Aging parents may not be able to provide vital information to health care providers caring for them during a medical emergency. MayoClinic.com provides caregivers with a helpful list of 10 things they need to know about caring for aging parents' health (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/aging-parents/HA00082).
"Sometimes a parent isn't able to give medical information when an emergency arises, so emergency medical personnel must rely on the adult children or a spouse for that information," says
Paul Takahashi, M.D., a specialist in geriatrics at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. "These are things you should know. Just as you fill out those emergency cards for your kids in school, you
should have similar information available about your parents or for whomever you are the caregiver."
MayoClinic.com also provides a downloadable emergency medical information form (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/senior-health/HA99999) on MayoClinic.com provides a host of other information on
wellness, lifestyle, and health.
About MayoClinic.com
Launched in 1995 and now visited by more than 10 million users a month, this award-winning Web site offers health information, self-improvement, and disease management tools to empower
people to manage their health. Produced by a team of Web professionals and medical experts, MayoClinic.com gives users access to the experience and knowledge of the more than 2,000
physicians and scientists of Mayo Clinic. MayoClinic.com offers intuitive, easy-to-use tools such as "Symptom Checker" and "First-Aid Guide" for fast answers about health conditions
ranging from common to complex; as well as more in-depth sections on more than 25 common diseases and conditions, healthy living articles, videos, animations and features such as "Ask a
Specialist" and "Drug Watch." Users can sign up for a free weekly e-newsletter called "Housecall" which provides the latest health information from Mayo Clinic. For more information,
visit www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com
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