breath and take a look at the bigger picture in other to find a solution.

REACH OUT TO US NOW AT GENTLE CAREGIVERS AT HOME ON 0543534728 or 0551690483

Medical & health

19/01/2024

18/01/2024

NATURAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION TIPS

If you want to boost your health and wellbeing, there are plenty of natural and home remedies to choose from, ranging from avoiding charred meats and added sugars to practicing meditation.

When it comes to knowing what’s healthy, even qualified experts often seem to hold opposing opinions. This can make it difficult to figure out what you should actually be doing to optimize your health.

Here are some health and nutrition tips that are based on scientific evidence.

👉Limit sugary drinks
Sugary drinks like sodas, fruit juices, and sweetened teas are the primary source of added sugar in diet

Unfortunately, findings from several studies point to sugar-sweetened beverages increasing risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, even in people who are not carrying excess body fat.

Sugar-sweetened beverages are also uniquely harmful for children, as they can contribute not only to obesity in children but also to conditions that usually do not develop until adulthood, like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Healthier alternatives include:
-Water
-Unsweetened teas
-Sparkling water
-Coffee

👉 Eat nuts and seeds
Some people avoid nuts because they are high in fat. However, nuts and seeds are incredibly nutritious. They are packed with protein, fiber, and a variety of vitamins and minerals.

Nuts may help you lose weight and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Additionally, one large observational study noted that a low intake of nuts and seeds was potentially linked to an increased risk of death from heart disease, stroke, or type 2 diabetes.

👉Avoid ultra-processed foods
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are foods containing ingredients that are significantly modified from their original form. They often contain additives like added sugar, highly refined oil, salt, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, colors, and flavors as well.

Examples include:
-Snack cakes
-Fast food
-Frozen meals
-Packaged cookies
-Chips

In addition to low quality ingredients like refined oils, added sugar, and refined grains, they’re usually low in fiber, protein, and micronutrients. Thus, they provide mostly empty calories.

👉Don’t fear coffee
Despite some controversy over it, coffee is loaded with health benefits.

It’s rich in antioxidants, and some studies have linked coffee intake to longevity and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and numerous other illnesses.

The most beneficial intake amount appears to be 3–4 cups per day, although pregnant people should limit or avoid it completely because it has been linked to low birth weight.

However, it’s best to consume coffee and any caffeine-based items in moderation. Excessive caffeine intake may lead to health issues like insomnia and heart palpitations. To enjoy coffee in a safe and healthy way, keep your intake to less than 4 cups per day and avoid high-calorie, high-sugar additives like sweetened creamer.

👉Get enough sleep
The importance of getting enough quality sleep cannot be overstated.

Poor sleep can drive insulin resistance, can disrupt your appetite hormones, and reduce your physical and mental performance.

What’s more, poor sleep is one of the strongest individual risk factors for weight gain and obesity. People who do not get enough sleep tend to make food choices that are higher in fat, sugar, and calories, potentially leading to unwanted weight gain.

👉Stay hydrated
Hydration is an important and often overlooked marker of health. Staying hydrated helps ensure that your body is functioning optimally and that your blood volume is sufficient.

Drinking water is the best way to stay hydrated, as it’s free of calories, sugar, and additives.

Although there’s no set amount that everyone needs per day, aim to drink enough so that your thirst is adequately quenched.

👉Avoid bright lights before sleep
When you’re exposed to bright lights — which contain blue light wavelengths — in the evening, it may disrupt your production of the sleep hormone melatonin.

Some ways to help reduce your blue light exposure is to wear blue light blocking glasses — especially if you use a computer or other digital screen for long periods of time — and to avoid digital screens for 30 minutes to an hour before going to bed.

This can help your body better produce melatonin naturally as evening progresses, helping you sleep better.

👉Take vitamin D if you’re deficient
Most people do not get enough vitamin D. While these widespread vitamin D inadequacies are not imminently harmful, maintaining adequate vitamin D levels can help to optimize your health by improving bone strength, reducing symptoms of depression, strengthening your immune system, and lowering your risk for cancer.

