Experiences from lectures on the prevention and treatment of geriatric diseases

Most geriatric diseases are not the inevitable result of aging. Early screening and early intervention can delay the onset of more than 90% of common geriatric diseases by 5 to 10 years, and even reverse early stage lesions. The old concept of "waiting for pain before seeing a doctor, and feeling uncomfortable before taking medicine" is the biggest killer of elderly health.

I was originally forced by my mother to accompany my father to attend the lecture. My previous impression of this kind of lecture was still the routine of "selling blood pressure-reducing insoles and magnetized water bottles." When I entered the door, I secretly searched for the information of the speaker, Director Zhang, and confirmed that he was an old doctor who had worked in the geriatric medicine department of the district hospital for almost 30 years. Then I sat down on the hard plastic chair with relief. The ceiling fan in the small auditorium rotated slowly, and the words on the PPT were deliberately made twice as large as the normal font size, so as to prevent the elderly sitting in the back row from seeing clearly. Uncle Wang in the first row was holding a thick presbyopic pen and taking notes faster than me.

My family had no less than three quarrels before about taking medication for high blood pressure. My dad always believed what his old friend said: "The medicine is three parts poisonous. If you take the antihypertensive medicine, you will become dependent on it. If you can't take it, you won't take it." If you do not have underlying diseases such as hyperlipidemia or diabetes, you can lower your blood pressure to the normal range through strict salt control and regular exercise for 3 months without taking medicine. However, if the remaining 80% of patients insist on not taking medicine, the continuous high pressure will gradually harden the blood vessel walls. When symptoms of dizziness and chest tightness appear, there is often hardening of the arteries and target organ damage, and the effect of taking medicine will be compromised. Speaking of this, he also mentioned a patient he admitted last month. The 62-year-old Uncle Liu had been suffering from high pressure of 160 degrees for three years and refused to take medicine. He had a cerebral infarction last week and was sent here. Now he can't move half of his body on his own. Several aunts in the audience secretly sighed. I glanced at my dad and he tightened his grip on the water glass.

When it comes to knee pain, which is the most troublesome thing for the elderly, our family was divided into two groups before. My dad thinks that "the pain is caused by lack of exercise. Just walk 10,000 steps a day and wear it away." My mother thinks that "the joints are irreversibly worn. If you want to walk less, it is best to sit still." This lecture is the only one that explains this thoroughly: both views are correct and neither is correct. If it is the acute stage of synovitis and the joints are swollen and shiny, then you should really walk less and don’t climb stairs to avoid aggravating wear and tear. However, if it is just ordinary degenerative arthritis, complete rest will make the muscles atrophy, unable to support the joints, and the pain will be worse. The best way is to do non-weight-bearing exercises such as squatting and swimming. My dad tried squatting against the wall for 10 minutes when he got home that day. He told me this morning that when he went downstairs to buy breakfast, his knees didn’t hurt like before.

When it came to Alzheimer's disease, the scene was even more controversial. An aunt raised her hand and said that her biological mother had been obsessed with thinking all her life, but she still got Alzheimer's disease, so the disease could not be prevented at all. Director Zhang did not refute, saying that there are indeed two schools of thought in the academic community. One school believes that the correlation between disease and genes is too high, and the role of prevention is very limited. However, the other school has tracked clinical data for 10 years and shows that controlling blood pressure and blood sugar in middle age, doing more cognitive training and socializing with people when you are old, even if you carry susceptibility genes, can delay the age of onset by 5 to 10 years. He said that Grandma Li in our community was previously diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. When she was first diagnosed, she could not even remember the floor of her home. In the past two years, she went to the University for the Elderly to learn calligraphy every day and played croquet with her old friends on weekends. Now two years later, her symptoms have not worsened at all, and she can still help pick up her grandson from school.

In the middle of the story, an aunt suddenly became red-eyed and said that her husband was suffering from diabetes last year and refused to follow food taboos and take insulin on time. She suddenly suffered from ketoacidosis and passed away. If only she had heard this earlier. The scene was quiet for a long time. Director Zhang walked over and patted her on the back. She said that it was not too late to know now, and it was a good thing to remind herself and her family. At the end of the show, someone asked Director Zhang whether taking more than a dozen health supplements can prevent age-related diseases. He laughed and said that health supplements are not omnipotent. For example, ammonia sugar is useful for early-stage arthritis caused by cartilage wear and tear, but if you already have severe arthritis with joint deformation, taking it is useless and will hurt your stomach. Deep-sea fish oil is not suitable for everyone. People with bleeding tendencies take it but it is risky. If you really need to supplement omega 3, eating a handful of plain nuts every day is better than anything else. When I got home, I rummaged through half a drawer of health care products that my mother had stored. I picked out the expired and inappropriate ones and threw away half a bag.

I used to think that geriatric diseases are a knife hanging over the head of the elderly. They cannot be avoided sooner or later as they get older. After listening to this, I understand that there is no reason why "you should get sick when you are old". It is nothing more than don't be too careless, don't be too anxious, don't believe in any magic medicine that can cure all diseases, and don't insist on not going to the hospital because of your discomfort. Slowly getting used to it is better than anything else. My dad now squats against the wall for 10 minutes every day after eating. He no longer competes with his old friend on the number of steps he walks every day. This lecture is not in vain.