Steve Walsh wants those who use what he calls “ugly metal Medicare canes” — “medicanes,” for short — to exchange them for one of the handcrafted wooden canes made by Brazos Walking Sticks of Waco, TX. Walsh, who handles marketing for the company, will provide a 50% discount on new handmade canes in exchange for a photograph of the user’s current metal cane.

Yes, a photograph.

“We love wood,” Walsh tells Selling to Seniors. “Our motto is ‘the feel of nature,’ and we know when seniors touch and use our wooden canes it takes away the ‘senior stigma’ you get — you’re considered old and feeble if you use a metal cane.” A one-of-a-kind wooden cane is likely to draw compliments instead of derision.

But Walsh couldn’t figure out how to overcome a particular logistical problem with a trade-in program: “How could they ship in their old cane before they get a new one in the mail? The logistics with retailers were crazy, too,” he says.

A Snapshot for a Discount

The breakthrough came when Walsh, inspired by the success of a recent website promotion calling for seniors to send in photographs of their walking sticks in action, settled on the idea of exchanging a photo of the user’s metal cane for a wooden one.

“That’s all they have to do,” he says. “Send in a picture of their ugly, metal Medicare cane and they’ll get a really unbelievable deal on one of our handcrafted wood canes.

“It’s a huge chunk of money,” he admits, “but we want people to experience first-hand the beauty of a wood cane.” Walsh adds that recent research shows that “we probably have the largest assortment of wood canes in the United States,” with materials including sassafras, hickory, sweet gum, oak, ash and iron bamboo.

Walsh, of course, is hoping the Cane Exchange will lead to repeat business and sales by referrals. “We just want people to touch a wood cane,” he says. “Our emphasis is quality, and the best advertising there is actually word of mouth,” Walsh says.

The promotion will continue until March 15, or until 50 canes are exchanged.

Make sure your doctor approves.
Info: Cane photographs should be sent to info@brazossticks.com. See www.brazos-walking-sticks.com; to see walking sticks in action, see http://www.youtube.com/BrazosSticks.

Selling to Seniors is an independent news service.

Many seniors are affected by Tinnitus, which is the ringing of the ears. Tinnitus can result from any one of a number of different causes like foreign objects inside the ear, nasal allergies, ear infections, or build up of wax and there are a myriad of tinnitus treatment offerings. Hearing loss that comes with aging can also bring on tinnitus as well as taking certain medications and other types of hearing loss due to genetics. Most commonly, tinnitus is the result of hearing loss brought on by noise.

Tinnitus can affect just one or both ears. In most cases, those affected by it describe it as a ringing sound, but can it also be characterized by whining, buzzing, roaring, hissing, whistling, tinging and wooshing. The sounds that tinnitus induces can come and go or be continuous, which can cause a lot of distress. Some people report that the intensity changes with movements of the eyes, jaw, tongue, head, or shoulders.

Objective tinnitus can be caused by muscle spasms in the ear that make clicking or cracking sounds near the middle ear. Some people who have objective tinnitus hear a sound that actually beats in rhythm with their pulse.

Long-term exposure to loud noises – Common sources of hearing loss are loud noises such as from heavy equipment, firearms, and chainsaws. The use of earplugs or headphones in portable music devices can also cause noise-related hearing loss if the music is played loudly and for extended periods.

The treatment for tinnitus is based on the underlying cause. For instance, if the tinnitus is due to an earwax blockage, removing the earwax should decrease the tinnitus. If a certain medication is the cause, the doctor will recommend stopping or reducing the dosage of the drug, or changing to a different one. For a patient with objective tinnitus who is diagnosed with a vascular condition, the treatment could be anything from medication to surgery to correct the condition.

As people reach the age of 55 and beyond, they often neglect proper footcare. This can unfortunately lead to the damage and disfiguration caused by toenail fungus, a disorder known as onychomycosis. Most often the big toe and the little toe are involved in getting an inflammation that can lead to the disintegration of the hard nail covering the toe.

Common symptoms include a toe nail which becomes thick and dull in color with no shine, a toe nail that becomes distorted in shape or darker in color, pain at the nail site accompanied by a bad odor, a brittle or crumbling toe nail or a toe nail that begins to separate from the skin.