If you do not spend a lot of time in the sunlight, your vitamin D levels may be low.

If you have access, it’s a great idea to have your levels tested, so that you can correct your levels through vitamin D supplementation if necessary.

👉Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
Vegetables and fruits are loaded with prebiotic fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, many of which have potent health effects.

Studies show that people who eat more vegetables and fruits tend to live longer and have a lower risk for heart disease, obesity, and other illnesses.

👉Eat adequate protein
Eating enough protein is vital for optimal health, as it provides the raw materials your body needs to create new cells and tissues.

What’s more, this nutrient is particularly important for maintenance of a moderate body weight.

High protein intake may boost your metabolic rate — or calorie burn — while making you feel full. It may also reduce cravings and your desire to snack late at night.

👉Get moving
Doing aerobic exercise, or cardio, is one of the best things you can do for your mental and physical health.

It’s particularly effective at reducing belly fat, the harmful type of fat that builds up around your organs. Reduced belly fat may lead to major improvements in your metabolic health.

According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, we should strive for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity each week.

👉Don’t smoke or use drugs, and only drink in moderation
Smoking, harmful use of drugs, and alcohol abuse can all seriously negatively affect your health.

If you do any of these actions, consider cutting back or quitting to help reduce your risk for chronic diseases.

There are resources available online — and likely in your local community, as well — to help with this. Talk with your doctor to learn more about accessing resources.

👉Minimize your sugar intake
Added sugar is extremely prevalent in modern food and drinks. A high intake is linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend keeping added sugar intake below 10% of your daily calorie intake, while the World Health Organization recommends slashing added sugars to 5% or less of your daily calories for optimal health.

👉Lift weights
Strength and resistance training are some of the best forms of exercises you can do to strengthen your muscles and improve your body composition.

It may also lead to important improvements in metabolic health, including improved insulin sensitivity — meaning your blood sugar levels are easier to manage — and increases in your metabolic rate, or how many calories you burn at rest.

If you do not have weights, you can use your own bodyweight or resistance bands to create resistance and get a comparable workout with many of the same benefits.

👉Occasionally track your food intake
Some people may benefit from working out how many calories they eat is by weighing their food and using a nutrition tracker. Tracking can also provide insights into your protein, fiber, and micronutrient intake.

However, while tracking, may help some people manage their weight, there is also evidence it can lead to disordered eating tendencies.
Always speak with a doctor before using this strategy.

👉Get rid of excess belly fat
Excessive abdominal fat, or visceral fat, is a uniquely harmful type of fat distribution that is linked to an increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

For this reason, your waist size and waist-to-hip ratio may be much stronger markers of health than your weight.

Reducing refined carbs, eating more protein and fiber, and reducing stress (which can reduce cortisol, a stress hormone that triggers abdominal fat deposition) are all strategies that may help you get rid of belly fat.

👉Meditate
Stress has a negative effect on your health. It can affect your blood sugar levels, food choices, susceptibility to sickness, weight, fat distribution, and more. For this reason, it’s important to find healthy ways to manage your stress.

Meditation is one such way, and it has some scientific evidence to support its use for stress management and improving health.

In one study involving 48 people with high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or both, researchers found that meditation helped lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and inflammation compared with the control group. Additionally, the participants in the meditation group reported improved mental and physical wellness.

18/01/2024

BENEFITS OF LAUGHTER

Laughter is the Best Medicine
It’s fun to share a good laugh, but did you know it can actually improve your health?

The benefits of laughter
✅It’s true: laughter is strong medicine. It draws people together in ways that trigger healthy physical and emotional changes in the body. Laughter strengthens your immune system, boosts mood, diminishes pain, and protects you from the damaging effects of stress. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hope, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. It also helps you release anger and forgive sooner.

✅With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use.

