Eight years ago, a University of California San Francisco study revealed more than 40 per cent of seniors experience lonelinsss and a sense of isolation. As a result, they discovered these lonely seniors exhibited more health problems and even death.

Forty per cent is a lot of people. And now, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, seniors living along experience even more isolation than before the virus began spreading. We are ordered to stay home by local and state governments. We can’t go out and mix with people. We can’t see friends and family. We can only stay home. Alone.

As this message is being written, Planet Earth is in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Seniors are among the most vulnerable groups for experiencing complications from any virus and becoming seriously ill. Those over the age of 60 must stay home and away from people; we don’t know who may have the virus and not know it; as a result our habits must change, and that includes how we shop for groceries.

Sometimes we seniors need some reminders, and that’s the purpose of this message. In this day of staying at home and away from people, we still have daily tasks we must address. And grocery shopping is at the top of the list. Whether we order online or have someone shop for us, we have to make a list so we don’t end up with a bunch of groceries we don’t need and won’t use, and also so we indeed get everything we want for the week (or however long it is between shopping trips).

Look for the Obvious Over-medication issues are common in the lives of our elderly loved ones. They happen more often in nursing homes, but they can still happen with elders living at home and/or being cared for by a caregiver. The most important issue for seniors concerned about over-medication issues is to look for the […]

Health Considerations for Seniors The threat of West Nile Virus is of more concern for seniors than any other population group.  Many experts have said that if you are over 70 and develop symptoms of WNV, go to the hospital immediately.  Senior citizens have less ability to fight the disease, and immediate medical care is […]

Let’s Stick With the Facts, Please Senior Citizen Journal has been supportive of the Affordable Care Act since its inception. In the wealthiest nation on earth, every citizen should have access to healthcare.  In order for the private insurance system to work, everyone has to participate–thus the ‘individual mandate’.  It just makes good sense socially […]

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself Avoiding drug reactions is necessary for senior citizens to protect themselves and their good health.  Patricia Barry writes for AARP regularly, and offers seniors a lot of good advice about health issues.  In the September, 2011, AARP Bulletin, she has an excellent article on The Side Effects of […]

Our daily routine reveals a lot about us. Confessing to some habits and behaviors that I really would like to change suggests dissatisfaction with how my life is structured. It is easy to get into a proverbial rut. It is difficult to extract yourself from that rut. Requiring evaluation and some heavy lifting, it means that you are ready to rearrange the furniture in your day to day living.

For example, most of us, as we age, seem to seek out comfort and more inactivity than activity. We gravitate to those things that are less demanding physically and requiring of less demand upon our bodies, even our minds, and often our spirits. We are satisfied to be not so much lazy as inert.

We seniors are learning more about the potential causes of cognitive impairment.  We need to know what can create problems/issues with our brains as we age.  One of the possibilities is over-the-counter drugs and prescription medications. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may be just that, or it can be an early sign of Alzheimer’s.  It is generally diagnosed with […]

Senior citizens around the planet are increasingly knowledgeable about their health.  We know maintaining good health, eating well, exercising and remaining engaged in the world around us keeps us young in body, mind and spirit.  So today SCJ addresses important nutritional information that we all need to learn about… omega-3 fatty acids or OFAs as […]

Johns Hopkins Medicine Health Alerts had an interesting article this week on the benefits of berries as an antioxidant.  Another article addressed whether or not diet could improve the chronic condition called glaucoma.  It occurred to us that taking another look at the relationship between diet and disease is in order. Dark red and green […]