Welcome to ADVISOR.com -- expert advice and know-how on money, health, lifestyle, family, travel, technology, innovative products, smart practices, tips-tricks-traps, and more.

  • A New Look at Menopause Symptoms

    By Carolle Jean-Murat

    The causes of your symptoms might not be what you think.

    Many midlife women, during the years before and after menopause, are plagued with emotional and physical symptoms. If you're woman in midlife with any of these problems, this article can help you discover what could be the cause.

    Read complete article

  • 5 Things You Can Do to Reduce Your Risk of Alzheimer's Disease

    Protect your Brain
    By Diane Darby Beach

    You can reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Here are 5 places to start living a brain-healthy lifestyle.

    An estimated 5 million people in the United States have Alzheimer's disease; this number is expected to double by the year 2050 as the elderly segment of our population grows. Specifically, as Baby Boomers age, the incidence of Alzheimer's disease will proliferate. This article is directed at you, the Baby Boomer.

    Also, you can use these tips to reduce your parents' risk of Alzheimer's and dementia. Since many of the tips in this article focus on staying active and connected, suggested activities are great for you and your parents to do together.

    Read complete article

  • How To Stop Your Dog Pulling On The Leash During Walks

    Here's how to get your dog to walk with you calmly and safely.

    Pulling on the leash is a common dog misbehavior. Puppies and adult dogs alike can often be seen taking their owners for walks, instead of the other way around. Pulling on the leash can be much more than an annoying habit. Leash pulling can lead to escape in the case of a break in the collar or leash, and an out of control, off-leash dog can be both destructive and dangerous to itself and to others.

    Read complete article

  • Learn the Truth About Hospice Care for Advanced Illness

    By Frank D. Ferris

    Here are the facts about how hospice and palliative care can give your family help and hope when they need it most.

    Hospice and palliative care services focus on meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of a person with advanced illness, and also provide support for the patient's loved ones. Care can be provided wherever the patient resides, including the person's home, residential or skilled nursing facility, or assisted living environment.
    Read complete article

  • Patients With Dignity

    By Hera Dore

    What can you do to maintain the dignity of your loved one during a hospital stay?

    As a nurse, I make it a priority to maintain the dignity of my patients. But to my shock, I was faced with a whole new situation when my mother was hospitalized several years ago and was not able to care for herself.

    Read complete article

  • The Defibrillator: Learn About It and Save a Life

    By Graham Hobbs

    Wielding a defibrillator might seem like an intimidating endeavor, but knowing how it works could help you save someone's life one day.

    You've seen it on hundreds of TV shows -- paramedics arrive on the scene to tend to a heart-attack victim, and they whip out an electrical device that seems to jump-start the patient back to life. Could you jump into the paramedic's place to save that heart-attack victim's life?

    Read complete article

  • The Beatles Final Concert -- I Was There

    The Beatles final concert ticket
    By John L. Hawkins

    Memories of seeing the Fab Four firsthand

    August 29, 1966 was the last-ever major live concert by The Beatles, and I was there!

    If you weren't in San Francisco that historic night -- or never saw John, Paul, George and Ringo perform live -- here's a taste of what you missed...

    Read complete article

  • Doctor Check-Up Check List

    Doctor Visit
    By Dr. Hannah Chow

    How to be prepared for your doctor appointment

    Your time is tight, and so is your doctor's. But medical care is too important to cut short. To get the most out of every doctor office visit, use these tips from Dr. Hannah Chow, Loyola University Health System pediatrician. These smart suggestions apply to everyone, and include extra tips when the patient is a child.

    Read complete article

  • Role Reversal

    Car keys caution sign

    Strategies for taking away the keys when mom or dad should no longer drive.

    Automobiles transcend other possessions. They are part of our identity, almost like a member of the family. After a lifetime of mobility, the prospect of losing that aspect of independence can be seriously frightening. But, what do you do when your parent is no longer safe on the road? Here are some suggestions.

    Read complete article

  • Save Your Sight

    Protect Your Eyes
    By Daniel L. Roberts

    You can and should slow Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

    Boomers beware: Scientists predict a surge in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Every year more than two million people in the U.S. discover they have this incurable disease of the retina, which destroys functional vision.

    Here are answers to frequently asked questions about age-related macular degeneration.

    Read complete article

  • Antibacterial Soap: Good or Bad for Your Health?

    Washing hands

    It seems smart to wash your hands and body with soap that claims to be antibacterial. Kills the bad bugs, right?

