What Are the Most Common Health Issues That Are Associated With Aging?

With the cavalcade of ailments that strike people in their twilight years, it’s no wonder over 80% of Americans at one point voiced fear of getting older and losing physical ability.  Even with vast advancements in medical technology, it can feel like aging is nothing more than a menacing countdown.

That said, one of the best ways to soothe those fears is to learn about the most common of these ailments and how to treat them. But where can you go to find such information?

Search no further! We’re here to aid you with our guide to the most common health issues associated with aging!

What are we still doing standing around here? Let’s go!

Incontinence in the Bladder

One of the key health issues that tend to arise with seniors is difficulty urinating. Brought about through a wide variety of causes (weakening of bladder muscles, poor diet, and so on), the ailment can prove debilitating and humiliating for many.

Losing weight and changing your diet, as well as hydrating more, will help ease incontinence. Wearing pads will also help stem accidents for those uncomfortable with adult diapers.

Mental Ails

While the first thing many people think about with aging is physical degeneration or cognitive failure, depression and loneliness are ailments that affect many seniors. This can get further exacerbated if someone lives alone or has a fear of going out due to an underlying condition.

As such, ensuring that the senior in your life gets out and has proper social interaction is vital to warding off depression. Senior living communities like thepointeatmeridian.com offer people someplace to interact with their peers daily without travel. Proper therapy and medication can also reduce feelings of depression.

Once depression gets reduced or eliminated, the risk of immune system failure and suicide goes down too.

Dementia

Another frequent health problem that comes with aging is dementia. This occurs when neurons in your brain start to fail and die, weakening your memory and logical reasoning. Dementia can also wear away at your emotional state, leaving you prone to vast mood swings or inappropriate behavior.

Common brain diseases like Alzheimer’s fall under the umbrella of dementia. While there is no cure for dementia, recognizing the warning signs of the disease (loss of awareness or memory, notable changes to emotional state or personality, hallucinations, etc.) helps doctors begin cognitive therapy sooner to combat the disease.

Aches and Pains

Whether it’s from arthritis or osteopetrosis, various aches and pains tend to come with the proverbial turf of getting older. These issues can get worse for patients with low nutrition or those with a family history of the disease (women are more at risk for arthritis and osteoporosis to boot).

Physical therapy and certain medicines can go a long way toward relieving the pain and stiffness of the affected area. Increasing Vitamin D intake to strengthen your bones is an easy at-home way to alleviate osteoporosis too.

Tooth and Gum Disease

Finally, elderly people are prone to suffer from tooth and gum disease in part due to their gums wearing away with age. Unhealthy diets can also exacerbate the problem, causing sensitive teeth and gum disease. This, in turn, can lead to people not eating, which feeds into poor nutrition and sleep issues.

Frequent dental visits, as well as daily brushing and flossing, will keep your mouth feeling healthy and prevent the specter of gum disease from getting too close.

Knowledge Is Key to Combating Common Health Issues

So, now that you know all about the common health issues that are associated with aging, what else can you do to ensure you or the elderly person in your life enjoys their later years in peace and with optimal health?

Well, make sure to check out the other articles on our site for more health tips and tricks!