Diseases that Predominantly Affects the Elderly Part 1

As a person grows older the body defense system, the immune system becomes weaker & as such its ability to fight off diseases diminishes which results in the person being susceptible to some diseases & ailments. Family history, lifestyle, & eating habits & the kind of occupation & the environment where the person has lived & worked also plays a role in ushering in this diseases.

Now get this right it does not mean that because you are growing old that these diseases must affect you, most of them can actually be avoided while some like post-menopausal problems can only be controlled as every normal woman will definitely stop menstruating at a point in her life.

Another thing to take note of is that because of the massive destruction, pollution & alteration of our natural environment couple with the proliferation of genetically modified food substances & consumption of processed food the age at which people now experience the onset of these diseases has now decrease significantly. Women now experience menopausal problems before even getting to the age of forty, while men in their thirties now experience erectile dysfunction.

You need to be aware of this diseases that affect the elderly, know what to do to prevent them, & as you grow older you need to go for regular medical check-up because these diseases are easy to control, managed or cure when detected early. It is said that prevention is better than cure so take positive steps to prevent these diseases while you are still young don’t wait until the onset of old age or it may be too late by then.

Diseases that affect the elderly include the following:

• Hypertension
• Arthritis
• Insomnia (Sleeplessness)
• Osteoporosis (Loss of Bone density or mass)
• Menopausal Problems
• Diabetes
• Neurodegenerative condition
• Metabolism slows down or becomes weak
• Prostate problems
• Memory loss
• Erectile dysfunction
• Worry & anxiety            
• Vision impairment
• Hearing problem
• Living in the past reasoning in the past
• Stroke

We shall be taking a look at some of these diseases one after the other

Hypertension

Many elderly people are suffering from this problem. There is no remedy for hypertension, it can only be managed even though it can be prevented. Hypertension results from the sustained increase in blood pressure for a prolonged period of time. Things that can trigger your blood pressure to rise abnormally & put you at risk of hypertension include smoking, alcohol & caffeine consumption over time, obesity, high salt intake, bad news, family history, excessive anger and being stress over time.

You can avoid this disease by:

• not smoking,
• drinking alcohol & caffeine only for medical reasons & not for pleasure,
• avoiding food that will make you obese & put you at risk
• cutting down on your salt intake as you grow older & never spray raw salt on your food
• using very little or nothing at all of food sweeteners such as maggi when cooking as you grow older,
• know your family history because hypertension can be inherited
• avoid stressing your body over a prolonged period of time & resting your body properly
• sleeping adequately  
• seeing your doctor regularly for check-up

If you adhere to these instructions religiously while you are still young hypertension won’t even come close to you. For someone who is already suffering from hypertension he should ensure that he keeps his anger in check at all cost & follow the instructions above as well as consult a medical personnel as he will need to be placed under regular medication which he will need to adhere to.  

Read & forward to a friend in so doing you can save a life or two.In our next post we will be looking at menopausal problems

If you have any comments & contribution feel free to drop them. Thanks.