Safety Tips for the Elderly This Winter

Winter time can be especially cold if you are in your advancing years. A combination of dark nights, icy conditions, and hefty heating bills can make it a stressful time of year for pensioners. It is particularly troublesome for those who live on their own. So if you are worried about the next few months or have a relative who you are concerned about here are a few tips to help the elderly keep safe this winter.

Get Care

Services such as Extra Care At Home provide a helping hand in various aspects of a person’s home life from help getting up in a morning to and housework to providing companionship which can be very important during the isolating winter. Such organisations provide all the benefits of a retirement care home without the person having to uproot from their home.

Outdoor Physical Activity

It is important not to exert oneself as the cold weather will already put extra strain on the heart as it works overtime to keep your body warm. Do not attempt to shovel snow or carry heavy shopping, instead get a younger family member or carer to run such outdoor errands.

Prevent Falls

Wear boots with non-slip soles and keep paths and steps carefully cleared of snow or ice to avoid falls in the cold weather. Put a rubber tip on any cane or walking stick needed to walk to prevent it from slipping.

Wrap Up

Frostbite is a very real risk during extremely cold weather so it is important to cover up as much of your body as possible as areas such as your nose, cheeks, ears are most at risk as are fingers and toes. Frostbite is especially common amongst people with poor circulation and heart disease.

Keep Warm Indoors

Cold homes can lead to serious effects on a person’s health. Flu, depression, heart attacks, strokes, and pneumonia can call be caused by chilly houses. Measures such as electric blankets, eating well, wearing warm indoor clothes can all help your body keep in check when temperatures plummet.

Get a Flu Jab

It is recommended that all over-65s get a seasonal flu jab as the illness can escalate into pneumonia.

Stop Smoking

This is good advice for any time of the year but it is especially pertinent for winter. A smoke-free life will allow you to breathe easier and return your immune system to its best.      

Keep Social

To prevent the winter blues, keep in regular touch with friends and loved ones via telephone. If you feel like widening your circle of friends there are great services such as Age UK’s BefriendingService which assign older people with a befriender who provides friendly conversation on a regular basis.

SimplyBe Prom Dress

Today I have a beautiful dress to show you from +Simply Be   I am saying this in a whisper in case it runs away however as this dress appears to be very camera shy.

I bought the luxe print prom dress months ago and have worn it on a few special occasions but for some reason, I have never managed to get photographs of myself in it.  Either I forget the camera or the photographs turn out blurred; something always seems to happen to prevent me showing the prom dress to you.

You know sometimes you will try a dress on and you feel nothing short of amazing in it?  You get a little warm glow and your confidence goes up a notch or two?  This is what this dress does for me. 

As you will see from my photographs the lighting isn't great so the dress is still trying to hide away from the limelight.  Naughty dress.  The girls in the pictures are my beautiful friends Shona and Vicky by the way :)

Source

Where is my Mojo?

Hello all!

Just wanted to do a little update as to where I am now.  You may have noticed a lack of outfit posts, my usual rants and my generally not being around on here and on Twitter.

My step dad has been in hospital for over five weeks now and time to blog; tweet and write in general is short as my mind is full of other things.  I am fulfilling my pre agreed obligations but both my time and my mojo have temporarily disappeared.

I have also unfortunately had to take a step back from my monthly column "The Plus Perspective" at the amazing Fashion Worked website but being the kind person he is, the editor/creator (sometimes known as Batman in disguise) has let me take a hiatus with a view to hopefully returning back.

Although things are now (happily) slowly improving for my step dad, my mojo seems to have taken a nosedive when it comes to writing, which makes me sad, as I love to write more than anything.  Apologies also for any blog challenges that I have missed, I will try to catch up, particularly the "Suits You" challenge which I enjoy doing.

So basically I am just here to say a quick hello and that I haven't disappeared into thin air and hopefully my blog will resume to running on full throttle again soon.  All of my obligations have now been fulfilled so I may not update again for a little while, unless my motivation suddenly decides to come out from wherever it is hiding.

In the meantime, if anyone finds my mojo, can you please return to sender as I am missing it dreadfully.

Vicky xx

Calendar Girls

One unfortunate side effect of getting older (yes I have to acknowledge that it is happening) is that my memory is not which it used to be.

In my early twenties I used to have a razor-sharp memory, able to recall dates, phone numbers and work file numbers with ease, but these days; after hitting my mid thirties (shush don't tell anyone!) my memory recall has definately taken a dip.

I have recently been looking into ways in which technology can help me with making better use of my time and having solved that with a tablet, I am now looking towards finding a calendar that suits my needs and to assist my forgetful memory.

What I want is a personalised calendar that I can tailor to both my blogging and personal life. With this in mind I decided to check out Photobox and see how they could help me create what I need.

One thing that I like the sound of is being able to upload your own photographs to use for each month. Whether it be family snaps, places you have visited or even quotes that you love, being able to choose my imagery and create a photo calendar specific to me is very appealing.

In the past few weeks I have committed to several monthly projects so being able to choose the starting month of the calendar rather than having to wait until January 2015 makes much more sense. Also, being able to enter my events, birthdays and blogging deadlines on the calendar before it is printed makes for easier reading and is much tidier. Much better than scribbling illegible notes and crossing out when you put an entry on the wrong date.

For an A3 calendar wall calendar with your own photographs costs £17.99 and for just £2.99 you can add in all the events and reminders that you like. Included in the £2.99 cost is the ability to add a photograph keyed to a specific date; great for adding photos for birthdays.

So with my technology sorted and my calendar arranged, my life is much more organised and I can use the extra time to have a glass of wine with a friend or just settle down with a good book. The important things in life.

What aides do you use to organise your life?