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You may consider trying out a product that claims to be a natural remedy from Aunt Ida which contains a lot of secret ingredients such as cow manure that has no proven effect that it can make a hair grow on anything. You may also consider using a toupee, but beware of the possible embarrassment when it falls off from your head at the most inappropriate moment. You may also use the hair growth drugs. However, these have unpleasant side effects such as birth defects if a pregnant woman touches the drug with her finger. Another option could be the cockamamie light brush which promises to make your hair grow like the one you see in Star Trek.

As a matter of fact, one method is available for you that provides long-term solution and makes sure that the look is natural. Getting hair grafts is the solution that can be really effective. In 1950′s, the hair loss treatment called hair plugs really left undesirable results. It looked like a bunch of hair was really just plugged into the scalp. Thankfully, the newly developed techniques from the past 15 years are very much different.

Through the micro-transplantation techniques, surgeons are now able to remove hair follicles individually from areas with thick hair and they are now able to implant these hair follicles into the balding area. A skilled surgeon can insert hair follicles in such a way that they blend in well with the surrounding hair. Also, since the hair implants are the actual hair of the patient, they match the hair shafts found on the bald spot. As a result, the hair implants are unnoticeable.

The new techniques have also made it possible to perform hair implants for women. Once a woman has developed pattern baldness, she will develop thinning hair over her entire scalp.. Because of this effect, the old process where hair follicles are harvested from a patch of scalp with good hair growth was impossible to perform. The new method of maneuvering each hair follicle makes it possible for the donors to be taken individually from the thinning areas of the scalp or even from areas beside the head. With this breakthrough, the dream of getting hair implants is now a reality for a lot of women and there’s no need to worry anymore if they will continue to lose their hair.Deciding what is the best method to use to control your baldness is quite challenging. There are lots of methods to choose from and it’s hard to determine which one is really effective.

What Is Low Vision?

We know that as we age, things don’t always work the way that they used to. But as caregivers for elderly parents and aging loved ones, it is very important to stay aware of any changes we see happening in the lives of those under our care.

One of the changes that may have a very profound impact in the daily life of your elderly loved on is Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). According to the Macular Degeneration Partnership, AMD can be described as:

“A progressive eye condition that affects as many as 15 million Americans and millions more around the world. The disease attacks the macula of the eye, where our sharpest central vision occurs. Although it rarely results in complete blindness, it robs the individual of all but the outermost, peripheral vision, leaving only dim images or black holes at the center of vision.”

Some of the causes of AMD are:

• Macular degeneration
• Diabetes
• Glaucoma
• Retinitis pigmentosa and congenital
• Neurologic

AMD can affect senior members of the family in a variety of ways, turning the most basic tasks of daily living into an exercise. Some of the ways low vision may affect your elderly loved ones include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Impact on Daily Living Activities:
These daily tasks include activities like bathing, moving about within the home, eating, dressing, grooming, etc. The attempt to fulfill these daily activities can put your senior family member in precarious situations that may not have been considered risky prior to the loss of vision.

• Impact on Driving:
Understanding the combination of skills that are needed to drive a vehicle, we can understand how impaired vision can cause many complications. If adequate lighting is not available, this can put your elderly loved one as well as other drivers in danger, especially at night.

• Impact on Social Life:
Low vision affects the social activities of elderly persons in a number of ways. Psychologically, low vision limits senior citizens because they are often afraid to leave their homes. Studies have shown that low vision adults have a much harder time moving about in unfamiliar places than in their more familiar homes.

How Can Low Vision Be Treated?

AMD is a bilateral impairment to vision that significantly impairs the functioning of the patient and cannot be adequately corrected with medical, surgical, therapy, conventional eye-wear or contact lenses. It is often a loss of sharpness or acuity but may present as a loss of field of vision, light sensitivity, distorted vision or loss of contrast.

Low Vision Rehabilitation Services do not cure the cause of the vision problem but rather utilize the remaining vision to its fullest potential. Low Vision rehabilitation programs offer a wide range of services, such as low vision evaluations and special training to use visual and adaptive devices. They also offer guidance for making changes in your home as well as group support from others with low vision.

If your elderly loved one is experiencing vision loss that may be due to Age Related Macular Degeneration contact a Vision Rehabilitation Program to find out how they can help your senior family member utilize their remaining vision in the most optimal way possible. It’s also good to keep in mind that depending on your elder’s situation, Low Vision Therapy may be included in their Medicare Home Health Benefit.