Going Home After Hip Replacement

Your hospital stay may last from 3 to 10 days, until you can perform certain skills you will need to use at home. If you go straight home, you will need help at home for several weeks. If going straight home is too difficult, you may need to spend some time at a rehabilitation center.

The following tips can make your homecoming easier.

In the kitchen (and in other rooms as well), place items you use frequently within reach so you do not have to reach up or bend down.

Rearrange furniture so you can get about on a walker or crutches. You may want to change rooms (make the living room your bedroom, for example) to stay off the stairs.

Get a good chair—one that is firm and has a higher-than-average seat. This type of chair is safer and more comfortable than a low, soft-cushioned chair.

Remove any throw rugs or area rugs that could cause you to slip. Securely fasten electrical cords around the perimeter of the room.

Install a shower chair, grab bar, and raised toilet in the bathroom.

Use assistive devices such as a long-handled shoehorn, a long-handled sponge, and a grabbing tool or reacher to avoid bending too far over. Wear a big-pocket shirt or soft shoulder bag for carrying things.

Set up a "recovery center" in your home, with a phone, television remote control, radio, facial tissues, wastebasket, pitcher and glass, reading materials, and medications within easy reach.


Dos and don'ts (precautions) vary depending on the orthopaedic surgeon's approach. Your doctor and physical therapist will provide you with a list of dos and don'ts to remember with your new hip. These precautions will help to prevent the new joint from dislocating and to ensure proper healing. Here are some of the most common precautions:

The Don'ts

Don't cross your legs at the knees for at least 8 weeks.
Don't bring your knee up higher than your hip.
Don't lean forward while sitting or as you sit down.
Don't try to pick up something on the floor while you are sitting.
Don't turn your feet excessively inward or outward when you bend down.
Don't reach down to pull up blankets when lying in bed.
Don't bend at the waist beyond 90°.
Don't stand pigeon-toed.
Don't kneel on the knee on the unoperated leg (the good side).
Don't use pain as a guide for what you may or may not do.

The Dos

Do keep the leg facing forward.
Do keep the affected leg in front as you sit or stand.
Do use a high kitchen or barstool in the kitchen.
Do kneel on the knee on the operated leg (the bad side).
Do use ice to reduce pain and swelling, but remember that ice will diminish sensation. Don't apply ice directly to the skin; use an ice pack or wrap it in a damp towel.
Do apply heat before exercising to assist with range of motion. Use a heating pad or hot, damp towel for 15 to 20 minutes.
Do cut back on your exercises if your muscles begin to ache, but don't stop doing them!

Operation: Medicine Cabinet

Keeps Drugs Out of the Wrong Hands and Our Water Supply

SAN MATEO, Calif. – Medicines left unattended or disposed of carelessly are a danger, whether it’s through accidental ingestion, illegal use, identity theft, or contamination of water supplies.  But the public can now safely dispose of expired or unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications during Operation: Medicine Cabinet.

Event sponsor Home Instead Senior Care of San Mateo is joining with Longs Drugs, Magnolia of Millbrae senior living community, and local law enforcement for this one-day public awareness event scheduled for Friday, Sept. 12, in the Burlingame Plaza parking lot of Longs Drugs, 1871 El Camino Real, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Operation: Medicine Cabinet not only helps educate the public on how proper disposal protects people and pets from accidental ingestion but also prevents illegal use of the drugs or theft of identity from prescription labels,” said Martie Cruz, owner of Home Instead Senior Care in San Mateo, San Bruno, and Walnut Creek, which provides non-medical, in-home care and companionship for seniors. “Also, many residents flush their medications down the toilet or down a drain,” she said. “But our wastewater treatment system is not designed to remove these types of contaminants from the water supply.”

A vast array of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers, and sex hormones, were found in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas, according to a recent Associated Press investigation.  Collection of medications during Operation: Medicine Cabinet will be supervised by the Burlingame Police Department and properly disposed of by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department.

For more information, contact Cruz at (877) 808-2700 or visit www.SeniorsBayArea.com.

Older Patients with Dementia at Increased Risk for Flu Mortality

Adults age 65 and older who have dementia are diagnosed with the flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays and have a 50 percent higher rate of death than those without dementia, a new study finds.

The study by Tufts University School of Medicine analyzed the relationship between pneumonia and influenza and heathcare accessibility.

“The increased mortality of older patients with dementia hospitalized for flu may be indicative of inadequacies in healthcare quality and accessibility. It could be beneficial to refine guidelines for the immunization, testing and treatment of flu in older patients with dementia when planning for the possibility of a flu pandemic,” said senior author Elena Naumova, Ph.D., of Tufts University School of Medicine.

The authors said that limited access to healthcare services and inadequate testing practices may contribute to the higher rate of mortality and lower rates of diagnosis of flu seen in older patients with dementia.

Dementia causes unique obstacles to the early diagnosis and treatment of the flu. Patients may have difficulty communicating symptoms and medical complications due to poor oral hygiene or impaired swallowing.

Senior Citizens' Guide to Seasonal Flu

People over 50 should be immunized against seasonal flu. That's the most important step most older people can take to get safely through the flu season, says Karen Hall, M.D., Ph.D., a University of Michigan Geriatrics Center specialist.

According to a report in SeniorJournal.com, older people who come down with flu-like symptoms should stay home, but promptly contact their primary care physician to carefully monitor their symptoms. They may be priority candidates for antiviral drugs, usually best started within 48 hours of the flu's onset, to make their flu less severe and complications less likely.

If you have a high fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches, don't wait. Call your healthcare provider and describe your symptoms, says Hall. Anyone with shortness of breath or chest pain should go to an emergency room.

It's important to get vaccinated against seasonal flu now, or as soon as possible, says Hall, as seasonal flu is already circulating in the community.

The University of Michigan provides the following tips to avoid catching the flu:
Wash hands or use a hand sanitizer frequently.
Avoid touching your nose, eyes and mouth.

Practice good health habits:
Get plenty of sleep, eat nutritiously, and drink fluids and exercise.
Avoid crowds and contact with people who are sick.
If grandchildren or other children in your life have a flu-like illness, avoid seeing them until about 72 hours after they've stopped having symptoms.

Following are tips for persons who have flu-like symptoms:
Stay home and get in touch promptly with your doctor.
Get lots of rest, use acetaminophen or ibuprofen to ease symptoms and remember to drink plenty of liquids.
Avoid social contacts that are not essential.
Remember, you are infectious two days before coming down with symptoms and until you have had fever for 48 hours.