Neti pots have been in use for a very long time all around the world. If you have never heard of them it is used to flush the nare-nose of secretion. If you are an allergy sufferer you may use one when the seasonal allergies become unbearable. For some children, it is a method to clear blocked sinus passages with a warm water solution. Kids tell me that it looks like a ‘terrible teapot’ in other words they don’t like BUT do like the fact that they breathe better after…

Corrective pediatric surgeries happen everyday in most hospitals in the United States. For the most part, these surgeries are required for many different conditions and can be life changing. Corrective surgeries, for example, open doors for ambulation, normal cardiac function, normal diet consumption and opportunities for achievement. Families do there best to prepare themselves and their child for what may be a difficult road to recovery. It can be life changing in both good and bad ways.  Bad in that some surgery recipients have complications and have great difficulty “getting…

No caregiver should face Alzheimer’s disease alone. I’ve witnessed the emotional and physical strain that caregivers endure when helping those with the disease the National Institute of Aging estimates affects between 2.4 million and 5.1 million Americans.

I have also seen caregivers connect to a supportive community that enables them to provide better care for their loved ones and themselves. If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, here are some steps you can take to receive the support you need:

Connect with a support group

• A local Alzheimer’s support group is a…

A recent New York Times headline caught my attention: “Tennessee’s Summit Reveals Dementia Diagnosis”.

If you are not familiar with Pat Summit, she is widely considered the most successful college basketball coach of all time. Her recognition is well deserved after coaching Tennessee University’s women’s basketball team to a record eight national championships and more than 1,000 wins.

Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post writes:

“Denial was followed by anger. For the first few weeks, Summitt would barely even discuss the subject. She told her doctors, ‘You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’m capable…

I was a young woman and a relatively new nurse when I began working for VNSNY in 1998. My days and years past are filled with precious memories and experiences as an employee of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. All of those professional experiences transcend to my heart and spirit to become an integral part of the person, woman, mother, wife, sister, daughter, aunt, friend, and nurse I have become. But THE day that stands out for me the most is a day that is full of sorrow…

Social Isolation is not really new but it is more and more common. While computers are a marvelous innovation (after all almost anything can be delivered to your door with a click of a mouse!) there are valid concerns surrounding how much time children spend sitting in front of screens, when they used to be out playing with other kids. Most doctors recommend children don’t even take a peek at a TV, video game, or computer until they are at least two years old and even then they shouldn’t be…

In the case of Prince William, when every person on the planet feels a connection to your mother, how do you do remember her at your wedding with honor, respect, and most importantly, in a way that has meaning for you?

I recently visited an elderly woman who has had increasing difficulty getting out of bed and walking in the past month. Her caregivers were hoping that she would soon be able to enjoy meals while sitting at the dinner table with the rest of her family.

I spent time instructing the family and home health aide how to assist her implement a simple exercise program that designed to increase her strength and  flexibility. Afterward, I taught them how to help her to sit up in bed, which builds endurance and decreases her risk of developing a breakdown of the skin. Based on the…

Has spring really sprung? Are April showers going to bring us great May flowers? And will this cold weather ever stop? Maybe, and then again maybe not. As we prepare for another summer, let’s recall last summer. It was hot, and there was a pretty severe drought in certain parts of the country. We also had some very unusual weather patterns that became catastrophic — I mean the hurricanes, tornados, hail storms and other weird weather patterns.

What does it all mean and what do your kids think of it? I…

Be honest does the fact that your child can maneuver on the computer with ease worry you or are you proud of their ability? Let’s face it children today do not know what it was like pre-computers and technology and never will. They need them for school and to get information that we typically would have received from the encyclopedia (yes, they still make encyclopedias).

While there are certain great things about computers and kids, there are other aspects that are worth worrying about. Mainly the Internet — where they are…