Genetics Home Reference: nonketotic hyperglycinemia
Source: National Library of Medicine - 
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Caregiver Health
Source: National Library of Medicine
What is a caregiver?
A caregiver gives care to someone who needs help taking care of themselves. The person who needs help may be a child, an adult, or an older adult. They may need help because of an injury, chronic illness, or disability.
Some caregivers are informal caregivers. They are usually family members or friends. Other caregivers are paid professionals. Caregivers may give care at home or in a hospital or other health care setting. Sometimes they are caregiving from a distance. The types of tasks that caregivers do may include
- Helping with daily tasks like bathing, eating, or taking medicine
- Arranging activities and medical care
- Making health and financial decisions
How does caregiving affect the caregiver?
Caregiving can be rewarding. It may help to strengthen connections to a loved one. You may feel fulfillment from helping someone else. But caregiving may also be stressful and sometimes even overwhelming. Caregiving may involve meeting complex demands without any training or help. You may also be working and have children or others to care for. To meet all of the demands, you might be putting your own needs and feelings aside. But that's not good for your long-term health. But you need to make sure that you are also taking care of yourself.
What is caregiver stress?
Many caregivers are affected by caregiver stress. This is the stress that comes from the emotional and physical strain of caregiving. The signs include
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Feeling alone, isolated, or deserted by others
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Gaining or losing a lot of weight
- Feeling tired most of the time
- Losing interest in activities you used to enjoy
- Becoming easily irritated or angered
- Feeling worried or sad often
- Having headaches or body aches often
- Turning to unhealthy behaviors like smoking or drinking too much alcohol
How can caregiver stress affect my health?
Long-term caregiver stress may put you at risk for many different health problems. Some of these problems can be serious. They include
- Depression and anxiety
- A weak immune system
- Excess weight and obesity
- Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or arthritis. Depression and obesity can raise the risk of these diseases even more.
- Problems with short-term memory or paying attention
What can I do to prevent or relieve caregiver stress?
Taking steps to prevent or relieve caregiver stress may help prevent health problems. Remember that if you feel better, you can take better care of your loved one. It will also be easier to focus on the rewards of caregiving. Some ways to help yourself include
- Learning better ways to help your loved one. For examples, hospitals offer classes that can teach you how to care for someone with an injury or illness.
- Finding caregiving resources in your community to help you. Many communities have adult daycare services or respite services. Using one of these can give you a break from your caregiving duties.
- Asking for and accepting help. Make a list of ways others can help you. Let helpers choose what they would like to do. For instance, someone might sit with the person you care for while you do an errand. Someone else might pick up groceries for you.
- Joining a support group for caregivers. A support group can allow you to share stories, pick up caregiving tips, and get support from others who face the same challenges as you do.
- Being organized to make caregiving more manageable. Make to-do lists and set a daily routine.
- Staying in touch with family and friends. It's important for you to have emotional support.
- Taking care of your own health. Try to find time to be physically active on most days of the week, choose healthy foods, and get enough sleep. Make sure that you keep up with your medical care such as regular checkups and screenings.
- Considering taking a break from your job, if you also work and are feeling overwhelmed. Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year to care for relatives. Check with your human resources office about your options.
Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health
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Telehealth
Source: National Library of Medicine
What is telehealth?
Telehealth is the use of communications technologies to provide health care from a distance. These technologies may include computers, cameras, videoconferencing, the Internet, and satellite and wireless communications. Some examples of telehealth include
- A "virtual visit" with a health care provider, through a phone call or video chat
- Remote patient monitoring, which lets your provider check on you while you are at home. For example, you might wear a device that measures your heart rate and sends that information to your provider.
- A surgeon using robotic technology to do surgery from a different location
- Sensors that can alert caregivers if a person with dementia leaves the house
- Sending your provider a message through your electronic health record (EHR)
- Watching an online video that your provider sent you about how to use an inhaler
- Getting an email, phone, or text reminder that it's time for a cancer screening
What is the difference between telemedicine and telehealth?
Sometimes people use the term telemedicine to mean the same thing as telehealth. Telehealth is a broader term. It includes telemedicine. But it also includes things like training for health care providers, health care administrative meetings, and services provided by pharmacists and social workers.
What are the benefits of telehealth?
Some of the benefits of telehealth include
- Getting care at home, especially for people who can't easily get to their providers' offices
- Getting care from a specialist who is not close by
- Getting care after office hours
- More communication with your providers
- Better communication and coordination between health care providers
- More support for people who are managing their health conditions, especially chronic conditions such as diabetes
- Lower cost, since virtual visits may be cheaper than in-person visits
What are the problems with telehealth?
Some of the problems with telehealth include
- If your virtual visit is with someone who is not your regular provider, he or she may not have all of your medical history
- After a virtual visit, it may be up to you to coordinate your care with your regular provider
- In some cases, the provider may not be able to make the right diagnosis without examining you in person. Or your provider may need you to come in for a lab test.
- There may be problems with the technology, for example, if you lose the connection, there is a problem with the software, etc.
- Some insurance companies may not cover telehealth visits
What types of care can I get using telehealth?
The types of care that you can get using telehealth may include
- General health care, like wellness visits
- Prescriptions for medicine
- Dermatology (skin care)
- Eye exams
- Nutrition counseling
- Mental health counseling
- Urgent care conditions, such as sinusitis, urinary tract infections, common rashes, etc.
For telehealth visits, just like with an in-person visit, it is important to be prepared and have good communication with the provider.
Older Adult Mental Health
Source: National Library of Medicine
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act as we cope with life. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, including as we age.
Many older adults are at risk for mental health problems. But this does not mean that mental health problems are a normal part of aging. Studies show that most older adults feel satisfied with their lives, even though they may have more illnesses or physical problems.
Sometimes, however, important life changes can make you feel uneasy, stressed, and sad. These changes could include the death of a loved one, retirement, or dealing with a serious illness. Many older adults will eventually adjust to the changes. But some people will have more trouble adjusting. This can put them at risk for mental disorders such as depression and anxiety.
It's important to recognize and treat mental disorders in older adults. These disorders don't just cause mental suffering. They can also make it harder for you to manage other health problems. This is especially true if those health problems are chronic.
Some of the warning signs of mental disorders in older adults include
- Changes in mood or energy level
- A change in your eating or sleeping habits
- Withdrawing from the people and activities you enjoy
- Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, angry, upset, worried, or scared
- Feeling numb or like nothing matters
- Having unexplained aches and pains
- Feeling sadness or hopelessness
- Smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual
- Anger, irritability, or aggressiveness
- Having thoughts and memories that you can't get out of your head
- Hearing voices or believing things that are not true
- Thinking of harming yourself or others
If you think that you may have a mental health problem, get help. Talk therapy and/or medicines can treat mental disorders. If you don't know where to start, contact your primary care provider.
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Source: National Library of Medicine -
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