Age Friendly Rockingham

Something we have mentioned in the past is the City of Rockingham subsidy scheme on offer for all of our more senior residents.  Each financial year residents over the age of 60 who hold a pension card are entitled to three different $100 rebates ($300 all up) across the areas of Home Safety, Technolgy and Home Assistive Living.  The reset for this was 1 July, so many people living in our City may be eligible again.

For the home assistive living this includes walkers, walking sticks, wheelchairs, reaching sticks, jar opening devices and our ever-popular pivoting kettles.  There are literally hundreds of products that will make your home living experience a bit easier.  If there is anything in this domain that you feel may help you or your loved ones please speak with one of our team.  We can help you with the products you need and then help you gain access to the subsidy from the City of Rockingham.

Managing Medicines

We take the medicines our doctor prescribes to either manage a current ailment or to prevent a future complication of an ailment.  In short, we take medicines to make our lives better either now or in the future.  We only get this benefit if we take the medication correctly as it was prescribed.  We know that up to half of all medicines are not taken correctly due to forgetfulness, confusion, cost, undesirable side effects and a multitude of other reasons.  The concern wit this is that the benefit of the medicine is lost generally resulting in a lower quality of life either now or in the future for many, many people in our community.

Our role as your pharmacist is to help you and your family get the best possible benefit from your medication.  Whether you are having trouble remembering your tablets, experiencing a side effect, having issues with cost or are concerned about how a family member is taking their medications we have systems and know-how to help solve these issues.  We have a team of committed pharmacists who are only too willing to help.  If you have concerns or issues about your medications please come and speak with us today.

Research news from Around the World

Junk food = black mood - We all know that over reliance on fast food is a quick way to gain weight but new research also suggests that eating too many takeaways and processed foods can cause sustained inflammation that is linked to many mental health disorders.  An analysis of studies involving over 100,000 people found a significant link between inflammation caused by junk food diets and depression.  A diet based on vegetables, wholegrains and lean unprocessed meat resulted in a lower incidence of mental health problems.  

The nature pill - Takeing 20 minutes out of your day to feel in contact with nature will significantly reduce your levels of the stress hormone cortisol.  This was the finding of one of the first studies to be able to quantify the value of nature as a stress reliever.  Higher cortisol levels are associated with high blood pressure, weight gain and poor sleep.  So, if you are feeling the stress, step outside and take a nature pill.

Death by diet - One in five deaths around the world are associated with poor diet, a death rate that's even more than with smoking.  This is the finding of the Global Burden of Disease study tracking trends across 195 countries.  It also found that more deaths are caused by diets being too low in wholegrains, vegetables, fruits and nuts than diets too high in fat and sugar.  This confirms a long held suspicion that poor diet is responsible for more deaths than any other risk factor in the world.

Happy wife longer life - We've all heard the light hearted saying 'happy wife - happy life'.  Well it seems it not only makes your life happier it also makes you live longer.  Recent research out of the Netherlands found that being in a relationship with a satisfied spouse led to greater life expectancy.