Issues Affecting the Aging
University of Phoenix
Human Development
BSHS 342
February 28, 2011
There are many issues that arise when a person is aging. A person will go through mental, spiritual, physical, and financial stages in his or her life. Sometimes the body changes dramatically on the outside as well as the inside. A person cannot run as fast as they could five years ago, or turn a jump rope as he or she could a year ago. How a person takes care of his or her body would play a huge part in how it will act later in life.

As a person gradually moves into the late adulthood stage, he or she may notice his or her hair is starting to get thin around the edges. He or she may notice more grey hair keep resurfacing, no matter how much he or she dye his or her hair, the grey hair seems to come back faster. Some people start getting wrinkles around the mouth and forehead. The skin seems to always be dry, no matter how much a person try to keep it moisturize, a person skin does not seem to hydrate anymore. There are a number of health issues that can arise as a person gets older. It is important to eat healthy and exercise regularly. When a person does not get enough calcium in his or her body, he or she can develop weak bones, along with blood clotting. Osteoporosis is a result from weak and porous bones. Hip fractures result in loss of independence, which happens to many seniors. Seniors eating habits decrease, and some go through a day without eating or getting any nutrients in their bodies. Walking is a very good exercise and is beneficial to the overall health of a person. Being the muscles weaken as a person ages his or her cardiovascular and circulatory system is not as efficient. Natural deficits of aging make some people more susceptible to the dangers of inactivity. When a person is on bed rest for a couple of weeks, it can be very difficult for that person to sit up in chair. Sometimes the organ system can decline and a person can develop pneumonia, bed sores, or infections. A basic exercise as walking can help keep the muscles moving.

When some people reach a certain age, they tend to get a little nervous when they forget a telephone number, or cannot find his or keys. For most people this is a normal part of the aging process. Memory loss can contribute sometimes from a decreased blood flow to the brain, which happens as people ages. Sometimes what looks like a significant memory loss can be treatable and even conditions can be reversed

As a person ages sometimes the brain begin to function differently. Normally a person with Alzheimer’s is diagnosed at the age of sixty-five; however, some people experience symptoms much earlier in his or her life. Alzheimer is a brain disease that is associated with a person age and his or her family history. This is a heredity disease. According to Alzheimer’s Association; “Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer's disease accounts for 50 to 70 percent of dementia cases.” There are three stages of Alzheimer disease; mild, moderate, and severe. Mild is the earliest stage in Alzheimer’s, it is during this stage a person may have a difficult time remembering new information. The moderate stage happens when someone could be telling a story and make up part of the story because he or she forgot the rest of the story. The severe stage is the last stage, and it is during this stage a person does not recognize any of his or her family members. In some cases they do not recognize their own name. During the severe stage some people stop feeding, bathing, and clothing themselves. Some people have to go into nursing homes for someone to care for them. However, there are many ways a person can improve his or her cognitive skills and keep memory loss from disrupting his or her daily life; Exercise will get more oxygen to a person brain, which aids memory, and a healthy diet that consist of fresh fruits and vegetable s, this will keep the brain cells from rusting and reduces the risk of a stroke.

Erik Erikson called this stage integrity versus despair. During this stage a person will reflect on his or her past life. Those that feel their lives have been wasted will experience regrets. However, most will feel proud of their accomplishments during this time in his or her life and will attain wisdom even while confronting death. When a person is happy during this stage, he or she will be more active and social in his or her community. If they are not happy, this can cause a person to be depressed and not socialize with anyone including his or her family. Non-socializing and being non-active in life speeds up the aging process and sometimes diseases can take over a person life; diabetes, heart disease, and cancer can be the result.

Grieving is a process, and old age normally means surpassing those a person has been in contact with throughout his or her life. A senior citizen may experience loss of a loved one more than once in his or her life. It is hard for some people to accept this especially when the person is older than the decease. A person may have outbursts of anger, in denial about his or her lost, easily agitated, increase use of alcohol or smoking and his or her health may decrease. One of the grieving steps is being able to come to terms that the death and accepting the loss as being real.

Many people embrace old age, and welcome the wrinkles and grey hair, whereas others try hard to mask old age. How a person takes care of his or her life will determine how well he or she will age during his or her life. It is important to always not only exercise the mind but also the body.

References

Bobroff, Linda. University of Florida, Facts about Calcium. Retrieved on February 27, 2011 from: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FY/FY21600.pdf
Robinson, M. Issues affecting the aging. Retrieved on February 27, 2011 from: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1677877/issues_affecting_the_aging.html?cat=72
Beltramo, Laura. Caring.com. why is exercise important for seniors? Retrieved on February 27, 2011 from: http://www.caring.com/questions/why-is-exercise-important-for-seniors

Alzheimer's Association, What is Alzheimer's? http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp

Livestrong.com. Seniors in transition: losing a loved one. Retrieved on February 27, 2011 from: http://www.livestrong.com/article/15413-seniors-transition-losing-loved-one/