✅As children, we used to laugh hundreds of times a day, but as adults, life tends to be more serious and laughter more infrequent. But by seeking out more opportunities for humor and laughter, you can improve your emotional health, strengthen your relationships, find greater happiness—and even add years to your life.

✅Laughter is good for your health
Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

✅Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

✅Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

✅Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

✅Laughter burns calories. Okay, so it's no replacement for going to the gym, but one study found that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn approximately 40 calories—which could be enough to lose three or four pounds over the course of a year.

✅Laughter lightens anger's heavy load. Nothing diffuses anger and conflict faster than a shared laugh. Looking at the funny side can put problems into perspective and enable you to move on from confrontations without holding onto bitterness or resentment.

✅Laughter may even help you to live longer. A study in Norway found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who don't laugh as much. The difference was particularly notable for those battling cancer.

Mental health benefits of laughter 👇
👉Adds joy and zest to life
👉Eases anxiety and tension
👉Relieves stress
👉Improves mood
👉Strengthens resilience

Laughter makes you feel good. And this positive feeling remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Humor helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss.

More than just a respite from sadness and pain, laughter gives you the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh–or even simply a smile–can go a long way toward making you feel better. And laughter really is contagious—just hearing laughter primes your brain and readies you to smile and join in the fun.

There's a good reason why TV sitcoms use laugh tracks: laughter is contagious. You're many times more likely to laugh around other people than when you're alone. And the more laughter you bring into your own life, the happier you and those around you will feel.

Sharing humor is half the fun—in fact, most laughter doesn't come from hearing jokes, but rather simply from spending time with friends and family. And it's this social aspect that plays such an important role in the health benefits of laughter. You can't enjoy a laugh with other people unless you take the time to really engage with them. When you care about someone enough to switch off your phone and really connect face to face, you're engaging in a process that rebalances the nervous system and puts the brakes on defensive stress responses like “fight or flight.” And if you share a laugh as well, you'll both feel happier, more positive, and more relaxed—even if you're unable to alter a stressful situation.

Here are some ways to bring laughter into your life👇👇👇

✅Smile. Smiling is the beginning of laughter, and like laughter, it's contagious. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling. Instead of looking down at your phone, look up and smile at people you pass in the street, the person serving you a morning coffee, or the co-workers you share an elevator with. Notice the effect on others.

✅Count your blessings. Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the positive aspects of your life will distance you from negative thoughts that block humor and laughter. When you're in a state of sadness, you have further to travel to reach humor and laughter.

✅Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at life's absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious. Even if you don't consider yourself a lighthearted, humorous person, you can still seek out people who like to laugh and make others laugh. Every comedian appreciates an audience.

✅Bring humor into conversations. Ask people, “What's the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?”

Life brings challenges that can either get the best of you or become playthings for your imagination. When you “become the problem” and take yourself too seriously, it can be hard to think outside the box and find new solutions. But when you play with the problem, you can often transform it into an opportunity for creative learning.

As laughter, humor, and play become integrated into your life, your creativity will flourish and new opportunities for laughing with friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and loved ones will occur to you daily. Laughter takes you to a higher place where you can view the world from a more relaxed, positive, and joyful perspective.

17/01/2024

BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Spending time outdoors can boost physical and mental health in a range of ways. You don’t have to spend hours at a time outside before those benefits kick in, either.

According to a 2019 study that included data from 19,806 participants, spending at least 120 minutes in nature per week can significantly boost health and well-being. You can go for a 2-hour chunk all at once, or break it up into smaller daily segments — the benefits still hold.

Even without any greenery around, spending time in sunlight and fresh air may help you feel better in mind and body.

Below, you’ll find 8 health benefits of spending time outside.

👉Better breathing
Air pollution can trigger allergies, asthma, and other respiratory diseases, which you may already know. It might surprise you to learn, though, that indoor concentrations of air pollutants are often two to five times higher than outdoor concentrations.

