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Practicing Significance Glorifying God by fulfilling your own unique purposes through the never-ending action of acquiring, using, and sharing diverse resources. |
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Aging – Physical Considerations
“When it’s all said and done, no matter how much money you acquire, the number of people coming to your funeral is still dependent on… the weather.” Rick Blackburn
“Never eat more than you can lift.” Miss Piggy
“If I’d known I was gonna live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” Eubie Blake on his 100th birthday
“Plan to live to be 100 years old.” Charles Schwab
Introduction
Physical considerations are very important in living a life of significance. It gets increasingly hard to be at our highest level of performance unless we are at our best physically. As we all know, being at our best physically gets harder with age. The physical realities and expectations of aging change daily. Advances in medicine, science, and technology are constantly increasing our life expectancies and improving our health. Current life expectancies have increased nearly thirty years during the last century to an average 73 years for males and 80 years for females. There are over 100,000 projects under way to increase these amounts even more.
Maintaining Your Health
Some of the most critical issues concerning aging deal with physical health. Many lifestyle choices are available if your physical health is good, while options are eliminated as your physical limitations increase. Gerontologists estimate that genes account for only about one-third of the effects of aging, while the rest are due to lifestyle and environment. Clearly, our lifestyle and environmental choices in youth and middle age follow us into old age. We will reap what we sow.
I once asked my brother, who is a doctor, to help me lead a healthier life. This is the incredibly mundane list that he gave me: wash your hands twice a day, wear seatbelts, don’t be out after 10:00 PM, stay out of bars, don’t smoke, don’t drink much alcohol, and do what your doctor tells you. In the book Mayo Clinic On Healthy Aging, the following additional ideas are given:
· Keep physically active. Exercise is probably the single most important thing you can do to age successfully. Exercise should include aerobic, strength, and flexibility routines. Exercise improves the quality of your life by helping you retain independence through better balance, flexibility, coordination, and strength. It is worth the effort and cost to set up an exercise program with a professional that works with older adults. Unfortunately, for adults 65-74, only 16% exercise regularly and almost 77% never exercise at all!
· Maintain a healthy weight. Recent statistics indicate that a majority of Americans are overweight, and that this growing problem will reverse other gains we have made in staying healthy. Further, being overweight will cause us to have an increase in health costs and increase the difficulty of long-term care. Unfortunately, nearly 70% of people from 65-75 years of age are overweight!
· Eat healthfully. Limit saturated fats, cholesterol, sugar, salt and sodium, while including plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables (especially green leafy vegetables), beans, whole grains and water.
· Eliminate bad habits. Avoid excessive alcohol and all nicotine, including cigarettes, secondhand smoke, and chewing tobacco.
· Closely follow your doctor’s orders concerning diet, immunizations, and medicines.
· Get regular (at least annual) physical, eye, ear, and dental examinations.
· Reduce accidents by not taking unnecessary risks.
· Wear sunscreen, sunglasses, and protective clothing.
· Enjoy life. Keep stress to a minimum and don’t worry about the small events which tend to drive us crazy if we let them.
Questions to Ask
An article in the Wall Street Journal made the point that finding answers to your health questions is often easy. The hard part is knowing what questions to ask. For instance, here are the five questions they suggest to ask for three of the more common health problems:
Cancer
1) Are you absolutely sure I have cancer?
2) Has my cancer been properly staged?
3) Are there molecular markers or laboratory tests to show what drugs will work best on my cancer?
4) Where is the best place for me to be treated?
5) What are the newest treatments?
Heart-Attack Risks
1) What is my Framingham risk score?
2) What do some of the novel risk factors say about my heart health?
3) How is my waist size?
4) Is my blood pressure low enough?
5) What can you tell me about my short-term risks?
If you need surgery
1) How many times have you done this procedure?
2) Do you know the anesthesiologist?
3) Whom would you go to?
4) Can it be done with a less-invasive procedure?
5) What is new on the horizon?
Pain
Pain is the number one reason people seek medical care. Approximately one-third of all Americans will suffer from chronic pain during their lives. Doctors are now thinking of pain as a disruptive disease with huge impacts on the quality of life. There has been an explosion in the number and types of treatment are helping people control their pain. Here are a few examples:
· Many people have found alternative treatments to be helpful. These include: acupuncture, hydrotherapy, massage, yoga, and prolotherapy.
