Sick or Hospitalized? What happens to your pet?

It’s no secret that pets are wonderful for people of all ages, especially as we age. They keep us grounded, providing stress relief, loneliness support, and regular activity. But, what happens if you live alone and end up sick or in the hospital? What do you do with your pet?

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 36.5% of households own a dog, 30.4% own a cat, 3.1% have birds, and 1.5% have horses. In most cases, that ownership expands to one or more pets in the same house.

Research shows that about 30% of people age 65 and older live alone, with most of those being women. Most of them do not care to live with their adult children as this is often viewed as a sign of dependence. The key is that they prefer to stay as independent as possible. Because living alone – at any age – can promote periods of loneliness, pets have become excellent companions.

Older adults find that owning a pet has various psychological, physical and social health benefits. As part of the companionship aspect, pets prevent depression and mental stress. One particular study even found that seniors with pets had fewer doctor visits than those without pets. They also provide exercise – dogs need walked and cats need to play. Furthermore, the social benefit occurs especially among dog owners as walking a dog promotes conversation with other dog walkers and strangers who just want to pet your puppy. For older adults, regular conversation and interaction with people is necessary for enhanced mental well-being.

Okay, so we know pets are great for your health, but what happens to those same pets if the senior who owns them becomes sick, hospitalized, or dies? What then? Many people don’t consider the possibility and family members end up scrambling to take care of their loved ones furry companion. The Michigan State University School of Law discovered back in 2000 that about one quarter of pet owners will include their pets in their wills. For those famous pets, such as those formerly owned by actors and actresses, they will truly be taken care of simply because they have the money to ensure that it does. For the rest of us, it’s not really a given even if the pet is listed in the will.

The University’s School of Law also said that in most cases where money is left in a will to take care of the pets, the act cannot be carried out because there is no legal entity to serve as the beneficiary to enforce that gift. The animal usually ends up in a shelter or euthanized.

To make sure your companion is taken care of through your illness, hospitalization, or death, the Humane Society of the United States suggests taking several actions now to ensure your furry friend(s) is well cared for.

1. Find at least two responsible friends or family members who will agree to serve as a temporary emergency caregiver. Write down feeding instructions, veterinarian information, and any relevant details that they should know about your pet.

2. Carry a wallet-size card with the names and phone numbers of these emergency caregivers. This way, if you are hospitalized or unable to make the calls yourself, this card will be handy. Keep it with your medication listing or medical alert information so it will be easily visible. Yes, you could even create a bracelet much like the medical condition bracelets that people often wear.

3. Place the same information on the inside of both your front and back doors in case you die or are incapacitated at home and are rushed to the hospital.

4. Draw up a formal agreement with your long-term pet caregivers and have it notarized. Check annually that they are still able to fulfill that agreement. Remember, circumstances change and one of your caregivers may have relocated to a place that does not allow pets. Always keep that agreement updated.


Keep in mind that if you do nothing for your pet’s future, do not assume that your pet will be re-homed through a local shelter.  Shelters are already overcrowded with homeless animals. You may run the risk of euthanasia if you do not have alternative arrangements. There are some organizations nationwide that offer “pet retirement homes” or “sanctuaries” but these are rare. They often require a fee or donation to reserve a place for your pet.

One more thing to bear in mind: your pet has been used to personal attention and affection. Being placed in a facility – even a retirement pet home – is like confinement or institutionalization. They truly do not want to be caged any more than you would want to be confined. Your best option is to arrange for a family member or friend to take your pets in the event of an emergency and/or death. Don’t wait until you’re already ill or gone…work on it now so that your furry companions will be able to spend the rest of their lives in a happy home.

 

Works used for this article:

American Veterinary Medical Association. (2012). U.S. pet ownership statistics. Retrieved from https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Statistics/Pages/Market-research-statistics-US-pet-ownership.aspx.

Beyer, G. W. (2000). Pet Animals: What happens when their humans die? Retrieved from https://www.animallaw.info/article/wills-trusts-pet-animals-what-happens-when-their-humans-die

Hara, S. (2007). Managing the dyad between independence and dependence: Case studies of the American elderly and their lives with pets. International Journal of Japanese Society, 16(1), 100-114.

Humane Society of the United States. (n.d.) Providing for your pet’s future without you. Retrieved from https://www.petfinder.com/dogs/bringing-a-dog-home/providing-pets-future/

Do You Suffer from Exploding Head Syndrome?

Last week, I stumbled across a Yahoo! article that made me do a double-take: Exploding Head Syndrome.

Exploding what??

You may have run across it as well, yet, I wasn’t sure if this was scientific or a bunch of bunk. I did a little digging and discovered that “Exploding Head Syndrome (EHS)” actually exists. Research published last year in Cephalalgia, a journal published by the International Headache Society, looked into EHS as a significant and common occurrence among people when they move from sleep to awake and vice versa.

Of interest, this really isn’t a new phenomenon as it was discovered in medical literature dating as far back as 1890. It was described as a loud noise or pistol-shot in the brain. At the time, it was considered a significant disorder usually which occurred because the individual was suffering from another mental health disorder such as depression, compulsions or anxiety.

