Benefits of Dogs

Healthier Living

Most people know that people who own dogs live longer, have lower blood pressure, less anxiety and better immune systems.  They also have more social interactions, Alzheimer’s patients with dogs in the home have fewer outbursts and men with dogs have lower triglycerides and cholesterol.  These are the scientific conclusions of research about family pets that can be easily found. 

But there are even more benefits and some of them are pretty astounding.  Dogs are being trained to assist in the medical field.  For instance, dogs can be trained to sniff out low blood sugar in diabetics, picking up odors beyond human capacity.  Dogs can also be taught to prod the diabetic with a cold nose, fetch a blood glucose testing equipment or press a phone button that calls 911.

It could be scent or it could be a subtle change in behavior, but some dogs are able to sense a seizure coming on as much as 30 minutes before it occurs.  This means the dog may be able to alert the person, go for help, move objects out of the way and lay down next the person during the seizure.

More and more people with post traumatic stress disorders, such as soldiers returning from war zones, are benefiting from dogs as companions because they can they can ease anxiety in a number of ways.

Dogs also have the remarkable ability to detect certain kinds of cancers.  One example is being able to reveal the presence of bladder or prostate cancer cells in urine.  Some researchers have shown that dogs can recognize lung and breast cancers by smelling the patient’s breath, and they can spot melanoma by licking a person’s skin.

A dog’s brain may be only one tenth the size of a human’s, but his nose more than makes up for it: dogs have 40 times as many scent receptors as humans.  It is truer than ever that dogs really are man’s best friend. 

References: My Health News Daily; Web MD.

This article was originally published in Pathways Residential Care Journal - Issue 4.  To download this issue in PDF format, or past issues, visit our newsletter archives online at www.pathwayshealth.org/publications.

Grief: A Process

Feeling a Loss

Grief is the emotional suffering caused by a loss. It often begins before the loss, like the sadness upon learning that a resident or a loved one does not have long to live.  Spouses and others grieve for the companionship they will lose and dreams that won’t happen, that life will be changed forever.

Natural Process

Grief is a natural part of life. People express it in their own ways.  There is no timetable for grief and there is no right or wrong way to grieve.  It can come and go. 

Grief takes different forms at different times.  At first, the bereaved person may feel disbelief and expect to see their loved one even though they know the person is gone. 

They may also feel anger at being “abandoned” by the loved one.  Or they may feel guilt—for the anger, for still being here, or for things they may have said or done (or didn’t say or do).  These feelings are all normal.

When to Get Help

But there are times when grief is so intense or so prolonged that the health of the bereaved person is at risk.  There are some signs that let us know a person may need help in coping with their grief.

Although deep sadness is a natural part of bereavement, in some individuals death triggers a lasting depression that may cause withdrawal from friends and family, thoughts of suicide and lack of energy.   This is one of the times when outside help is needed.

Mild weight loss, fatigue, insomnia and anxiety may be expected early on.  But it may be time for the grieving person to see their doctor or a mental health professional if after three months or so you see:

• Intense feelings are not starting to lighten.
• Excessive weight gain or weight loss.
• More than 12 or less than 4 hours sleep a night.
• Constant crying.

For more information about grief support services available at no cost from Pathways, visit us online at www.pathwayshealth.org or call 1.888.755.7855.

Music Can Mean Less Pain

Focusing on music can distract people who have significant anxiety about pain enough that they feel the pain less acutely, according to a recent study done at the University of Utah Pain Research Center.  The study found that pain was reduced as the demands of focusing on the task rose.

Researchers had 153 volunteers concentrate on following a melody so they could identify the tones that stood out.  During the session small pain shocks were administered through fingertip electrodes.  The authors explained that the effects of the music resulted from competition with the participants’ pain pathways.

Interestingly, those who had registered the most anxiety about pain became more absorbed in the task and were more likely to experience reduced perception of pain.  The study authors suggested that, “Clinicians should consider patients’ personality characteristics when recommending behavioral interventions like music listening for pain relief.”

Pathways has volunteers that can provide music sessions to our hospice patients as part of our Integrative Therapies program of care for body and soul.

The results were published in the December, 2011 issue of the Journal of Pain.

Spiritual Pain in Advanced Cancer: Symptom for Hospice Chaplains to Address

Quality of Life Can Improve

A vast majority of advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care consider themselves spiritual and religious.  But spiritual pain is still common and is linked to lower quality of life.  This is another place in which the holistic hospice approach to mind and body may improve life’s final stage.

A study done by the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Texas, examined the frequency and intensity of spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain, and how spiritual pain was associated with symptom expression, coping, and spiritual quality of life.

Researchers interviewed 100 patients with advanced cancer and had them complete questionnaires assessing their symptoms and ability to cope. 

Spiritual pain was reported in 44%, and was associated with lower spiritual quality of life. Patients with spiritual pain reported that it contributed adversely to their physical/emotional symptoms. There was a trend toward increased depression, anxiety, anorexia, and drowsiness among patients with spiritual pain, although this may not have been significant after corrections.

Every Pathways Hospice patient can have visits from extremely well qualified spiritual care counselors to give unbiased spiritual or religious support to patient or family members, to identify and resolve spiritual concerns, to explore the meaning of life, to administer sacraments, or to be a warm listening presence when needed.

This study can be found at J Pain Symptom Manage.  2011; 41(6):986-94 (ISSN: 1873-6513).

Power of Positive Thinking

A series of lab experiments conducted in Europe found that those patients who expect their analgesics to work get relief from their pain.  Those who were told their painkillers had been discontinued had more pain, even though they were actually continuing to receive the same dose. A patient’s expectations about the effectiveness of a pain drug appear to override the properties of the drug itself.

Scans Illustrate Phenomenon

Patient MRI scans conducted during the research show that, “volunteers had more activity in areas of the brain involved in memory and anxiety when they were expecting pain versus when they were expecting relief.  When the volunteers were told the drug would work, there was a boost in brain activity in areas associated with fighting pain,” says study author Dr. Ulrike Bingel, from the department of neurology at the University of Hamburg Medical Center in Germany.

Although the placebo effect is well documented, there is less research on the “nocebo” effect, in which patients have negative experiences when warned about the side effects or lack of effectiveness of a treatment, even if they are taking a placebo.

“This tells me that when we’re talking to patients and presenting therapy, the more positive we are about how the therapy is going to impact them, the better outcomes we’re going to have,” says Carla Rubingh, a pain management specialist and assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha who was not involved in the study. 

Benefits of the Mind-Body Connection

Pathways is home to an innovative Integrative Therapies Program that includes guided imagery and meditation to help patients find comfort and relief.  Relaxation techniques use the mind-body connection to achieve relaxation. Using simple suggestions, the practitioner guides the patient or family member to make the changes they wish to achieve in their physical or emotional state. This is very effective in reducing stress and anxiety, and is helpful in pain management.

For more information about Integrative Therapies at Pathways visit our website and Integrative Therapies resource page for caregivers.