· Pain medicines including: Neurontin, Elavil, baclofun, bupivacaine, fentanyl, and Oxycontin. There are many other medicines which are available depending on the cause of pain.
· Delivery device techniques include: implant pumps, injections to interrupt nerve impulses, and new surgical techniques such as vertebroplasty.
Physical Effects of Aging
At age 29 I was given a book on aging. It absolutely changed my worldview. It showed diagrams of bodies and body parts and how they change from age 20 through age 80. I have to tell you, for a high testosterone, egocentric ladder-climbing male, those pictures were pretty discouraging. I wanted to believe that the changes wouldn’t happen to me, while the overwhelming evidence was that they would (and they subsequently are!).
However, knowing the inevitable effects of aging can give us an additional power to deal with them. Again, from the Mayo Clinic on Healthy Aging, the following are some of the physical effects and concerns as we age. Incidentally, in almost every case, following one or more items on the previous list is part of the prevention or solution to the ailments. I highly recommend that you read this book to get more data on the causes, descriptions of the signs of various ailments, and appropriate responses.
1. Bones, muscles, and joints: After age 35, bones naturally lose size and density which can result in decreasing height and more brittle bones. Further, muscles, tendons and joints generally lose some strength and flexibility. Commonly associated ailments include:
a. Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease which causes pain and stiffness.
b. Rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease affecting joints which varies in severity and types of attacks.
c. Osteoporosis, a loss of mineral content from bones which makes them thinner, weaker, and more prone to fracture. This is a fast growing problem in America. Calcium and weight-bearing exercise are standard preventive steps. If you are prone to osteoporosis, see your doctor as soon as possible to set up a program.
2. Brain and nervous system: Over time, fatty deposits may accumulate in artery walls reducing the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the brain.
a. Strokes occur when a blood clot blocks blood flow to the brain. Strokes are the leading cause of disabilities in the U.S. Carotid ultrasounds are a new technique to predict strokes. If the blood flow stops for more than a few minutes, brain cells in the affected area may be destroyed. Five warning signs of a stroke are the sudden onset of: weakness or numbness on one side of the body, loss of vision on one side, trouble speaking or understanding, headache, or dizziness. In case of a stroke, call 911, take an aspirin, get to a hospital as soon as possible. Time is your enemy...every minute counts.
b. Neuropathy is a term for a wide variety of painful nerve disorders which can affect all parts of the body. Although many types of neuropathy have no medical cure, some types are cured or improved with intravenous gamma goblin.
c. Dementia is a progressive decline in intellectual and social abilities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia.
d. Parkinson’s disease occurs when nerve cells die or become permanently impaired. This results in tremors, balance problems, and muscle rigidity.
3. Digestive system: Most changes in the digestive system occur subtly and slowly. Do not become surprised if you cannot eat all the amounts or types of food you’ve loved before. The aging body requires less energy and may be more sensitive. Over time, the cumulative effects can be disruptive to your lifestyle.
a. Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects the way food is digested, resulting in abnormally high amounts of blood glucose. Left untreated, diabetes can cause a variety of life-threatening complications.
b. Constipation is the passage of hard stools less than three times a week, often with difficulty or pain.
c. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in America, usually occurring in people over 50 years of age; therefore, regular colorectal screenings are recommended after this age. Most colon cancers develop from polyps in the large intestines which can usually be easily removed if detected early.
4. Heart and Blood Vessels: Heart muscles and blood vessels become less elastic and efficient with age, and may even shrink. In addition, certain of the controlling heart cells may degenerate or be lost. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S.
a. Coronary artery disease (atherosclerosis) is an accumulation of deposits in the walls of the arteries which narrows them.
b. Angina is the pain resulting from oxygen deprivation to the heart caused by narrowed arteries.
c. Heart attacks are caused when the oxygen supply to the heart is restricted for more than 2 to 3 hours and heart muscle tissues die.
d. Congestive heart failure occurs when the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s demands, resulting in fatigue and shortness of breath.
e. High blood pressure (hypertension) is caused by resistance in the blood vessels usually because of lack of elasticity or disease. High blood pressure rarely has any signs or symptoms, so regular check-ups are mandatory.
