Problems for elderly......medical care is there...must read for elderly

http://health.india.com/diseases-conditions/10-conditions-that-ail-the-elderly/

Alzheimer’s: This is a condition that is characterised by the loss of memory. ‘Alzheimer’s is a kind of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behaviour. It is found in close to 80% of those suffering from dementia and is therefore the most common type.’ Commonly seen in the elderly, this condition is largely misdiagnosed since loss of memory is commonly thought to be due to old age. ‘The patient suffers damage in areas of the brain that control language, reasoning, sensory processing, and conscious thought. Memory loss and confusion become worse, and the person begins to have problems recognising family and friends.’
 
Parkinson’s: ‘Parkinson’s disease is an illness, which affects the brain, in which certain nerve cells – which play an important role in motor functions of the body – are lost or die. The loss of nerve cells takes place slowly, and gradually spreads to several areas of the brain, as a result, new symptoms gradually develop over time and the initial symptoms become more difficult to control.’ This condition is commonly seen in the elderly due to the fact that as we age, our body tends to degrade as well. Classified by the presence of tremors, the hallmark of this disease is the presence of tremors even while the patient is still. ‘Patients with Parkinson’s disease may also have difficulty maintaining balance, walking and tend to fall even when they are slightly off-balance, however, this usually occurs much later in the disease. Other common symptoms include a change in the quality of voice, stooped posture and change in handwriting.

Arthritis: People usually develop osteoarthritis after the age of 40. It is a condition that is caused due to the wear and tear of cartilage. Although there are other reasons for this condition, like an over-active autoimmune system that causes rheumatoid arthritis, the one caused due to old age (osteoarthritis) is most commonly seen in the elderly. As a person grows, the cartilage that is present between two bones, slowly starts to degrade. Soon it reaches a point where it becomes extremely thin and allows the bones to rub against each other. This causes pain, inflammation and difficulty in moving the joint.

Diabetes: Approximately 6.13 million people suffer from diabetes in India. Although the numbers on the record are high, the untreated and undiagnosed numbers could be much more. In the elderly, the most common type of diabetes seen is type 2 diabetes. It is believed that this condition is due to the decline in their body’s ability to use insulin. ‘The reason controlling diabetes is so important is because it directly translates to reducing the risk of developing problems like heart attacks, stroke, loss of blood circulation in the limbs, kidney disorders and eye disorders.’

Disk prolapse: This is a condition where the cartilage present between the vertebrae shift out of position, leading to the compression of the spinal column and the nerves extending out into the rest of the body. The most common symptoms of this condition are a tingling feeling in the hands or legs, lower back pain, numbness in the arms or legs etc. This is again a fairly common condition in the elderly because the cartilage tend to degrade making them thinner and therefore more vulnerable to slipping out of place.

Urinary incontinence: This is a condition where the person cannot hold or control the flow of his/her urine. The most common symptom is that when the person laughs or sneezes a small amount of urine leaks out. Eventually leading to them wetting themselves. Urinary incontinence is a condition that is caused due to the weakening of the sphincter muscles (muscles that control the flow of urine). One of the most common methods of resolving this condition is to use adult diapers that can soak the excess urine. Other methods include the use of exercises like the Kegel exercise to strengthen the muscle.

Stroke: This is a condition where there is a block in one of the arteries leading to brain. This causes the brain to suffer from lack of blood and oxygen causing that region to stop functioning. Elderly people are more likely to suffer from this condition since they might have other co-morbid conditions that lead to the formation of blood clots within the blood vessels. The common symptoms of this condition are sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body, sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding, sudden trouble seeing on one side, sudden, severe difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

Cancer: According to a study, the prevalent types of cancers seen in the elderly are prostrate, colon, breast, lung and stomach cancer. According to the paper, people above the age of 65 are more prone to these types of cancer. Although the exact reason as to why it occurs is unknown, many believe that it is due to the gradual degradation of the cells, mutations in the cells and the gradual drop in one’s immune system make elderly people more prone to the disease.

Tremors: This is a condition where the person’s hands or legs shake or shiver uncontrollably while they are performing functions like writing, lifting objects, etc. Tremors are seen in most elderly and the condition is called essential tremors. It is caused due to the slow degradation of the nerves and passage of impulses between the brain and the limb that is at work. Tremors may also be a symptom of other conditions like movement disorders, Parkinson’s, etc. ‘Tremors can be because of deficiencies in vitamins, stress or be essential tremors. Tremors are accompanied with imbalance, and are commonly due to mild strokes in the part of the brain controlling balance. Here, physical aids and gait training helps. Treating the primary cause of the stroke is of course mandatory.’