Thanks to modern science and research, we have learned that EHS is a benign disorder that occurs when people move from sleeping to waking or waking to sleeping. There is no pain involved; however, the violent boom can be terrifying and often described by individuals as pain.

Researchers found that explosion comes from the auditory neurons shutting down at once – basically crashing at once with a loud bang. Because of the extreme loudness in the head, people often mistake it for a seizure or a brain aneurysm. It is far more common in females than males. As reported in Cephalalgia, 61% of those suffering from EHS have been female ranging in age from 12 to 84. So, it can happen at just about any age; however, it is far more common among those in their 50s.

The American Sleep Association notes that EHS is not dangerous, but it does affect your ability to have a good night’s sleep. EHS is still associated with many mental disorders and some antidepressant drugs can eliminate the phenomenon. However, it has been noted that most often the main culprit is stress. The American Sleep Association strongly recommends that anyone suffering from poor sleep habits, not just EHS, consider stress-reducing techniques such as reading, yoga, music or a relaxing bath before bedtime.

Although it is not a significant health concern, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine strongly recommends that if your EHS is chronic (meaning that you have heard these noises regularly), that you may have something more serious such as another sleep disorder, a medical condition, mental health issue or substance abuse.

It is important to talk with your doctor about your EHS should it become a regular annoyance or if it significantly affects your ability to sleep.



Works used for this article:
American Academy of Sleep Medicine. (2014). Exploding head syndrome – overview and facts. Retrieved from http://www.sleepeducation.com/sleep-disorders-by-category/parasomnias/exploding-head-syndrome/overview-facts

American Sleep Association. (2015). Exploding head syndrome. Retrieved from https://www.sleepassociation.org/patients-general-public/exploding-head-syndrome/.

Birch, J. (2015). Exploding head syndrome: The weird sleep phenomenon that’s way more common than you thought. Retrieved from https://www.yahoo.com/health/exploding-head-syndrome-the-weird-sleep-115029839587.html.

Frese, A., Summer, O., and Evers, S. (2014). Exploding head syndrome: Six new cases and review of the literature. Cephalalgia, 34(10), 823-827.

 

Look left FIRST, then right…

One of the most annoying actions I have seen lately is the carelessness of drivers. I’m not referring to the speeders, the stop-sign runners or even the DUI offenders. I’m also not referring to the youth of today who may seem out of control when groups pile into one car for a joy ride through town. I’m referring to a simple rule that most of us seem to have forgotten: looking both ways before crossing the street!

The key here is “looking.” When you come to an intersection, the Pennsylvania Driving Manual states that you need to make sure the intersection is clear before proceeding. What it doesn’t say is how to do that. While it should be common sense, this simple act is not that simple for some people. The proper etiquette is to look left first, then right, then left. Regardless of which way you are turning (left or right) or going straight, you should always look to your left first because that direction displays the lane of traffic closest to you at that intersection. Once you look left, you need to look to your right – the lane farthest away from you – to check for oncoming traffic. Then, you look left again to double-check that the lane is still clear. After you established that it is safe, that you will not hit any person or another moving vehicle, you can continue on your way.

I cannot tell you how many times I have been nearly run into as a pedestrian, cyclist, or motor vehicle because someone did not look before pulling out at an intersection (usually a stop sign; sometimes out of a driveway). Just to ascertain that I wasn’t a personal target, I conducted an informal observation of my street intersection and found that nearly every vehicle pulled up to the stop sign, looked RIGHT only and then pulled out. Oh, and if they looked left at all, it was as they were pulling out…sometimes in front of other cars, pedestrians, or cyclists.

This is not a phenomenon unique to Pennsylvania roads…I’ve seen it many places in my travels across about half of our states. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4,743 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents in the United States in 2012 and another 76,000 were injured. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration stated that the number of pedestrian deaths by motor vehicle represents a 6 percent increase over the prior year. NHTSA revealed that 89 percent of those fatalities occurred in normal weather conditions with a large percentage being children.

It is also important to note that 52 percent of those car-pedestrian accidents were unrelated to alcohol (by either the pedestrian or driver), indicating other reasons for the collisions such as drivers or pedestrians simply not paying attention (i.e. not “looking”).

Whatever happened to looking both ways before you cross the road? We still teach our kindergarteners how to look left, right and then left again before crossing the street; why don’t we retain that through our adulthood? And, why don’t we use that same logic when operating a motor vehicle?

The old adage “look left, then right, then left again” actually is better because when you are crossing a two-way street, the lane closest to you will be coming from your left. So, you should look left first, then check the right side (the lane furthest from you) and re-look to your left before crossing the street.

The same is true if you’re in a car: look left toward the traffic that is in the lane closest to you, then right, then left again.

The point here is safety.

 

Works used for this article:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Pedestrian safety. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/Pedestrian_safety/

National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. (2014). Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data. Retrieved from http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811888.pdf.