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Those in the sandwich generation are caught in the middle of their children and aging parents

CITE: Abcnews.go.com

The “sandwich generation” is a group of people that are primarily women and in the 45-to 56-year-old range. These women are taking care of elderly parents while still taking care of their own children. According to the National Longitudinal Survey by the Department of Labor, these women spend a good bit of time caring for their parents and also spend a lot of money on their children, some of whom are still living at home.

In fact, there are 20 million American women in the sandwich generation. They are in charge of intra-family monetary transactions of $18 billion annually and provide 2.4 billion hours helping their parents and children.

Many of these women had their children later in life, unlike their own mothers who had their children at a younger age, which puts them in the middle, or the center of the sandwich, of three generations, two of which are still dependent on them to some extent.

Women in the 45- to 55-year-old age group have at least one child living at home who is under the age of 21 and at least one living parent, according to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) which amounts to 44 percent of the sandwich generation.

There are more elderly people today because people are living longer and much of their care is done by their children, who are Baby Boomers. Many of these Baby Boomers are still in the workforce as well as still raising children.

Some of those in the sandwich generation are only children, which means they don’t have any help when it comes to taking care of aging parents.

“Sandwichers” spend approximately $10,000 a year helping their children and parents as well as on average 1,350 hours a year assisting their children and parents.

The responsibility and demands of taking care of elderly parents and children at the same time takes it toll on members of the sandwich generation, who aren’t necessarily prepared to take on this role, which is emotionally draining and expensive. It can also take its toll on one’s health.

When a person is caring for elderly parents and begins to resent the demands placed on them this  makes them feel guilty and they slip into depression.

One in five Americans who will be older than 65 by the year 2020 will be in this same situation.The National Association of Social Workers advises those in this situation to get help. You cannot do it all by yourself.

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MY TAKE:

Do not be a martyr. Get some assistance. If you make yourself sick as a result of your stressful life, you are not going to be any help to your aging parents or to you own children. There are home health care providers as well as hospice workers and other service providers that can assist you in caring for your elderly parents. Call your local hospital or your parents’ primary care provider to get information on in-home caretakers.

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Other Resources

Beau's lines are horizontal lines that indicate there is a problem with your health.

CITE: Mayo Clinic

Look at your fingernails. You may not know it but the condition of your nails is a good indicator of your overall health. Do you have ridges in your nails? Ridges are raised lines.  Ridges can be caused by wear and tear and by age. As we get older the nail cells get harder, which makes it more challenging for the nails to grow properly. Ridges that run up and down or vertically are frequently seen in the nails of older people.

A faint brownish vertical line occurs when there is a splinter hemorrhage, which results in a collection of blood underneath a toe- or fingernail. The hemorrhage is originally red and then it turns brown

A splinter hemorrhage is the quintessential marker of mitral stenosis, a disorder of the heart valve that separates the upper and lower chambers on the left side of the heart. Stenosis happens when the valve fails to open completely. This restricts blood flow.

Nail ridges can appear after a person has a high fever because the high temperature cuts off blood flow to the extremities.

Chemotherapy can result in horizontal ridges called Beau’s lines, which are also a sign of having had a high fever or diabetes that is not kept in check or a circulatory disease. Additionally, horizontal nail ridges can indicate that a person is suffering from malnutrition or inadequate nutrient absorption. If a person is dehydrated he can develop horizontal nail ridges.

When metabolic issues are present, this can cause Beau’s lines to appear. The lines are darker than the nail and deeply grooved. When suffering from bad health or an injury to the fingers this can prompt horizontal ridges to develop. When there is an injury and horizontal ridges appear this means that the trauma has interfered with the formation and production of protein, which results in ridges.

If you can see white lines (white stria) in the moon or growth area of the nail this is generally the result of trauma. When the matrix or the base of the nail is damaged during formation of the nail this can cause white stria to appear.

Arsenic poisoning causes horizontal ridges in the nails as does kidney disease and liver disease due to album deficiencies which go along with these conditions. The type of line that results is called Muehrcke lines and are the result of interruption in the formation of pigment.

Melanoma, a cancer, and thyroid disease, anemia and respiratory problems can create ridging on the fingernails as can some skin infections, which also prompt pus to form along with the ridges, under or around the nail.

MY TAKE:

Routinely examine your fingernails and toenails. The eyes may be the window to the soul but your nails can give you a peek into your overall health. Doctors often examine a patient’s fingernails during a routine exam because physicians know that nails are great indicators of a person’s health and often reveal an underlying condition. If you notice anything unusual about your fingernails, such as horizontal or vertical ridges, discoloration or yellowing contact your physician.