With almost one out of two individuals experiencing toenail fungus infections by the age of 70, it is important that seniors take the time and energy to take preventative measures. It is simply easier and cheaper to take preventative measures than to deal with toenail fungus once it has developed. There are some easy and simple steps to follow to avoid the expense and health risk of developing toenail fungus.

One of the most important preventative measures against toenail fungus is keeping toenails neatly trimmed, as well as dry and clean. That means changing your shoes on a daily basis if sweat makes them damp or moist. Wear clean socks daily as well to keep feet dry. For feet that tend to sweat, cornstarch powder makes an inexpensive treatment to absorb any moisture on your feet and within your shoes. There are also many good inexpensive dry medicated powders that can be purchased at your local drugstore over the counter without a doctor’s prescription.

The kind of socks you wear can help to prevent toenail fungus by keeping your feet nice and dry. Many synthetic blends are actually more effective than cotton or wool socks because they help to wick or absorb the moisture away from your feet and into the sock. If your feet perspire during the day and your socks feel damp, change into a clean, dry pair of socks at mid-day. At breaks or at lunch time, remove your shoes for a few minutes to give your feet a chance to breathe. Whenever possible, wear open toed shoes or sandals that allow your feet exposure to the fresh air.

Make sure to always wear shoes that fit properly. Often shoes that are too tight don’t allow any air circulation around the feet, leading to fungus growth under the toenails. Always wear shoes when walking in public places where germs and bacteria abound. Avoid walking barefoot in public because this is an easy invitation for fungus and other bacteria to cause toenail infections.

After trimming toenails, never pick at your cuticles or the skin around the toenails. When getting a pedicure, make sure that the pedicurist is using sterile and clean instruments. Anyone who has experienced toenail fungus infections and has cured the problem should invest in medicated anti-fungal spray or powder to use on a daily basis to prevent future outbreaks.

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You probably did not wait until you officially became a “senior citizen” to prepare your will.  Most of us put one together early in life and at least when we have children and realize we do have assets and we need to make sure the kids are taken care of in the case of an accident that suddenly takes you out of their lives.  So you know well what goes into your will and how to document exactly how you want your estate taken care of in the event of your death.

There is a good feeling that goes with knowing that you have made sure your affairs are in order long before you need to them to be.  Senior citizens today are in the best health of any other generation.  So while you are still healthy, active and vibrant, now is the time to make sure your insurance, funeral directives and wills are all in order so you have that information on file and a designated loved one well trained in the event of your early departure from this life.

But there is one will you may have left out of your preparations so far.  That is what is called your Ethical Will.   An Ethical Will is unlike any other document you will prepare.  This document has no legal bearing on your estate.  It does not pass along property or instruct your executor on how you want your financial, business or property affairs to be handled.  Instead, your Ethical Will passes along to your loved ones something more precious than property.  It passes along your values.

An Ethical Will is a very personal document or set of documents that is used to resolve issues that may be remaining at end of life, to communicate the ethics and morals behind your legal decisions or to provide sage instructions to your children or friends about how you want them to carry on your legacy of charitable work or value based activities once you are gone.

In a way, the Ethical Will requires more thought, prayer and consideration of what you actually want to say to your loved ones than your conventional will.  Typically, you prepare an Ethical Will to be given or read to your loved ones after funeral as way of giving them one last touch of who you really are as a person.  So you can see that an Ethical Will can be a precious memory that will be treasured long past when your wealth or possessions are no longer around. 

Your Ethical Will may be passed from generation to generation.  Just imagine if you had a document written by your grandparents or great grandparents that spoke with heart and from a personal perspective about what they found wonderful about life, where their values took them and what they would pass to you from their heart to you, their child far off in the future.  That document would be of tremendous value to you and would be precious to your children and grandchildren down the line.

Ethical Wills can also be used to seek forgiveness for wrongs committed that you just could not resolve in life.  Conversely, you can give forgiveness where it may be needed and heal a life long rift between you and a family member and provide peace and closure as you go to your reward.  You don’t have to prepare just one Ethical Will.  You could prepare a separate one for each child, for your spouse and for your business associates and friends.  Obviously each will address a different level of intimacy and arena of values and ethics.

It’s a good thing to think about if you want to leave an Ethical Will for your friends and loved ones.  There is able reading on the market about how to get started writing your Ethical Will.  And if you take the time to put down on paper your heart and soul in this way, it will be source of comfort for a level of your “affairs” that you put in order well in advance that is even more meaningful than your conventional will or other end of life documents.