Abuse of benzodiazepine is correlated with higher anxiety levels, as the drug often stops working as a patient builds a tolerance. Many elderly drug mis-users and abusers also report dizziness and periods of blackouts (Blow 2003)
Caregivers and primary care physicians could determine, for example, whether an elderly person is trying to cut down on their drinking and if he or she is using alcohol as an "eye-opener" in the morning. Expressions of guilt about drinking or annoyance at questions regarding their drinking are further red flags (Mersy 2003)
These problems include alcohol abuse, more mild forms of alcohol dependence and other medical problems that are exacerbated by the use of alcohol. Previous studies have estimated that up to 20% of elderly adults have some form of alcohol-related problems (Ondus et al
Because this population has survived rigors related to alcoholism in their earlier life, they already exhibit significant health and mental complications. Genetics may account for the survival of people in this category, as do people who learn to moderate their consumption (Rigler 2000)
Another concern to avoid falls is medication. There are many elderly people taking antidepressants and hypnotics, both of which have been associated with a higher risk of falls (Blake, et al
¶ … Falls in the Elderly It is no secret that elderly people fall more than people in younger age groups. Each year, approximately one-third of elderly people will experience a fall of some kind (Yoshida, n
This means the number of individuals 65 years and older will more than double by the middle of the century to 80 million. (Hobbs, nd) Hobbs reports that heart disease is the primary killer of the elderly
" (Young, nd) In the elderly silent heart attacks occur without the well-known crushing pain or pressure and may present in the form of heartburn, shortness of breath, fainting or confusion and sometimes with no symptoms at all. Age related changes in the heart include the following: Decreased Heart Rate Response Longer P-R Intervals Right Bundle Branch Block Increased Atrial Ectopy Increased Ventricular Ectopy Altered Diastolic Function Aortic Sclerosis Annular Mitral Calcification (Schwartz
citizens, those over 80 will constitute about 4%, or some 10 million Americans." (Young, nd) As a person becomes older the heart undergoes "subtle physiologic changes, even in the absence of disease
There are diseases that have been identified to commonly affect the elderly people globally such as Dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Such diseases are costly to treat and this cost keeps on increasing as the severity of the disease increases and institutionalization (Alvarado-Esquivel, et al
Psychological impact Psychological distress is very common among the elderly and this greatly affects their quality of life including the lives of the people living around them. Psychological distress can be defined as a condition that involves negative emotions having a connection with a loss that is incurred in trying to attain a significant goal; this is normally caused by the lack of resources to avert such a potential loss (Farone, et al
It has been observed that the elderly experience what is referred to as social comparison which they most apply to reduce uncertainty about themselves and to cope with stressful situations. Social comparison is a situation where an individual compares him/herself with other people as a way of learning and assessing themselves, they evaluate their opinions and abilities (Michinov, 2007)
Almost all seniors who participate in senior center activities feel and improvement or at least no depreciation in their health compared to previous years with almost a similar number indicating that senior centers reduce their dependence. Senior centers have also provided an opportunity for the elderly to make friends and get better meals, in addition, the centers also provided a perfect social ground having a lot of fun and improving physical health due to the available physical activity programs (Miltiades & Grove, 2008)
As the number of seniors increase in the society the increased use and reliance on computers is also experienced which raises the question of whether the elderly should be left behind in such advancement or be pulled together with others? In order to improve and maintain the social connectedness of this population it is necessary that they are introduced and trained for such programs. Most of the older persons may not know the value of computer usage through their own means but studies have indicated that most family members who own computer tend to enlighten the old on the value of using computers (Saunders, 2004)
¶ … Senior Centers in the Elderly The baby boomer generation has just about a year to reach the retirement age prompting the urgent need of successful aging. The current life expectancy is higher than the previous ones with the 15% of the American population composed of individuals above the age of 65 years (Skarupski & Pelkowski, 2003, Walker, et al
The involvement of these senior centers cover a narrow population since those who take part are mainly individuals under the age of 85 who are healthy and having low to middle incomes, however, participation has been observed from individuals above 100 years of age (Skarupski & Pelkowski, 2003). It is a common phenomena to find the economically less (not least) advantaged participating in senior center activities and in most cases they do it out of desire for social interaction and are mostly introduced into such centers through friends (Walker, et al
Medications She is on lisinopril for the treatment of hypertension. She has been advised of the possible interaction between the medication and significant exposure to the sun, specifically of the risk of melanoma and avoids excessive sun exposure (Friedman et al
In addition, the patient reports an occasional desire to smoke when she sees her son smoking. She is upset that her current experience with COPD has not inspired any of her children who smoke to make attempts to cease smoking and has asked for an intervention explaining the full impact of COPD to them because of research she has seen that having a family member with COPD is linked to attempts to stop smoking (Goren et al
, 2014). Functional Status The patient's functional status remains relatively high because she is capable of carrying out all of the activities on the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale: telephone usage, shopping, food preparation, housekeeping, laundry, mode of transportation, responsibility for own medications, and ability to handle finances (Lawton & Brody, 1969)
She reports feeling mild depression because of the inability to go and do things that she previously did. This negative impact on lifestyle reinforces what is known about women with COPD (Raherison et al