Prevention and treatment of common geriatric diseases

Diseases that the elderly are prone to are called "senile diseases", which usually include the following three aspects:

1. Diseases unique to the elderly: These diseases only occur in the elderly and have the characteristics of the elderly, such as senile dementia, senile psychosis, presbycusis, cerebral arteriosclerosis and the resulting stroke.

2. Common diseases among the elderly: These diseases can occur in middle-aged and elderly people, but are more common in the elderly. Such diseases include hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, malignant tumors, tremor paralysis, emphysema, cataracts, osteoporosis, pneumonia, hyperlipidemia, cervical spondylosis, prostate hypertrophy, etc.

3. Diseases that can occur in young, middle-aged and elderly people: However, the disease has its own characteristics when it occurs in the elderly. For example, pneumonia can occur in people of all ages, but in the elderly, the symptoms are atypical and the disease is more serious. For another example, peptic ulcers can occur in young, middle-aged and elderly people, but the elderly are more likely to develop complications or cancer.

Characteristics of geriatric diseases:

1. Elderly people often have mild symptoms and atypical manifestations, which are prone to misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis. For family members, it is easy to mistake the elderly's serious illness for a minor one, and new illness for an old one, which delays diagnosis and treatment. At the same time, when the elderly are sick or their existing illnesses worsen, the obvious manifestations are often mental depression in mild cases and deep sleep or even coma in severe cases. The condition is severe and the symptoms are mild. For example, when suffering from pneumonia, the cough is mild, there is little sputum, no fever, and low white blood cell count, and only the manifestation is apathy; for example, when suffering from myocardial infarction, there may be no angina attack.

2. Multiple diseases are another major characteristic of elderly patients. For example, many elderly people suffer from hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, diabetic nephropathy, and chronic bronchitis at the same time; secondly, multiple diseases can occur in the same organ, such as coronary heart disease, cor pulmonale, and myocarditis coexisting in one person's heart.

3. It also has the characteristics of rapid onset, short course, and easy occurrence of systemic failure. Therefore, objective examination of elderly patients is particularly important.

Measures to prevent and treat geriatric diseases:

1. Eat a healthy diet. Eat at least three meals a day, and four or five meals a day is even better. Eat only until you are 80% to 90% full at each meal. Eat foods that are low in animal fat, cholesterol, and salt. Avoid eating irritating foods. This can not only prevent the occurrence of many cancers and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, but also keep you energetic. Maintain personal hygiene and avoid long-term bed rest.

2. Exercise appropriately. Aerobic exercise is the most suitable form of exercise, such as walking, jogging, swimming, dancing, cycling, etc. When exercising, you should follow the principle of starting from low to high, starting with a small amount of exercise, and proceeding step by step and persevering. Exercise three to five times a week, each time or the total time should be more than 30 minutes, and the exercise time should be chosen in the afternoon and evening as much as possible. If you exercise in the early morning, it is not advisable to do it on an empty stomach.

A proper diet and moderate exercise can help maintain a proper weight and prevent many serious geriatric diseases.

3. Regular physical examination: Elderly patients who have chronic diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, chronic bronchitis, cerebral infarction, heart failure, anxiety and depression syndrome in the elderly should go to the hospital for regular health examinations. Through regular examinations, you can fully understand your health status, which is conducive to doctors to formulate comprehensive treatment and health care plans. In addition, through health examinations, some important diseases can be found. For example, many malignant tumors are found during health examinations or when seeing other diseases. Therefore, regular physical examinations can achieve early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment of geriatric diseases.