Elderly Home in Singapore

Common health issues of elderly people

Old age is just not about greying hair, poor eyesight and wrinkles. With age, the human body gradually loses its vitality and aging creates several health issues. Among the plethora of health problems relating to age, following are the very common ones that are encountered:

1. Obesity

Obesity is no longer a problem restricted to old age; however fat accumulation tendencies exist as we grow older. For women menopause comes along with weight gain. Men too gain weight, which is related to sedentary lifestyle. Obesity leads to other health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems.

2. Arthritis

Joint pain and variety of arthritis is experienced among the elderly because the lubrication gets reduced in the joint areas. This makes joint movements very painful. While lack of exercise is a reason, past injury can also manifest as arthritis in later years.

3. Physical injuries

Old age is associated with reduced bone density (commonly causing osteoporosis) and frail physique. This makes physical injuries quite grave. Often a minor tripping and falling can cause fractures or even turn fatal. Again, the physical degeneration can be controlled by quitting unhealthy practices like smoking and drinking in one’s youth.

4. Cognitive problems

Forgetfulness, inability to grasp information and delayed mental processing is something common with senility. Dementia is very common among health problems faced by elderly people. Cognitive dysfunction has a greater tendency of occurrence if there is practice of drug abuse, alcoholism and smoking. Reportedly, dementia has no cure; a doctor can only give some suggestive medications for managing the problem.

5. Impairment of senses

Losing one’s ability to hear and see is a natural occurrence in old age. It greatly affects daily life, however it’s not a difficult problem to solve since the remedies are easily available.  Hearing aids and spectacles are the popular solutions to such problems.

6. Dental problems

Degeneration of dental health is another common problem with old age. Cavities, tooth decay, not taking care of teeth, lead to loss of natural teeth. The result is that people over 60 often have to get replacements or undergo dental procedures to relieve themselves.

7. Bladder control and bowel problems

Elderly people often face problems in bladder control. It’s not a complicated problem but may be associated with other health conditions. Bowel problems are also common because of unhealthy eating habits. This includes gastritis, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome.

Despite several health concerns, an elderly person can have all such problems taken care in an elderly home, where regular checkups and personalised treatments take place. For a premier elderly home Singapore now has a place like United Medicare Center with expanding health services across several locations.