Lectures on geriatric disease prevention and health care

The core of geriatric disease prevention has never been to follow the trend of taking health supplements and exercise steps, but to "screen small problems early, adjust living habits, and adapt to individual physiques." There is no universal "universal health formula", and the one that suits you is truly useful.

Last week, I was setting up a consultation desk in the community and met 62-year-old Aunt Zhang on crutches. She said that she had heard online that walking 10,000 steps a day could prevent osteoporosis. She had been walking for three months in a row. Recently, her knees were swollen like steamed buns. She went to the hospital to find out that the meniscus was worn and she had to rest at home for three months. Don't laugh, I encounter this kind of thing almost every week. Many people always want to "copy homework" to prevent elderly diseases. They just copy what others say is useful, but they cause problems for themselves.

Many people have asked me before, should I trust Western medicine or Chinese medicine to prevent geriatric diseases? In fact, the logic of the two sides is different and can be combined. The core of Western medicine is to control indicators, keep an eye on hard indicators such as blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipids, and uric acid, and detect abnormalities and intervene early. I have met 58-year-old Uncle Li before, and he has a special physical examination for the elderly every year. The year before last, it was found that the fasting blood sugar reached the critical value of 6.3mmol/L. I followed the doctor’s instructions to control the intake of refined sugar every day, walk slowly for 40 minutes three days a week, and did not take anti-hyperglycemic drugs. After half a year, the blood sugar fell back to the normal range. However, traditional Chinese medicine focuses more on the overall condition, which is also critical for blood sugar. 60-year-old Aunt Wang usually suffers from diarrhea and cold hands and feet. She followed Uncle Li's method to control her blood sugar for two months. Her blood sugar did not drop, but she felt weak all over. She had no strength, so she consulted a traditional Chinese medicine doctor who diagnosed her with spleen deficiency. She was told to cook some yam and Gorgon porridge every day and drink Zusanli more often. She did not have to deliberately give up all sweets. After three months of adjustment, not only her blood sugar was stabilized, but her diarrhea problems were also much better. There is no difference between the two ideas, just find the one that suits you.

Speaking of this, some people must want to ask, can you buy those health care beds, magnetic therapy devices, and oral anti-aging health care products that cost thousands of dollars on the market? To be honest, the current clinical prevention guidelines for geriatric diseases at home and abroad do not list this type of equipment and health care products as routine preventive measures. If your financial conditions permit, you feel comfortable when lying down, feel good after eating, and it is okay to buy it to improve your quality of life. But don’t believe in such nonsense as "it can cure high blood pressure and diabetes" and "can cure coronary heart disease without taking medicine". If it is really effective, it will have been included in the hospital's clinical catalog a long time ago. There is no need to sell it in the live broadcast room with "family welfare price".

There are many small details that people tend to overlook, but they are actually the key to preventing geriatric diseases. For example, when it comes to oral health, many people think that "it is normal to lose teeth as we age." In fact, chronic inflammation of periodontitis can stimulate blood vessels for a long time, and is clearly related to cardiovascular disease and poor blood sugar control. My former neighbor, Uncle Liu, always had toothaches and was too lazy to treat them. During the physical examination, the C-reactive protein (inflammation indicator) was three times higher than the normal value, and the blood pressure fluctuated. Later, the periodontal problem was cured, and after the inflammation indicators dropped, the blood pressure was much more stable than before. Another example is sleep. Many elderly people think that "it is normal for older people to sleep less." If they sleep less than 5 hours a day, or they always snore or wake up after falling asleep, it is best to check a sleep monitor. I met a 70-year-old Aunt Chen before. She had been dizzy for more than half a year. She took a lot of antihypertensive drugs and brain supplements to no avail. Later, she was found to have severe sleep apnea. After wearing a home ventilator, she slept well and the dizziness didn't happen again.

Of course, there are also many controversial issues, such as whether to supplement protein powder? Doctors in the nutrition department generally believe that if you have no dental problems and can eat one egg, a 300ml cup of milk, and two taels of lean meat every day, there is no need to take extra supplements. Taking too much will increase the burden on the kidneys. ； But if you have bad teeth, can’t chew meat, have poor digestive function, and always feel weak, then supplementing with whey protein isolate powder can indeed improve your nutritional status. There is no need to beat you to death with a stick. For example, will taking calcium supplements cause kidney stones? The current mainstream research conclusion is that for the elderly with normal kidney function, a daily calcium intake of no more than 2,000 mg will not increase the risk of stones. People who usually drink less milk will have no problem taking a daily calcium supplement of 600 mg. If you already have kidney stones, consult a doctor before adjusting the supplement. Don’t be afraid to take supplements. If you fall and break a bone, you will suffer even more.

I have been working in community elderly care for almost 12 years, and I have seen too many people follow Internet celebrity prescriptions and turn small problems into big problems. In fact, the prevention of geriatric diseases is really not a profound knowledge. It is just to pay more attention to your own physical feelings and don't always compare with others - others walk 20,000 steps a day and it is fine. If you walk 8,000 steps and your knees hurt, then walk 5,000 steps. ； Others have no problem eating iced watermelon, but you get diarrhea after eating it, so don’t touch the cold watermelon. The purpose of our health care is to live comfortably and suffer less, not to achieve some health KPI, right?