6 Important Conditions That Affect Elders

I attended an enlightening talk by a gerontologist just a week back that brought to light various conditions that elders both in our homes and society suffered from; it was nice to know about the 6 important conditions that affect elders in their old age.

1) The gerontologist told us about dementia, a condition where an elder loses his cognitive ability and starts to act unlike herself/himself. Dementia is a progressive condition and one of the main symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease; some of the main symptoms of this condition being loss of memory, problems in performing everyday tasks, and disorientation to time and place. Dementia brought about by breakdown of the normal functioning of the brain also causes decreased abilities of judgment.

2) Next he told us about Alzheimer’s disease; a kind of dementia, it is characterized by problems in memory, thinking and behavior. Affecting every 4 out of 5 elder suffering from dementia, it causes damage to brain areas that control language, reasoning, sensory processing, and conscious thought. Confusion and memory loss worsens with time, with the elder having problems in even recognizing family and friends.

3) The gerontologist next told us about arthritis, a condition that is caused by the wear and tear of cartilage. While rheumatoid arthritis is caused by an overactive immune system, the most common arthritis that affected those above the age of 40 is osteoarthritis. The cartilage present between two bones slowly degrades until it becomes thin, causing the bones to rub against each other causing pain, inflammation and difficulty in moving the joint.  

4) Type 2 diabetes, the doctor in his enlightening talk told us affects many elders; this condition is due to the decline in the body’s ability to use insulin. Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle disorder that needs to be controlled to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attacks, loss of blood circulation to the limbs, eye disorders and disorders of the kidney.  

5) Next the gerontologist enumerated stroke, another important condition affecting elders; it is caused by the block in one of the arteries leading to the brain by blood clots that causes lack of blood and oxygen in that region that stops functioning. The most common symptoms of stroke are sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body, sudden trouble seeing on one side, trouble speaking or understanding, sudden confusion, severe difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

6) Lastly disk prolapsed, another condition more common in elders the doctor continued is brought about by the cartilage present between the vertebrae shifting out of position and causing compression of the spinal column and the nerves extending out into the rest of the body. An elder with disk prolapsed would experience a tingling feeling in the hands or legs, lower back pain, and numbness in the arms or legs.  

We thanked the doctor for enlightening us on some of the important conditions that affected elders.