But spending more time in natural green spaces could help lower your risk of respiratory concerns.

You’ll generally find the freshest air in places with high air circulation. For example, camping in an open field may give you more relief from pollution than resting along a river walled in by skyscrapers and factories.

👉Improved sleep
Typically, your body’s internal clock follows the sun, making you feel awake during the daytime and sleepy at night. Although artificial illumination can mimic natural light, direct sunlight has 200 times the intensity of office lights in a closed room. As a result, sunlight affects your circadian rhythm more than electric light.

Exposing yourself to sunlight can improve your sleep by:

✅helping you feel more tired at night
shortening the time it takes to fall asleep improving the quality of your rest.
The nice thing about sunlight? It doesn’t cost a thing. To get a daily dose, you only need to step outdoors.

Just keep in mind that sunlight needs to enter your eyes to affect your circadian rhythm. If you’re hoping to improve your sleep, picnicking at the beach may help more than napping in a shady wooded area.

👉Reduced depression symptoms
Sunlight can often help ease depression symptoms like low mood and fatigue.

Light therapy can help treat both major depression and seasonal depression. If you have seasonal depression, you may notice improvement after a few days. If you have major depression, it may take up to 2 to 5 weeks before you notice improvement.

Some people believe sunlight has a protective effect since it can help your body produce vitamin D. It’s also possible that sunlight improves sleep, which in turn reduces the severity of depression symptoms.

If depression has sapped your energy, you can still get sunlight fairly easily. Try absorbing your daily dose while eating lunch, reading a book, or doing some good, old-fashioned sun-bathing — just don’t forget the sunscreen.

👉More motivation to exercise
Working out in green spaces could help boost your motivation to exercise in the future, in part because outdoor exercise can:

✅offer a nice change of pace from gyms and make physical activity more interesting and enjoyable make it easier to socialize, as many gyms have unspoken rules about not chatting to the person on the treadmill next to yours.

You don’t have to bike a triathlon or ski down a mountain to enjoy exercise in nature. Any activity that gets your body moving in a way that’s doable for you, like gardening, playing with your dog at the park, or washing your car, can offer some health benefits.

👉Mental restoration
The modern world contains plenty of intrusive stimuli — flashing screens, vibrating phones, rumbling roadways — that compete for our limited attention. This ongoing overstimulation may raise your stress levels without you even realizing it.

The natural world, on the other hand, can offer a mental and emotional refuge when you need to unwind and recharge. In nature, soothing attractions for your senses, from the perfume of flowers to the music of bird song, can hold your attention without draining your mental energy.

Research from 2020 suggests spending time in nature can help you feel more relaxed and focused, especially when you take the time to notice your surroundings. To get these benefits, you might consider doing slow-paced, contemplative activities like hiking in the woods or kayaking on a lake.

👉Boosted immune function
Expert guidance suggests you’re less likely to contract the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), not to mention other viruses, when outside. That’s because air circulation can dilute the presence of viruses in the air. In fact, according to 2021 research, the chances of transmission are 18.7 times higher indoors than outdoors.

Even ignoring the pandemic for the moment, spending time outdoors can still help your immune system function optimally. Microorganisms found in nature that aren’t dangerous can run practice drills with your immune system, in a manner of speaking, to help prepare it for more serious infections.

If you live your life in a completely sterile environment, your immune system can lose its ability to recognize what is and isn’t dangerous. It may then set off a red alert for any microorganism it comes across, which can lead to chronic inflammation.

So, while soap is a wonderful invention, getting muddy once in a while can be good for you, too.

👉Protection from short-sightedness
There’s some evidence to suggest children who spend plenty of time outside have a lower chance of developing myopia, or nearsightedness.

One 2020 study included 10,743 children between the ages of 9 and 11 in Taipei. Researchers found that children who spent more time outside at recess were 22 percent less likely to develop myopia than their peers.

Increasing the eye-work distance when doing close-up work and taking a break after 30 minutes of close-up work also offered some protection.

