Caregiver Community

  • Caregiver Community
    2313 member(s)

    A place where Caregivers come together to share common experiences, challenges,and resources. 

    Caregivers are truly experts in patient management and can help each other because of their intensive experience in patient care at home. Caregivers can ask questions to others on this forum going through a similar caregiving experiences. They can start topics and discuss things like ways to manage daily tasks, where to find doctors, nurses, and other health services, how they manage stress, and any other topics related to caring for their loved one and for themselves. It is a great place for Caregivers to come and chat about the issues that affect them on a day to day basis and take time to focus on their own needs and health.

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  • Cooking s a good brain exercise to prevent dementia
    Teach the Brain New Activities to Delay the Onset of Dementia
    Brain exercises are among the most effective non-medical approaches to delay the onset of dementia and can be enjoyable for the patient and more likely to be complied, emphasises Sabah Thaver, senior physical therapist (neurorehabilitation) at Nanavati Hospital. Mark Twain once famously said, “Out of all the things I have lost, I miss my mind the most.” This line at first sounds humorous, but it turns out to be the bitter truth of the lives of those living with conditions like Dementia. People…
  • Packing a bag for the hospital
    25 Things To Pack In Your Hospital Bag
    For people suffering from chronic illness, hospital stays are frequent. A hospital stay can be made more comfortable and relaxed with items you can bring from home. Even in cases of an emergency, such a hospital list can be given to a loved one to be fetched from your home. Here is a compilation of what many patients prefer to have with them during their time in a hospital. Remember, you should carry what suits your needs the best. To read this in hindi, click here:  25 चीज़ें जो…
  • A child with cancer with his parents
    Seeing Our Child Suffer Is Never Easy
    Javed Khan and his wife describe their 14 year old son, Tavish’s journey with cancer - from diagnosis to treatment and the support they received from Accesslife. 5 months ago, Tavish started complaining of knee pain in his left leg. He was an avid hockey player and noticed frequent falls during a game and while riding his bicycle. Initially the pain was dismissed but soon it grew more intense and would be worse at night time. Tavish would often be unable to sleep all night due to the pain and…
  • A man sitting in hospital gown on a hospital bed
    Questions to Ask during a Hospital Stay
    If you or your loved one is admitted to the hospital for any reason, make sure to keep these questions in mind. These questions are meant to clarify the medical status of the patient, gain information and understand the care needed after a procedure. This will ensure peace of mind for all.  This checklist of questions is aimed to streamline the hospitalization process and make it a comfortable experience for patients and their caregivers. Consider having a family member or friend with you…
  • Picture of Mariyam Raza Haider whose father has oral cancer
    Ways to De-stress during Chemotherapy Sessions
    Mariyam Raza Haider, 26, gives a first person account of how she makes her father’s chemotherapy cycles for aggressive oral cancer as easy and comfortable as possible. This is the first of a two-part series. Chemotherapy, despite being one of the most rigorous medical treatments, demands a pretty simple administration regime. More often than not, cancer patients spend a few hours at the hospital’s daycare, get the chemo drugs through intravenous catheters, and are then discharged. Most side…
  • Stock pic of a person in meditation in silhouette depicting mantra
    The Secret Mantra of Living Well with Chronic Conditions
    In the journey of chronic conditions, there are often many lows and it is important to find the mantra that helps us through those difficult times. Here we share the lived experience of our contributors that motivate us.  Gargi Ahluwalia - On her journey with Parkinson's I felt a complete change in myself. I am now alert and happy. I told myself 'Gargi, Get up! You have to do your work yourself'. I do all my banking work myself and am also able to drive. I believe that perseverance,…
  • Red butterfly with spots in an open field. Image from Pixabay
    The Best Motivational Posters of 2017
    Here is our compilation of the posters that motivated and inspired our readers and social media followers. Which one do you like most?  
  • When You Accompany Someone to the Hospital
    Waiting for medical test results can be the hardest part, but you can make it easier. In a heart-warming article, Usha Jesudasan, relates how she became a nervous wreck when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and how the composed, comforting presence of her son gave her strength to face her diagnosis.    At some point, most of us will accompany someone we love to a hospital or a doctor.   We  go, because we care about the person who felt the lump in her breast…
  • Image of a jar of water with cucumber and mint. Risk of Dehydration in Winter
    Are You Drinking Enough Water in Winter?
    People often fail to recognize the significant dangers of dehydration in winter, dismissing it as a health concern of hot, summer months. Dr Shital Raval corrects this common misconception and advocates why water is crucial even during the cold weather to stay energized. Dehydration is a hidden threat in the months of winter when many people forget to drink as much water as they do in hot summer months. This is a common psychological mistake as we easily forget about hydration in the cold…
  • How can I Help Someone Coping with Grief and Bereavement?
    Ever struggled to figure out what you can do or say to someone grieving the loss of a dear family member or friend. Here is a useful guide on how you can help someone coping with grief and bereavment. If you have other suggestions or experiences please do share by leaving a comment below  
Patient not discharged from ICU despite repeated requests
In the last couple of weeks, I have heard of two different cases in India where the hospital kept a patient in ICU on life support for weeks on end. In one case, even after the family asked for the patient to be transferred to a normal room, the…
Counsellor in Ahmedabad
Query from a caregiver Does anyone know a counsellor in Ahmedabad who can go to a patient's home. Patient has had a couple of strokes and even though there is no paralysis believes he is paralysed and does not use his limbs and keeps falling.…
Walking with quad cane assistance
Here is a question from one of our members: My father is 89. He used to walk regularly twice a day and used a simple walking cane. But now he has had a few falls. Doctor says he must use a cane with 4 legs(quad cane) but he refuses to do that. Now…
A family torn apart by illness
When treatment started failing 66 year old Siew Ching, the family became divided into different camps. Some wanted her to stay in hospital so that she could receive maximal supportive care. Others wanted her to be discharged so she could go…
My 95 year old father
My 95 year old father lives with my sister. She takes very good care of him. Normally he is fine. Can manage most daily activities with some help. But he is sometimes very paranoid about domestic helpers coming into his room and trying to harm him…
Tips for Caregivers
We found a great list of tips (in the link below) to help ease the challenges of being a caregiver and help caregivers with self-care - take a look at this list and share with us if you have ever used any of these and how! The tips include:…
Sleep - A big challenge for Caregivers
A lack of sleep or feeling tired is one of the biggest challenges that Caregivers face. Often times we have to wake up at night to check on our loved one, or we have trouble falling asleep because our mind is preoccupied. What are some of your…
How do you ask for help?
As Caregivers we often take on a lot and can get exhausted. It is important to learn how to ask for help - maybe other family members, friends, or neighbors can help take on some tasks and make life a little easier for the Caregiver. For many of us…
Restlessness in semi mobile senior
My MIL is a little bit over weight @ 94, and is able to walk only with a walker very slowly.She is addicted to watching TV whether she understands anything or not, but cannot sit for a long time. WE give her TV time, once a day for 2 hours. For…
Sharing Caregiving Duties Among Siblings or Family
I recently came across a great article that spoke about the importance of sharing caregiving duties among family or siblings. Often, the caregving duties falls upon one sibling or family member, and  this can cause resentment or…

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