Everyone experiences a change in the eyes with aging. The result of this change is the loss of the ability of the lens of the eye to adapt for near vision. This loss of accommodation is called presbyopia.
Presbyopic change begins in people in their early forties and usually stabilizes around age 65. You can correct near vision by using magnifying lenses, that is, common reading glasses. Presbyopic change is gradual and slowly progressive over a period as long as several decades, and a change in your reading lenses to a greater strength is needed every few years until the presbyopia stabilizes.
Eventually everyone dies. This is not a morbid thought, but rather a fact of life. Death may come as a result of accident or illness, or may be the eventual result of the aging process. Because the time of death, unlike the fact of death, is unpredictable, a prudent person should undertake some preparations for this eventuality. These preparations fall into two general areas: business and personal affairs and medical decisions if one becomes incapacitated.
The combination of pain and stiffness in the shoulders and upper arms and in the hips and thighs occurs in a disease called polymyalgia rheumatica. This disease usually affects people over age 50. This pain is persistent and progressive and can cause substantial disability. Weight loss and fever also may occur. There may be limitation of motion of involved muscles and joints. Involved shoulder and thigh muscles may be tender.
Parkinson’s disease, sometimes called paralysis agitans, is a problem caused by changes in a portion of the brain. The cause of Parkinson’s disease is not well understood. A few cases occur after viral infections, but the interval between infection and onset of Parkinson’s disease may be very long.
Dyspareunia is painful intercourse. After menopause, there is a gradual atrophy of estrogen-dependent genital tissues. The tissues of the lower vagina, including the labia and the lower portion of the bladder and urethra, are involved.
Paget’s disease (osteitis deformans) occurs with increasing frequency with each decade. It is not equally common worldwide, seeming instead to have a predilection for the populations of English-speaking countries. It is a disease of unknown cause.
Arrhythmias are abnormalities in the rate, rhythm, or both of the heartbeat. These abnormalities occur with increasing frequency as one ages. Under normal circumstances, the heartbeat is regular in its timing, and the heart rate falls into somewhat narrow limits of numbers of heartbeats per minute. The heart rate increases with exercise.
Osteoporosis is one of several bone diseases that occur with more frequency in elderly patients. It may occur in both men and women, but it is more common and begins somewhat earlier in women.
Obesity is common in the United States. A program of weight loss is recommended for many reasons. There is a close relationship between obesity and many diseases. Obesity contributes to the development of hypertension (high blood pressure), wear-and-tear arthritis, and elevated blood cholesterol with its associated problems of hardening of the arteries, heart atta
Effective treatment of inflammatory disease such as rheumatism often includes the use of anti-inflammatory drugs. Aspirin and aspirin-like drugs, which are commonly called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, are among the mainstays of treatment of these inflammatory diseases.
Although of unknown cause, muscle cramps are a frequent problem in elderly patients. Cramps can occur because of electrolyte abnormalities, but more commonly an idiopathic or unexplained variety of leg cramp is the problem in older patients.
