It's summertime and despite the local swimming hole, ice cream cones, and lawn sprinklers, the heat can be downright uncomfortable - and even deadly. The elderly are at an increased risk of suffering ill effects from the heat. Normal changes that occur with aging, such as poor circulation, inefficient sweat glands, chronic illnesses, and medications can increase your risk for heat related illness such as heat stroke.

Hot days always put me and my colleagues on high alert. We make sure our patients have fans, plenty of cold water, and that they can recognize signs of danger. In my area, the community centers offer free activities, ice cream, and cold drinks in an air conditioned building. But what if you don't have a hospice agency looking out for you or can't get to an air conditioned center to cool down?

There are some things you can do to beat the heat.

• Stay indoors in a cool area. If you don't have air conditioning, close your windows and shades and use fans to circulate air.
• Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water and avoid highly caffeinated and alcoholic drinks as they can further dehydrate you.
• Stay rested. Don't do any strenuous activity - just lie down and rest.
• Take a cool shower or bath.
• Apply cool, damp washcloths to the neck, wrists, and forehead.

If you begin to feel light headed, dizzy, or feel your heart racing, call your health care provider or 911 right away. Heat illnesses are usually very easy to treat when caught early on.

The Centers for Disease Control has more information about the elderly and heat illnesses.

Health Tips for Caregivers

Home Safety Tips

Michael Jackson's untimely death has sparked a lot of interest in and questions about the pain medicationDemerol. There are a lot of tabloid rumors that are as-of-yet unverified that Jackson was taking the drug and even that his personal physician injected him with it before he died. I'm not in the business of tabloid gossip and Hollywood reporting but I do know enough about pain medications to know that if Jackson was taking Demerol for pain, he was likely misguided and mistreated by his physician.

Demerol is a narcotic pain reliever that has been around a long time. It used to be used routinely in hospitals and clinics to relieve moderate to severe pain but is now being shunned for that purpose. Demerol really isn't a good pain reliever, compared to other opioids, and has a long list of risks and side effects. It's also highly addictive, making it's use for pain management even less desirable.

Demerol is no longer recommended for use as a pain reliever and is almost never used in palliative care and hospice anymore. The drug still has some valid uses, most notably as a medication given with others during anesthesia and sedation for minor procedures.

It's important to point out that the attorney for Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, released a statement claiming the physician did not, and never has, prescribed or given the star Demerol. Rumors are just that: rumors. Until final autopsy results are in, we can speculate all we want. As for now, your guess is as good as mine how we lost one of musics greatest legends.

Recommended Reading

Demerol: Not Recommended for Pain Management

Pain Management in Palliative Care

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Have you ever wondered what happens to pets of hospice patients if they can no longer care for them? Patients who go to an inpatient hospice in particular (as opposed to those in a home based hospice program) must worry about this since they would no longer be home to care for them.

Franny Syufy, About.com's Guide to Cats, alerted me to a wonderful program for pet lovers in hospice. The Pet Peace of Mind Program provides food, veterinary care, and personal care, such as dog-walking for pets of hospice patients in Tulsa, Oklahoma and may be coming soon to a hospice near you. Banfield Charitable Trust has vowed to promote and share the Pet Peace of Mind Program with non-profit hospices nationwide, and is even offering up to $5,000 in start-up money for hospices that decide to implement it.

I hope to see many more programs like it at hospices around the country.

What is Hospice?

It's still early and details are still coming in but it appears that Michal Jackson has died today. He was transported to the hospital from his Holmby Hills home by paramedics who performed CPR and reported that Jackson didn't have pulse. The major news sources haven't yet confirmed that Jackson is indeed dead so I'll update you as details come in.

It's a sad day in Hollywood.

Update: The Associated Press is reporting that Michael Jackson is indeed dead. My thoughts are with his family and surviving children Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.

Read the article in the New York Times