Dementia: This is a condition where the person loses cognitive ability and starts to act unlike himself/herself. It is a progressive condition and is one of the hallmark symptoms of conditions like Alzheimer’s. Some of the common symptoms of this condition are memory loss, problems performing everyday functions, problems with language, disorientation to time and place and poor or decreased abilities of judgement. This condition afflicts the elderly due to the breakdown of their brain and its normally functioning pathways.
 

“Healthy lifestyle keeps dementia at bay” - The Hindu

“Healthy lifestyle keeps dementia at bay” - The Hindu

The group of risk factors one can influence are those causing heart disease — Hypertension, Obesity (hyper) Lipidaemia and Diabetes (HOLD). Add smoking to this, and what you have is a potential cocktail of risks for not only heart attacks, but also dementia.

 

“The right exercise - something that makes you sweat, and increases your heart rate. We have to do that at least 150 minutes a week. It might sound like a lot, but it is not too bad if we can incorporate it into our lifestyle,” Walking to the store, taking the stairs instead of elevators and maybe brisk walking before having a meal can help.

 

Studies have shown that taking up weight or resistance training is good for improving memory function. “You don’t even have to do much. Just 20 minutes three times a week, and it can be done even when you are watching the television…you could lift cans or water bottles in each hand,” she says.

Wanted: more care for dementia - The Hindu

Wanted: more care for dementia - The Hindu

There is loss of inhibition, irritability, topographic disorientation, forgetting the identity of relatives, irrelevant talk and some patients even turn violent at times,” he said. He stressed the need to improve awareness of dementia among the public.

More than the incidence though, what doctors are worried about is the massive shortage of caregivers. The World Alzheimer’s Report 2013 said the epidemic of Alzheimer’s was creating a shortage of caregivers and that families lacked support to cope with the disease. It calls for additional support to lessen the burden on the individual and said that dementia needed to be a public health priority.

“Often, the spouse takes care of the patient and usually they tend to get burned out by the constant, everyday cycle of caring. What we need are residential or day-care centres,”

Avoid dementia by keeping brain 'active'

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-05/health/40391142_1_brain-health-brain-tissue-simon-ridley


Staying mentally active by reading books or writing letters helps protect the brain in old age, says a new American study.
The study, published in Neurology, says performing mental challenges leads to slower cognitive decline. It adds weight to the idea that dementia onset can be delayed by lifestyle factors, BBC reported.

In the study by the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, 294 people over the age of 55 were given tests that measured memory and thinking, every year for about six years until their deaths.
They also answered a questionnaire about whether they read books, wrote letters and took part in other activities linked to mental stimulation during childhood, adolescence, middle age, and in later life.
After death, their brains were examined for evidence of the physical signs of dementia, such as brain lesions and plaques.
The study found that after factoring out the impact of those signs, those who had a record of keeping the brain busy had a rate of cognitive decline estimated at 15 percent slower than those who did not.
Robert Wilson, of the Rush University Medical Center, who led the study, said the research suggested exercising the brain across a lifetime was important for brain health in old age.
"The brain that we have in old age depends in part on what we habitually ask it to do in life. What you do during your lifetime has a great impact on the likelihood these age-related diseases are going to be expressed," Wilson told BBC.
Commenting on the study, Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said there was increasing evidence that mental activity may help protect against cognitive decline. But the underlying reasons for this remained unclear.
"By examining donated brain tissue, this study has shed more light on this complex question, and the results lend weight to the theory that mental activity may provide a level of 'cognitive reserve', helping the brain resist some of the damage from diseases such as Alzheimer's," he told BBC.

India fights old myths on mental disorders

http://www.gulf-times.com/culture/238/details/359032/india-fights-old-myths-on-mental-disorders

In rural areas of India, many villagers still believe mental illness is caused by evil spirits angry that the sick person had killed a cow during a past life. So-called therapy, conducted by witch doctors or family members, can include chaining up the mentally ill, chanting spells, poking them with pins, or beating them “to force the spirits out”.

“There’s little awareness that it’s a real illness,” said Dr Indira Sharma, Varanasi-based president of the Indian Psychiatric Society. “Most people think it’s all a figment of your imagination. There’s still a very deep stigma.”

