Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH

Coronavirus Update & Suggestions (3.20.20 Edition)

Like many of you, I’ve been following the recent coronavirus developments closely.

Last week, I devoted my twice-monthly Helping Older Parents members call to this topic, and took the unusual step of posting it to the BHWA podcast. (Find it here, now with video included.)

And of course, a lot has changed since then and now. So I have recorded another video commentary today, with updates and also suggestions on discussing safety and social distancing with aging parents. The video is below, or get the audio-only through the podcast here.

Please stay as safe as you can, and take care!

Related resources:

[Read more…]

6 Steps to Better High Blood Pressure Treatment for Older Adults

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 118 Comments

Have you been concerned about high blood pressure (hypertension)? Or are you worried about an older relative having a stroke or heart attacks?

You’re not alone. After all, hypertension is the most common chronic condition among older adults, and medications for blood pressure (BP) are among the most commonly taken drugs in the US.

Even more important: poorly controlled hypertension is a major contributor to the most common causes of death and disability in older adults: strokes, heart attacks, and heart failure.

So it’s certainly sensible for older adults – and for those helping aging parents – to think about blood pressure.

And once you start thinking about high blood pressure, you’ll probably start to wonder.

Are the blood pressure medications you’re taking enough? Is your blood pressure at the “right” level or should you and your doctors work on changing things?

And what about that major research – the SPRINT trial — that made the news in 2015? (In this study, older adults randomized to aim for a lower BP did better than those who got “standard” BP treatment.)

These are excellent questions to ask, so I’d like to help you answer them.

Now, I can’t provide exact answers on the Internet. But what I can do is provide a sensible process that will help you successfully address these questions.

In this article, I’ll share with you the process that I use to:

Assess an older person’s blood pressure management plan, and
Determine whether we should attempt changes.

If you’re an older adult, you can use this approach to get started assessing your own BP management plan. This will help you to better work with your doctors on assessing and managing your blood pressure.

If you are helping an older relative manage health, you can follow these steps on behalf of your relative. [Read more…]

How to Choose the Safest Over-the-Counter Painkiller for Older Adults

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 130 Comments

Q: My 88-year old mother often complains of various aches and pains. What is the safest over-the-counter painkiller for her to take? Aren’t some of them bad for your liver and kidneys?

A: Frequent aches and pains are a common problem for older adults.

If your mother has been complaining, you’ll want to make sure she gets a careful evaluation from her doctor. After all, frequent pain can be the sign of an important underlying health problem that needs attention. You’re also more likely to help your mom reduce her pains if you can help her doctors identify the underlying causes of her pain.

That said, it’s a good idea to ask what over-the-counter analgesics are safest for older people.

That’s because improper use of OTC painkillers is actually a major cause of harm to older adults.

So let me tell you what OTC painkiller geriatricians usually consider the safest, and which very common group of painkillers you should look out for.

What’s the safest OTC painkiller for an older parent?

[Read more…]

5 Easy Ways to Connect with a Different Generation (& Why it Matters)

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 3 Comments

When is the last time you had a really meaningful conversation with someone from a different generation? And who was it with?

Was it with a grandchild? A niece? Your own parent? A neighbor? Or maybe even the person standing next to you in line at the store?

While these types of connections happen every day across the United States, they probably aren’t happening enough.

And that’s a shame, given that research suggests these intergenerational connections are actually really valuable to people of all ages.

For instance, in 2018, the AARP conducted a national survey of grandparents to learn more about this intergenerational relationship and what it means to older adults. Almost 90% of grandparents reported their relationship with their grandchildren is good for their mental well-being.

However, the survey also found that distance was the number one barrier to seeing grandchildren more often, with over half of grandparents reporting they have at least one grandchild who lives more than 200 miles away. Sixty-one percent of grandparents reported wanting more information about connecting with their grandchildren and staying relevant in their lives.

I first heard about these findings at a conference last summer, when I met Kerry Byrne, PhD, a fellow aging and family caregiving expert who has developed a special interest in intergenerational connections, and in the grandparent-grandchild relationship in particular.

Partly due to her own experience living abroad and trying to keep her children close to their grandparents, in 2019 she founded The Long Distance Grandparent, a website dedicated to helping grandparents and grandchildren connected, even if they live far from each other.

I find this topic of intergenerational connections fascinating. Among other things, it has a role in countering ageism!

So I invited Kerry to join me on the podcast, to talk about how older adults can stay more connected to people of different generations, whether that’s with grandchildren or with people outside their family.

If you are a grandparent yourself, or just want to learn more about why intergeneration connections matter and how you can foster them in your own life, I hope you’ll take a listen to the podcast, or read through the transcript.

Both are available on the show notes page, which you can find here: 102 – Interview: The Importance of Grandparents & Intergenerational Connections

5 Practical Ways to Have More Intergenerational Connections

Here are five specific things Kerry suggests that older adults can do, to foster more intergenerational connections: [Read more…]

Top 10 Checklist for Better Health & Aging in 2020

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 33 Comments

Do you find yourself taking stock and setting goals around the time of New Year’s?

It is indeed a great time to look back and see all that’s happened — especially the good stuff — since the previous New Year.

And although one can set goals at any time of year, the start of the calendar year is a time that seems to inspire many people to think about their health and how to thrive over the coming year.

If better health while aging is important to you, here are my top ten suggestions for the coming year. [Read more…]

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Related resources:

What’s the safest OTC painkiller for an older parent?

5 Practical Ways to Have More Intergenerational Connections

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