Healthy Living

Do you know what it takes to stay healthy, especially as winter comes?  Amanda Pulfer, Certified Nurse Practitioner, and Regina Embrador, Physicians Assistant, of Premier Health share their favorite tips and tricks in this episode.  From preventative measures like vaccines and handwashing to advice on sleep and avoiding the winter blues.  Tune in now to learn how to make health fun – not a chore – as you age.

Chapters

• 1:13 What should older adults consider having done on a semi-annual or annual basis?
• 1:42 What about immunizations?
• 3:04 Are there specific tests and exams that are related to males and females specifically that our older adults should consider?
• 3:26 Recommendations and tips for diet and exercise for older adults
• 4:22 What is the recommended amount of sleep each night for older adults and why is that so important to make sure they're getting that rest?
• 5:04 What are some other exercises that older adults can do during the winter months?
• 6:15 When our older adults do need to be outside, what do you recommend as far as keeping warm and the types of clothes they should be wearing?
• 7:25 Should our diet or sleep habits change during the cold months?
• 8:50 What can we do to help us prevent from getting sick during the winter months?
• 10:01 What is one suggestion that you would like to share with our listeners for either keeping healthy this winter or even year round?

Transcript

00;00;05;06 - 00;00;18;10

Alexandria

Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Senior Living Today. Today I am pleased to have Amanda Pulfer, certified nurse practitioner, and Regina Embrador, physician assistant with Premier Health here with us today. Thank you both so much for joining me.

00;00;18;13 - 00;00;19;27

Amanda

Thanks for having us.

00;00;19;29 - 00;00;26;22

Alexandria

So since this is your first time on our podcast, could you please tell us a little bit about yourselves and your background?

00;00;26;24 - 00;00;46;11

Amanda

Sure. Sure. So I've personally worked for Premier Health, and within this we've built the clinic here from our Urgent Care foundation. But I've been in the nursing field for about 12 years now and a nurse practitioner for four. And then we've been here at Masonic for...

00;00;46;13 - 00;00;47;22

Regina

Since last March.

00;00;47;24 - 00;00;49;09

Amanda

And yeah.

00;00;49;11 - 00;00;59;03

Regina

Everyone, this is Regina. I am a physician assistant and have been for about seven years now. I've been with Premier for the past four years and happy to be here with you all.

00;00;59;10 - 00;01;21;01

Alexandria

Well, thank you again for joining us. So today we're going to be discussing health tips for senior adults. We're going to look at some of the choices that will affect seniors all year long. And then also some health tips that might be helpful now that we're moving into the colder months. So let's start with regular health checks. What should older adults consider having done on a semi-annual or annual basis?

00;01;21;04 - 00;01;41;27

Regina

You definitely want to be seeing your primary care doctor pretty regularly. We're going to want to do blood pressure checks, glucose checks and cholesterol checks. Also, depending on your age and family history, Pap smears, mammograms and colonoscopies as we get older. Above 75, you definitely want to be doing hearing and vision tests.

00;01;41;29 - 00;01;52;23

Alexandria

So what about immunizations? I know, for example, flu shots every fall is something that comes up, but there are probably other ones that are beneficial for older adults. So what should we know about immunizations?

00;01;52;24 - 00;02;17;25

Amanda

Yeah, so preventative maintenance is truly key because that just sets us up for success to minimize any risk, especially as we grow older, we get more comorbidities or disease processes in our body, so it puts us more at risk. So annual flu shots, what is we are nearing that time. We do have flu shots available in our clinic and the flu season is coming very close.

00;02;17;28 - 00;02;49;23

Amanda

They do recommend with COVID, you know, things have adapt and grown in the last three years, but they do have a new booster coming out which is highly recommended to continue to protect yourself. Just this year, it's a new vaccine for RSV, which is a different virus that can really affect your respiratory tract. So it's really important to, you know, talk to your primary care, see if it's right for you, depending on your health as just another barrier for protection.

00;02;49;25 - 00;03;03;29

Regina

Also, you could make sure that you're up to date with your tetanus shot, make sure it also has pertussis. The pneumococcal vaccine, which is the pneumonia vaccine. And also consider getting the shingles vaccine, which is the herpes zoster vaccine.

00;03;04;01 - 00;03;10;22

Alexandria

So are there specific tests and exams that are related to males and females specifically that our older adults should consider?

00;03;10;25 - 00;03;26;05

Regina

So it really depends on your health history and your past medical history, also including your family history. But for women, we really focus on clinical breast exams and breast cancer screening, also pap smears and for men, the prostate exams.

00;03;26;08 - 00;03;32;11

Alexandria

So what recommendation would you like to share regarding diet and exercise tips for older adults?

00;03;32;13 - 00;04;10;19

Amanda

Getting back to the basics is super important. You know, going into these cold months, there is this thing called the winter blues and it is very real. So if you're just feeling a little down, simple things like diet and exercise can really help with that. We're we kind of all hibernate when it's cold, the weather's bad, but just simply improving your diet, you know, maybe making cooking healthier foods more of an event to get you socializing or just kind of experimenting to get the family over really kind of helps with that, but also promotes healthy dietary intake, but also activity.

00;04;10;19 - 00;04;21;28

Amanda

So it’s something as simple as walking through the halls, getting those steps in and then you get to see people which really help with that. So it's all encompassing and very important.

00;04;22;00 - 00;04;31;25

Alexandria

So we know that getting enough sleep at night is extremely important. So what is the recommended amount of sleep each night for older adults and why is that so important to make sure they're getting that rest?

00;04;31;27 - 00;04;55;08

Regina

So it really can depend on a person individually, but typically it is still 7 to 8 hours on average. Another thing that you do want to remind yourself is after about 5 p.m., we do want to limit the amount of liquids that we're taking in just so we can prevent nighttime urination, because that can also give you a risk of falls and fall related injuries at night.