    Maybe not.

    Rather than cleansing you of germs, such products might be harming your body. That is the concern of U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which says that the health claims of antibacterial soaps are not supported by current scientific data.

    FDA cites two problems with antibacterial soaps:

    Read complete article

  • Supplementing Medicare Benefits

    By Bonnie Burns, California Health Advocates

    People covered by Medicare have different options each year.

    Choices range from Original Medicare to a variety of Medicare supplemental plans. The right choice next time might not be the same as last time. It's an important decision about a complex matter, so make sure you know how it works.

    NOTE: This article was written before Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect in 2014. ACA does not focus on Medicare, but it may affect some of the information in this article. As always, you should consult insurance experts to determine what is right for you.

    Read complete article

  • Where They Film: Santa Clarita Valley, California

    NCIS mobile truck prop
    By John L. Hawkins

    Hollywood locations of NCIS, CSI, 24, The Mentalist, Star Trek, The Unit, and more... 

    Hollywood movies and TV shows are almost never filmed in the real Hollywood, a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. Some studios used to be there, but many years ago most production companies moved to other parts of the greater "LA" area. This is why tourists who go to the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Vine St. rarely see anything interesting. But I do, because I know where to look.

    Read complete article

  • More Americans 55 and Older Work Full Time

    Health care and retirement saving keep people on the job.

    How many older Americans are working full time -- any why? Here's eye-opening research on work from Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI):

    Read complete article

  • Are You An "Aging Boomer"?

    By John L. Hawkins

    Me 'neither. But how often do you read this trite phrase in articles about the Boomer Generation? Plenty!

    It might seem just trivial. But it's actually a negative media stereotype, a meaningless generality to apply to almost 80 million people. And the next step after stereotyping is prejudice. Saying "aging boomers" is saying Boomers are no longer normal people.

    Read complete article

  • How To Plan for Long-Term Care

    Marilee Driscoll
    Marilee Driscoll interviewed by Christa Ayer

    Long-term care insurance determines how well you'll be taken care of when you can't take care of yourself.

    Long-term care insurance is potentially one of the most important purchases you'll ever make. It likely determines how well you'll be taken care of when you can no longer care for yourself.

    There are lots of decisions to make -- and they need to be informed decisions. Tempting as it is to think you'll never be in the position to need long-term care, you risk literally everything if you hide from this issue.

    Read complete article

  • Feelin' Groovy

    Eat right to feel right
    By Janet Little

    Here are some great ways to feel good at any age.

    We've all heard that our 40s are the new 30s, 50s are the new 40s, 60s the new 50s, and so on. As we grow older, we want to live healthier and stronger than our parents. But how?

    Read complete article

  • Boomer Snapshot

    Boomers
    By Stephen F. Barnes

    Is the Baby Boom generation really that different?

    In many respects, the answer is no, but there are important ways the 78 million people born from the end of World War II to 1964 are distinguishable from all previous generations. The distinctiveness is not just in the numbers, but also in values, life choices, and longevity.

    Read complete article

  • Meet a Vital Boomer: Edward James Olmos

    AnnMarie Garcia and Edward James Olmos
    By AnnMarie Garcia

    The Vital Aging Conference provided valuable resources for Boomers and Seniors, and brought a visitor to inspire us.

    Actor Edward James Olmos is a vitally aging Boomer, so I enjoyed his inspiring keynote at "Vital Aging Conference: Caring for Yourself and Others" held in San Diego in 2007. The event featured information on important health concerns for older adults and family caregivers on topics, such as diabetes, nutrition, fitness, legal issues, and stress management.

    Read complete article

  • Plan for an Effective Senior Facility Care Meeting

    Meeting
    By Amy R. Abrams

    During the care plan meeting at your loved one's skilled nursing or other care facility, make sure your voice is heard.

    When you have a loved one in a skilled nursing facility or assisted living facility, you'll often be asked to participate in a "care plan conference," or a "quarterly care conference." Unfortunately, family members usually go to this meeting with little understanding of what a care plan document should provide, or what the goals of an effective care plan conference should be. This article helps you be prepared.

    Read complete article

  • Coping with the Stress of Major Disasters

    Dealing with disasters
    By José A. Álvarez

    Tips for dealing with the immediate shock and facing the challenges.

    Disasters affect us for months, and live in our memories for years. For those who lost homes due to fires, floods, tornadoes, landslides, hurricanes or other so-called natural disasters, life will never be the same.

    Read complete article