Experts have suggested a few potential reasons why spending time outside might help protect against myopia:

Natural light offers a brighter and richer collection of light wavelengths to see with.
The outdoors lets your eye practice looking at objects from various distances.
Light stimulates the retina to produce dopamine, which prevents your eyeball from stretching out and warping your vision. This theory has only been tested in animals, though.
This benefit only seems to affect the eye while it grows, so spending time outside can’t reverse myopia in adulthood.

However, regular outdoor activities in childhood, like playing catch, swimming, and going sledding might just save your kid a trip to the optometrist down the line. An added bonus: They also offer great opportunities for family bonding.

👉Improved emotional well-being
Outdoor time can do more than help relieve unwanted or painful emotions like fear, worry, and sadness. It may also help promote emotions you want to feel more of, like happiness, peace, and optimism.

The bottom line
It’s easy to forget sometimes that a whole world really does exist outside your window.

Making a habit of spending regular time outdoors, especially in nature, can do a lot to boost physical and emotional wellness. It can also go a long way toward strengthening your bond with the planet, or Mother Nature herself.

17/01/2024

THE IMPORTANCE OF REGULAR EYE CHECK UPS

Eye tests go beyond vision and can help protect your overall health

Regular trips to the ophthalmologist go beyond checking your vision. Your eyes can give eye doctors a glimpse into a number of health conditions before other symptoms present, so should be a part of your regular health check-up.

Regular eye exams are important to check your vision, particularly if you wear glasses or contact lenses. As well as checking your eyesight, your ophthalmologist will assess the overall health of your eyes and look at things like blood vessels, your optic nerve, and any signs of glaucoma.

Whilst checking the health of your eyes, doctors are often able to identify issues relating to other parts of the body that have not yet been identified.

Some of the issues that are often first noticed during an eye exam include:

👉Diabetes: A condition called diabetic retinopathy causes bleeding and swelling in the eye, and it is not unusual for an eye doctor to be the first to notice the symptoms of diabetes

👉Hypertension: High blood pressure can cause changes in the small blood vessels in the eye, but won’t affect vision until a later stage of the condition

👉Inflammatory conditions: Inflammation in the eye is often connected to inflammatory conditions in other parts of the body, such as the bowel and colon.

So, with routine eye check ups being an important part of your overall health routine, just how often should you have an eye exam?

The team at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Eye Institute recommend yearly eye exams, not only to protect your vision, but your overall health as well. If you have a family history of diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure, talk to your ophthalmologist as you may need more regular check-ups.

What to expect at your eye check up👇

The type of examination you have will vary depending on your specific needs. You will be asked a series of questions about your eye health and about any family history of certain conditions. Your eyesight will then be checked to see if you need glasses or if your current prescription needs to be altered. The health of your eye will then be checked. This may involve the use of dilating drops and lights to give the eye doctor a really clear view of the inside of your eyes.

All round eye health

As well as regular eye check ups, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Eye Institute’s eye specialists recommend the following to help maintain good eye health:

👉Eat well: Research has shown that eating a balanced diet, which contains a number of key nutrients, is beneficial to protecting your vision. These include vitamin A, which helps protect the surface of the eyes, vitamin C which reduces the risk of developing cataracts, and lutein, which in found in green vegetables and is believed to filter harmful light as it enters the eyes.
Protect your eyes from the sunLots of exposure to UV rays from the sun over time can cause a number of problems to your eyes. Wearing sunglasses which offer UV protection can help to prevent vision loss, cataracts and even eye cancers.

👉Rest your eyes: We spend a lot of our day looking at screens; computers, phones and the TV which can cause eye strain. Eye doctors recommend the 20/20/20 rule; every 20 minutes, look away from the screen for 20 seconds, at something that is at least 20 feet away. And remember to blink regularly!
Regular eye check ups are essential in assessing both your vision and your overall eye health. Talk to your ophthalmologist to schedule your eye exam