00;04;55;10 - 00;04;58;08

Amanda

And a good nap never hurt anybody. So let's let's do that, too.

00;04;58;11 - 00;05;21;21

Alexandria

I know I love naps. So so we've been talking a little bit about the colder months. It's crazy to believe that we're already headed into winter. And I know that a lot of our residents here on campus, they like to walk outside to get exercise. As it gets colder that might not be an option depending on how cold it is if we get snow. So what are some other exercises that older adults can do during the winter months?

00;05;21;23 - 00;06;02;14

Amanda

Low impact things are great for joint health and just pain management. So if you could get to a pool and do aerobics things, something in water, but honestly, low impact walking in a safe place like the tunnel is great. And then not to mention we've got the wellness center, which is right by our clinic, so you can always stop in and say hi to us, but just kind of just staying active and doing the what's best for you and in your abilities. We don't want to push it, but just the more that we do, the more that we're able to do later. So an active body stays in motion, essentially.

00;06;02;16 - 00;06;15;02

Regina

Kind of to add to that. Balancing training exercises such as Tai Chi has shown to decrease the risk of falls and fall related injuries. So that's something to keep in mind as well.

00;06;15;05 - 00;06;22;18

Alexandria

And when our older adults do need to be outside, what do you recommend as far as keeping warm and the types of clothes they should be wearing?

00;06;22;20 - 00;06;46;18

Amanda

Definitely protecting the tips of your ears, the tips of your nose, fingertips, toes. Those are the first things that kind of get cold and are at risk for any cold related emergency type situations. But ultimately, it goes back to, you know, raising the kids, like keeping your head warm where the heat escapes can really, truly help monitor and regulate your body temperature.

00;06;46;21 - 00;07;24;26

Amanda

And, you know, just kind of listening to your body, I think is key. There's this thing called neuropathy, which is kind of where you lose feeling in different extremities. So we need to be really mindful that we're not only listening to our body, but sometimes with that disease process, you don't actually feel it. So just doing a quick exam, looking at those toes, looking at the fingers, looking in the mirror to make sure that there's no excess redness or even purple into black, because that is really problematic. So it's just kind of advocating for yourself and, you know, just self-monitoring.

00;07;24;28 - 00;07;30;06

Alexandria

So should our diet or sleep habits change during the cold months?

00;07;30;08 - 00;07;58;23

Regina

I don't think there's too much change as far as maybe with the exception of shorter days. But with that you can have decreased vitamin D levels as well. So you definitely want to get an appropriate amount of vitamin D, whether in your diet supplements or in the sun. But also kind of what we were talking about earlier about the winter blues, just making sure to keep active because those winter blue kind of symptoms and depression and things like that, it's very real.

00;07;58;25 - 00;08;25;04

Amanda

And you know, it's very easy as we quote unquote hibernate in the winter to just enjoy a few more Christmas cookies and kind of veg on the couch and enjoy that pint of ice cream, which, you know, there's no problem with that, just in moderation. But that just kind of reiterates the activity. It's easy to go to bed early because it's darker and it's easy to kind of just stay in your PJs all day and kind of self isolate.

00;08;25;04 - 00;08;50;01

Amanda

But it's important to kind of just recognize those signs. And you set yourself up for success, sign up for activities, you know, set up a group or activity with a neighbor or a friend just to kind of hold yourself accountable because time moves fast and then you just realize, Oh my gosh, I haven't been out of the apartment in a week. And then it just is a slippery slope.

00;08;50;04 - 00;08;54;23

Alexandria

So what can we do to help us prevent from getting sick during the winter months?

00;08;54;26 - 00;09;38;05

Amanda

Well, the fundamental basic thing is handwashing. It sounds really silly. We practice it with our kids, but really we don't realize how germs can spread by just a handshake. A high five, a doorknob. So just kind of good hygiene in that sense. There is no problem with protecting yourself with a mask. If you feel that you're either asymptomatic or being around somebody that may have symptoms. So that's something very simple. And then I think from being healthy, your your vitamin C, vitamin D, that helps with immune health.

00;09;38;08 - 00;10;01;12

Regina

Also, just to make sure that you're up to date with your vaccines and getting your yearly flu shot or your booster vaccine. Another thing is using a humidifier at night and even a daily nasal saline spray which has shown to decrease kind of colds and nasal irritation by keeping the nasal passages really moist.

00;10;01;14 - 00;10;09;04

Alexandria

So as we finish up today, what is one suggestion that you would like to share with our listeners for either keeping healthy this winter or even year round?

00;10;09;06 - 00;10;38;28

Amanda

I think with health in general, you got to make it fun because if it becomes a chore, then let's face it, we don't want to do it. We're not going to follow through with it. So if going for a walk with the friends or the neighbor, that's socialization, that's activity. And you know, it's doing something with a friend. So I think that is it's kind of just not making it a chore, just make it a lifestyle and kind of making it fun, I think setting yourself up for success.

00;10;39;00 - 00;11;05;16

Regina

So we definitely want to eat well. We want to stay active and you definitely want to keep your appointments with your primary care doctor as far as your normal checkups. Definitely during the winter months, you know, you probably don't want to be driving in the snow or if the weather's bad, you don't want to be out there in the rain. So you can easily miss an appointment or have to cancel an appointment. But we definitely want to just be proactive about calling back and rescheduling those appointments.

00;11;05;19 - 00;11;20;08

Alexandria

Well, Amanda and Regina, I want to thank you both so much for joining me today. I learned a ton, and I'm sure our listeners did as well. For our listeners, thank you once again for tuning in. As always, be sure to like and subscribe to the Senior Living Today podcast. So you never miss a new episode.