With a population of 1.2bn people, India has 4,000 psychiatrists, compared with 50,000 in the US, about 4,500 in California alone.But in recent years, the Indian government has increased budgets for psychiatric education and mental health awareness, seeking to curb a sharply rising suicide rate as millions move into cities where they lack the social support they had in rural villages.

Like public, Psychiatrists also feel proud of CRC

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-01/bangalore/40306345_1_mental-health-nimhans-kannada
Mental healthcare is not only about delving into the conscious and the subconscious. In a country like India, it is also about addressing the psychiatric health of society. Dr CR Chandrashekar, who had made Nimhans his second home for 44 years, has been at the forefront in providing expert intervention for addressing social manifestations of mental health in Karnataka. He retired on Sunday, eve of Doctor's Day.In keeping with his interventions, the senior doctor has penned 150 books in Kannada and 20 in English on mental health. Ruing the sad state of mental healthcare in Karnataka, he said: "We have just 200 psychiatrists for a population of over 6 crore. In Western countries, every school has a psychologist."

Chandrashekar's reading habits drove him to psychiatry. "I found it interesting to study changing human behaviour in the Kannada novels of Triveni and books of Dr R Shivaram, known by the pseudonym Rashi." The doctor has treated up to 50 patients a day from across the state. He has received letters from patients on a daily basis describing various mental problems. "So far, I have replied to more than 40,000 letters. In many instances, I have asked people to visit Nimhans or go to the nearest district government hospital which have trained psychiatrists," he says.

Night shift takes a heavy toll on health

http://www.drugtodayonline.com/mix/186-night-shift-takes-a-heavy-toll-on-health.html

With growing multi-national companies, call centers and BPO the demand for employees for working at ‘graveyard shifts’ has increased. Working at night can dramatically affect the health of an individual making them more prone to heart diseases, depression and other stressful unhealthy conditions.

Night shifts are often associated with sleepless nights leading to altered lifestyle disturbing the ‘circadian clock/rhythm’ which decides the sleeping patterns in humans. Sangita working a member of ground staff in Air India, says, “I have been taking night shifts for last two years. It has affected my diet, sleep and health. I feel weak and lazy, developed dark circles and acne on my face. I even took a medical break to revive my system.”
Dr Om Prakash, psychiatrist at IHBAS, says “Sleeping less leads to stressful life. Sleep is vital to maintain proper circadian rhythm. Sleep deprivation raises the risk of cardiovascular problems, fatigueness and MDD (Major Depressive Disorder).” The brain needs sleep at night and work during the day. In the evening when the light vanishes brain signals the secretion of a hormone ‘melatonin’ into the body fluids. Melatonin concentration determines sleeping pattern. Increased melatonin at night increases drowsiness making us fall asleep. The whole process reverses during the day as with the rising sun eyes senses the light and the melatonin level falls with increased level of another chemical serotonin that keeps us awake during the day. This constitutes circadian rhythm.
Other body functions including heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and gastrointestinal activity also keep fluctuating 24 hours according to the circadian clock.
Night shifts disturb the rhythm of circadian clock resulting into Shift Work Sleep Disorder (SWSD). SWSD resulting from disturbed sleep pattern is associated with insomnia and excessive sleepiness.
The most common symptoms include headaches, mood swings, short temper, bad hair/skin/nails, energy deficiency, diminished appetite, low immune response and weak memory. Increased accidents, reduced performance, work related errors and aggressiveness.Night workers not only experience physical disabilities but also face social problems. “Sleep is one issue that gives birth to other issues includes marital and social problems. As the world wakes they go to sleep, this makes it difficult for them to see friends, family and children posing strain on relationships. Their schedule isolates them from social life and they fail to fulfill their family’s expectations,” said Dr Prakash.
More than 50 per cent private companies run 24 hours a day to achieve high profile in the market. Employees have to take night shifts. Doctors, nurses, truck drivers, police and other private sector workers are often subjected to such lifestyle.
Anil is working with IBM, Gurgaon. He says, “I am new to this and as such don’t have any health complications. Yes, the diet has been affected as lunch is shuffled with breakfast, lot of junk food at work and dinner has no fix time. I sleep at morning hours and face frequent sleep disturbances”
A recent study conducted on over two million people suggests that night shift workers are at a 24 per cent higher risk of heart attacks and coronary events. The study was published in British Medical Journal. Moreover, individuals doing night shifts develop unhealthy behaviour such as improper diet, sleeping less and finding it hard to exercise.