5. Kidneys, bladder and urinary tract: Kidney filtering functions slowly decline with age. Kidney stones are a painful ailment which plagues many of us.
a. Incontinence can be caused by many factors. Finding the correct factor is important in solving the problem or modifying your lifestyle.
b. The prostate gland is found only in men. After age 45 the gland slowly starts to enlarge which can cause urinary problems. At about the same time, cancerous cells start growing in many men. This disease has few symptoms, but will eventually affect nearly one-third of all men. This is one are of medicine in which tremendous strides are being made.
6. Lung and respiratory system: The primary change of losing a small amount of lung capacity is almost unnoticeable in healthy, active people.
a. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are caused when bronchial passages become inflamed or damaged. Smoking over a long period is the main cause of both of these problems, although environmental factors can be causes.
b. Respiratory infections including flu, pneumonia, and tuberculosis can have serious affects for older people, especially those with other health problems. Most people should get annual flu and pneumonia shots.
7. Ears: Most people start losing hearing sensitivity in their 20’s, usually in the higher frequencies. By age 65, nearly one-third of adults are hearing impaired. Hearing loss can affect safety as well as social interaction.
a. Vertigo results from a problem with nerves and structures of the inner ear. However, some other causes for dizziness may not be ear related.
8. Eyes: Because good vision is critical in maintaining independence, it’s important to take care of your eyes. Vision usually starts deteriorating with age as the eyes and eye muscles become less elastic. More than one-quarter of people over 85 have significant visual impairment.
a. Cataracts occur when the lenses become cloudy or distorted. Many people get cataracts, but there have been major advances in easily and painlessly removing them as my 81 year-old mother did.
b. Glaucoma is the buildup of fluid within the eyeball to an abnormally high pressure which narrows the field of vision and can cause blindness.
c. Macular degeneration is the loss of central vision while maintaining side vision, and is the leading cause of legal blindness in older Americans. There are some promising new medicines for this disease.
9. Skin: With age, skin loses elasticity and natural skin oils. This causes wrinkles and itching. Age spots and vessel ruptures can also occur. Exposure to sun and smoking are other primary ingredients in causing skin to age and be damaged.
a. Skin cancer, including melanoma, is the biggest problem. Staying out of the sun, using sunscreen, and wearing protective clothing are the best protections. Sun damage is cumulative over your life.
10. Sexuality: The reality is that many adults enjoy an active sex life far into old age.
a. The most variable of women’s sexual responses is desire. This is determined largely by emotional and social factors, but also by the level of testosterone produced by the adrenal glands. Various physical factors also come into play. Mayo Clinic recommendations include: significant time should be spent on setting the mood, using water-based lubricants, and having regular intercourse.
b. Men typically maintain an interest in sex, but normal aging factors reduce the quality of erections, and increase the time needed between ejaculations. In some cases, medications can be very helpful. Several new medicines are expected to be introduced by 2003. Like women, men’s responses are emotional, so setting the right mood and having an enthusiastic partner can make a lot of difference.
c. Medications, illness, or disability can definitely cause challenges for both men and women. But whether it is one of these, or just normal aging factors, communication with your partner and having reliable information are the best ways of coping or overcoming problems. Remember, change isn’t always unpleasant. With creativity and enthusiasm it can open new doors.
Conclusion
As is obvious from the above discussion, aging is not for sissies. There are few improvements in our bodies and health that occur. However, since aging is inevitable, it is best to be armed with knowledge, humor, and good companions.
Additional Resources
Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic on Healthy Aging. This incredible small book also has a wonderful list of resources on healthy aging. It is available at any of the Mayo Clinics or at their website www.mayoclinic.com under the Books and Newsletters tab.
Administration on Aging www.aoa.gov
UCLA Center on Aging www.aging.ucla.edu
National Institute on Aging www.nia.hih.gov
Florida Atlantic University Memory and Wellness Center http://wise.fau.edu/memorywellnesscenter
American Cancer Society 800-227-4904
Email informedpatient@wsj.com