Geriatric disease prevention and precautions

It is not a "surprise health regimen" started after the age of 60, but a small lifestyle adjustment that starts around the age of 40 and is adapted to the individual's physical constitution and basic disease conditions. Without blindly copying the general health regimen template, it can help you avoid more than 80% of common diseases in the elderly from becoming severe.

Last week, when I was sitting in a community free clinic, I met 62-year-old Aunt Zhang, who came over with her mobile phone in hand and asked, saying that she had been following a health blogger for half a year after taking Panax notoginseng powder with aspirin, and she had been bleeding while brushing her teeth recently. Was this "detoxification"? When I saw her liver function report, the transaminases were three times higher than normal. This was not detoxification, but liver damage caused by taking random medicines. The biggest misunderstanding that many people have about geriatric diseases is that they think they are “diseases that only occur when you are old.” In fact, our clinical statistics show that the incubation period for high-incidence geriatric diseases such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and osteoarthritis is on average 15-20 years. When many people in their 30s eat takeout, stay up late, and sit for long periods of time, the root of the disease has already been laid. It only breaks out when the body’s metabolism declines in old age. These diseases are labeled “exclusively for the elderly” for no reason.

The most controversial topic in the prevention of geriatric diseases is definitely "whether to take health supplements". Experts in different fields have different opinions: the general recommendation of the Western Medicine Nutrition Department is that as long as the daily diet can be enough to eat 1 pound of fresh vegetables, 300ml of milk, 1 egg, appropriate amount of livestock and poultry meat and aquatic products every day, there is no need to take any additional health supplements. Only when blood tests show that there is a lack of specific nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D, do you need to follow the doctor's advice to supplement.； Traditional Chinese medicine's approach to treating pre-diseases is more focused on personalized conditioning. If you are usually weak, short of breath, and speak softly, it is okay to drink some astragalus water. If you have a yin-deficient constitution that always has dry mouth and warm palms, boiling water with Ophiopogon japonicus and dendrobium occasionally can also have a conditioning effect, but the premise is that you must first seek diagnosis from a doctor at a regular traditional Chinese medicine hospital.

I have been in the geriatric department for almost 10 years, and the most effective prevention cases I have seen are never the elderly who spend tens of thousands of yuan on imported health care products every year, but ordinary people who have made small changes in their lives. Uncle Li, who I had managed before, was found to have borderline high blood pressure during a physical examination at the age of 52. The doctor said that he should not take medicine for the time being and adjust his living habits first. He gave up the pickled radish and salty ham that he had been eating for decades on the spot, and took his wife around the community after dinner every day. I walk for 40 minutes and I don’t drink too much during holidays. Now I am 73 years old. My blood pressure has always been stable at 120-130/70-80mmHg. I don’t even take antihypertensive drugs. My body is stronger than many of my peers who take supplements every day.

Another pitfall that people tend to go to extremes is to eat plain porridge with vegetables as soon as they hear "light diet". This was the case for Grandma Wang, who was just discharged from the hospital last month. She had not touched meat for half a year in order to lower her blood lipids. When she came, her albumin was only 28g/L, her lower limbs were so swollen that there was a pit when pressed, and she also suffered from moderate anemia. In fact, the so-called light diet does not mean that you should give up meat at all. It means that you should use less heavy oil and salt, eat less processed pickled products, eat fish and shrimp 2-3 times a week, and eat an egg every day. Even eating some lean pork and beef is fine. Otherwise, your immunity will be weakened, and you will be more susceptible to various diseases.

There are two opinions about the frequency of physical examinations. Some people say that once a year is enough, and some say that once every six months is enough. In fact, there is no unified standard for this: if you have basic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, or if you have a family history of genetic diseases such as gastric cancer, lung cancer, or breast cancer, you can do targeted screening once every six months. For example, if you have atrophic gastritis, you should have a gastroscopy every year, and if you have a long-term smoking history, you can have a chest CT every year.； If you eat, drink, and defecate normally and climb the third floor without much effort, a routine physical examination once a year is enough. You don’t need to go overboard. If you find nodules and cysts, you will feel anxious every day, which is not good for your health.

There are also small details hidden in life that are often more important than big health regimens. I have met many elderly people who have the habit of saving medicines. They are reluctant to throw away antihypertensive and antidiabetic medicines after they have expired for two or three months. After taking them, there are many people who have high blood pressure and blood sugar and are sent to the emergency room. ； Some elderly people feel that their indicators have stabilized recently, so they stop taking medicine without permission. As a result, it may cause cerebral hemorrhage or ketoacidosis, which is really more dangerous than anything else. You must listen to the doctor's advice on taking medicine, and don't make blind adjustments on your own.

What many people don’t know is that emotions are also an important cause of geriatric diseases. We have seen too many elderly people living alone who develop high blood pressure, gastrointestinal disorders, and even develop nodules in half a year because there is no one to talk to. There used to be a 68-year-old Aunt Zhang who cried at home every day after her husband passed away and couldn't eat. She lost 20 pounds in half a year. After a full body checkup, no organic disease was found. Later, we suggested that she go to a community college for the elderly to sign up for a flower and bird class. After she went there, she met a group of old friends and went hiking with them every week in the suburbs. She gained her weight back in less than half a year, and her blood pressure, which had been high and low before, has stabilized. How much impact do you think emotions have on the body?

In fact, after all, there are really not so many fancy rules for the prevention of geriatric diseases. The core is to follow the rhythm of your own body. Don't let the wind mean rain. Today, Aunt Zhang said that Panax notoginseng is good, so she stocked up. Tomorrow, Uncle Li said that running is good, so she will run every day. If she eats well, sleeps steadily, walks vigorously, and every physical examination index is within the normal range, this is the best prevention.