Medical Concerns

How the Current California Marijuana Laws Affect an Older Adult’s Medicinal, or Recreational, Use

California has always had an interesting and contradictory relationship with marijuana. The state is well known, of course, for Haight-Ashbury, the enclaves of Berkeley, the LA jazz scene, and other marijuana-heavy enterprises. But the drug has also been a great way to stall or even kill a promising movie career, and the fierce political backlash against marijuana and the drug culture led to strict laws and even stricter TV cops (like Jack Webb).

Drink a Morning Cuppa Joe: How Caffeine Fights Dangerous Inflammation in Older Adults

Think of some of the classic coffee commercials from your lifetime. Joe DiMaggio trading in his bat to become Mr. Coffee. Maxwell House promising you that “it tastes as good as it smells.” Juan Valdez offering you “100% Colombian” during the 80s, or Folger’s being the best part of waking up. What those commercials failed to tell you, though, was that the caffeine in coffee can also help prevent deadly inflammation in older adults. I guess it didn’t fit into a jingle.

How Older Adults Affected by Air Pollution in the Bay Area Can Breathe Deeper with Mindful Exercises

Laurel remembers that the air her kids ran around in was much cleaner and fresher than the air her grandkids now breathe in deeply as they play. Laurel has lived in the Bay Area most of her life, first in San Francisco and now in Marin. When she was a teenager, she was diagnosed with asthma and often had to sit out while her friends played outdoors because joining in left her dangerously short of breath.

Misplaced Faith: How to Identify Counterfeit Drugs, a Global Epidemic Affecting Senior Health

We place enormous faith in medicine. It wasn’t that long ago, really, that people saw surgery as high-minded butchery and medicine as akin to witchcraft. It isn’t hard to see why as we are often told to take some kind of pill or tonic or solution then trust that, unseen in our bodies, things will get better. It’s a leap of faith in the goodwill and expertise of a lot of people, and if you’re the caregiver for an older adult, it’s a leap you probably take daily.

Why Sarcopenia, an Undiagnosed Condition in Older Adults, Is an Opportunity for Proactive Self-Care

Our incredible bodies are regenerating every day, down to the minute cellular level, always hard at work maintaining its very complex system. In fact, your taste buds may be only a couple weeks old and, if your cornea is damaged, the eye can rebuild this layer in a day or less. But as our bodies age, their ability to regenerate slows, becoming more sensitive to conditions that might hinder its hard and necessary work.

How Caregivers Can Mitigate Falls, the Hidden Risk Factor of Antihypertensive Blood Pressure Medication

Life, and especially health, seems to come with a series of “Yes, but…” phrases. Running is good for you, but it can be hard on your joints. Chocolate has powerful antioxidants, but also a lot of sugar. Binge watching five seasons of Game of Thrones is fun, but you may want to go outside once in awhile.

Restful Relief Without Medication: Explore Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Older Adults

Since his retirement ten years ago, Jim’s had trouble adjusting to the lack of structure and routine that decades as a San Francisco bus driver offered. The occasional nap turned into regularly drifting in and out of sleep throughout the day, and dinnertime became later and later as he began watching TV for hours every evening. What started as a mild case of restless sleep developed into chronic insomnia as a result of habits that altered his sleep cycles and made sleeping less comfortable.

Telomeres, Stress, and Aging: A Discussion with Nobel Laureate Dr. Blackburn and Dr. Epel on the Biological Process of Getting Older

As we age, we search for metaphors or descriptive phrases to understand what is happening to our bodies. “Falling apart” is one of the most commonly used expressions, though no one means it literally. But there is that feeling that something is breaking down, and it can feel like we’re no longer in control of our body, that a process we don’t really understand has been set in motion.

Strengthening Exercises Offer Chronic Arthritis Pain Management—and Emotional Relief—for Aging Adults

Fresh air filling her lungs, feet pounding the pavement one stride at a time, Judy loved feeling a runner’s high more than anything. But, her running years had come to an unexpected halt when she’d been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis nearly a decade ago. Trying to manage her chronic pain made her scared of doing anything that might worsen her symptoms: she’d stopped her daily jogs and marathon training. And, without running as a stress release, she became sedentary and depressed as the pain worsened.

Alcohol Abuse and Older Adults: A Hidden Health Epidemic

Rhoda struggled with alcohol for much of her youth. She’d successfully managed to stop drinking before starting a family, and it had been decades since she’d gone on a drinking binge. But after her beloved husband died, Rhoda fell into a depression. Grief washed over her and, now in her mid-sixties, she started reaching for the bottle to dull the pain, her usual pre-dinner drink turning into 4 or 5 glasses. Despite noticing her increased clumsiness and forgetfulness, Rhoda’s family didn’t understand the depths of the problem, or her history with alcohol. They assumed she just needed time to cope with her husband’s passing, and surely a few extra drinks wouldn’t hurt.