Water is a Necessary Nutrient

Water is necessary for proper functioning of the body. It is the main component of the body, making up 55-60% of an adult's weight.

Your body gets water through food, the fluids you drink and chemical changes inside the body. You lose water from the body every day. You even lose water through your skin and lungs.

Unfortunately, sometimes your body needs fluid before you feel thirsty. Because of this, you need to drink water or other fluids regularly throughout the day and not wait until you are very thirsty.

What happens if you do not drink enough? You can get dehydrated. Signs of dehydration are dry lips, decreased urine output, fever, nausea, vomiting, constipation and confusion.

How many glasses of fluid a day should you drink? Unless you have heart or kidney disease, 6-8 cups are recommended. Drink more when it is hot, when you exercise or do physical work or when you have a fever or diarrhea.

Some people avoid drinking water and other fluids because of incontinence (or lack of bladder control). If incontinence is a problem for you, discuss it with your doctor. He or she can suggest special exercises and treatments that can help solve the problem. Being in good physical shape by doing light exercise or weight training can also help prevent and control incontinence.

Here are some ways to get enough water:

In the morning, put 6-8 cups of water in a pitcher and drink throughout the day until the pitcher is empty.

• Add ice, lemon and/or mint leaves to make water taste better.
  
• Try decaffeinated iced tea.
  
• Use a sipper (a tall plastic container with a straw in the lid) to carry water with you.
  

Your Resources

Are You House Rich, Cash Poor?

Many older homeowners describe themselves as "house rich and cash poor." They own a home free and clear, yet struggle daily to live on a less than adequate fixed income.

For these cash-strapped homeowners the question is, How can I tap the purchasing power tied up in the value of my home to increase my spendable income? One viable answer is the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage.

The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage is an FHA-insured reverse mortgage designed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to allow older homeowners to convert the equity they have in their home into cash, while retaining ownership of the property.

A reverse mortgage works much like a standard mortgage, only in reverse. In the same way you paid off your mortgage in monthly installments over the years, a reverse mortgage pays you in regular installments or as a line of credit you can draw down as needed, over a number of years. The source of funds for these payments is the equity you have in your home. No repayment of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage is required until your home is no longer your principal residence. When you do leave your home, and the loan becomes due and payable, you will owe the lesser of your loan balance or the market value of your property. Usually the loan is repaid through the sale of the property.

Who is eligible for a HECM? You and any of your co-borrowers must be at least 62 years old and either own your home free and clear or have a relatively low remaining mortgage balance. You also must agree to accept mortgage counseling from a HUD-approved counseling agency.

Under the HECM program, the maximum amount you can borrow is based on a HUD formula that factors in the age of the youngest borrower, the interest rate and the maximum claim amount. The maximum claim amount is the lesser of the appraised value of your home or the maximum principal amount for a one-family residence that can be insured by FHA in your area. There is no minimum borrowing amount.

The HECM offers a choice of five payment options: term, tenure, line of credit, modified term and modified tenure. Working with a housing counselor, the older homeowner can shape a payment plan to fit his or her own circumstances.

If you choose the term option, you receive equal monthly payments for a fixed period of time. You decide the length of the term when you take out the HECM. A term plan is a good choice if you need extra monthly income for a fixed period -- for example, to pay for temporary or extended home health care.

With the tenure option, you receive equal monthly payments for as long as you occupy your home as a principal residence. This may be a good choice for homeowners who need a source of extra monthly income on a regular and long-term basis.

If you select the line of credit option, a line of credit equal to your principal limit will be established. You may draw up to a maximum amount of cash at times and in amounts of your choosing, as long as you occupy the home as a principal residence. A line of credit may be a good choice if you simply need extra cash from time to time.

The modified term option allows you to set aside a portion of your principal limit as a line of credit and receive the rest in the form of equal monthly payments for a fixed period.

Under the modified tenure option, you may set aside a portion of your prinicpal limit as a line of credit and receive the rest in equal monthly payments as long as you occupy your home as a principal residence.

Presently, there are three lending institutions in Georgia which offer the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. Each of these will provide service to any location in Georgia. They are: Unity Mortgage, Atlanta, GA, 800/235-3767; Tucker Federal, Tucker, GA, 404/938-1222; Homestead Savings and Loan, Columbus, GA, 706/324-2047.

Your Relationships

Coping with Alzheimer's

While we have learned much about Alzheimer's Disease (abbreviated here as AD) over the last 20 years, we still have a long way to go. AD continues rob many senior Georgians of their memories and, some say, even their personhood.

Some recent research looked at an important aspect of AD: how do spouses and family members cope with the changes brought on by AD? It is important to know how the persons who are afflicted by AD cope, but this is a disease that victimizes the loved ones of the Alzheimer's sufferer as well. Do these loved ones respond differently, and does their response affect the progression of the disease?

This study talked with spouses and children of AD patients and found that these loved ones responded to AD in one of three ways:

1) the relationship continued much as it had been before the disease, or
2) the relationship continued but had changed somewhat, or
3) the relationship changed dramatically.
Let's look at some details of each of these.

The type and levels of intimacy between spouses always changes with AD. As with any traumatic loss, emotions go through the stages of shock, anger, grief, and finally acceptance. For loved ones whose relationship with the AD patient continues as before (type 1 above), they continue to see the patient as responding to their love, deserving of respect as before, and very much the person they had always been.

In families where the relationship continued but changed somewhat (type 2 above), loved ones were less convinced that the AD patient really understood the changes that were happening. Family members were unsure of how much of the AD patient's previous personality was "still there" and they were very troubled by this uncertainty. Nevertheless, it remained important to do what was possible to maintain the dignity of the AD patient.

In the third type of families, loved ones believed that while the AD patient's body was still living, the real person they had known and loved had "died". These family members felt most detached from the AD victim. Good care remained important but without much personal commitment.

Note this very important factor: the severity of the illness in the person with AD did not determine which of the three relationship types the family developed! Mild and severe cases of AD occurred in all three groups.

At least two factors may help explain these relationship differences. First, the relationship of the AD patient with his family before the onset of the disease probably shapes the family's response. Second, the personality, beliefs, and coping resources of the family may also shape the relationship after AD strikes.

We cannot say that one type of response is best for every family. Some spouses become martyrs in the care of their AD victim, putting their own emotional, financial, and physical health at risk. Neither can we say that such devotion does or does not affect the progression of the disease. On the other hand, caregivers for AD patients tell us that bits of the old personality sometime show up in curious and wonderful ways, and it is important to respond when this happens.

We often focus on the very real pain and losses brought on by AD, and these are important. We should not overlook, however, the value of relationships for the other victims of AD: the loved ones who must find their own ways to cope.

An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Organization Committed to a Diverse Work Force DP-CFR-056 March 1994

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.

Gale A. Buchanan, Dean and Director