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Pneumonia In Older Adults The Cause And Prevention

Pneumonia In Older Adults    Cause and prevention
Pneumonia In Older Adults Cause and prevention

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Pneumonia In Older Adults cause and prevention

Pneumonia in older adults is common, but some forms can be extremely dangerous. 

Seniors are especially susceptible and can easily contract pneumonia in nursing home settings, or hospitals

There are a few different types of pneumonia as well as different sets of symptoms. 

Often, the elderly display pneumonia symptoms differently than those who are younger.

Pneumonia in the elderly occurs more frequently than in those in younger age brackets. As a result, there are more cases of morbidity and mortality.

Statics have shown that 85% of pneumonia and influenza deaths occur within the senior citizen age bracket (age 65). 

And Just 3% of these deaths took place in those who were age 45 or younger. Those in the 65+ age bracket also accounted for the highest hospitalization rates.

There are several types of pneumonia we will be looking at 2 kinds which affect the elderly most 

BACTERIAL PNEUMONIA

Bacterial pneumonia is an infection of your lungs caused by certain bacteria. The most common one is Streptococcus

You have a higher risk of getting bacteria pneumonia if you:

  • Are 65 or older
  • Have other conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart disease
  • Are recovering from surgery
  • Don’t eat right or get enough vitamins and minerals
  • Have another condition that weakens your body’s defenses
  • Smoke
  • Drink too much alcohol
  • Have viral pneumonia

Symptoms

The symptoms can come on fast and furious, or they can creep up on you over a few days. Common symptoms are:

  • High fever up to 105 F
  • Coughing out greenish, yellow, or bloody mucus
  • Chills that make you shake
  • Feeling like you can’t catch your breath, especially when you move around a lot
  • Feeling very tired
  • Low appetite
  • Sharp or stabby chest pain, especially when you cough or take a deep breath
  • Sweating a lot
  • Fast breathing and heartbeat
  • Lips and fingernails turning blue
  • Confusion, especially if you’re older

Prevention

  • Wash your hands regularly, especially after you go to the bathroom and before you eat.
  • Eat right, with plenty of fruits and vegetables.
  • Exercise.
  • Get enough sleep.
  • Quit smoking.
  • Stay away from sick people, if possible.

VIRAL PNEUMONIA

Viral pneumonia is an infection of your lungs caused by a virus. The most common cause is the flu, but you can also get viral pneumonia from the common cold and other viruses.

. These nasty germs usually stick to the upper part of your respiratory system. But the trouble starts when they get down into your lungs. Then the air sacs in your lungs get infected and inflamed, and they fill up with fluid.

Anything that weakens your body’s defenses (immune system) can raise your chances of getting pneumonia.

You have a higher chance of getting viral pneumonia if you:

  • Are 65 or older
  • Have chronic (ongoing) conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart disease
  • Are recovering from surgery
  • Don’t eat right or get enough vitamins and minerals
  • Have another condition that weakens your body’s defenses
  • Smoke
  • Drink too much alcohol
  • Are HIV positive
  • Recently had an organ transplant
  • Have leukemia, lymphoma, or severe kidney disease

The Symptoms of Viral Pneumonia

Viral pneumonia usually moves in steadily over a few days. On the first day, it feels like the flu, with symptoms like:

  • Fever
  • Dry cough
  • Headache
  • Sore throat
  • Loss of appetite
  • Muscle pain

After a day or so your fever might get worse. You might also feel like you can’t catch your breath. If your lungs are invaded with bacteria, you might also get some of the same symptoms as bacterial pneumonia, like:

  • A wet, gunky cough that produces green, yellow, or bloody mucus
  • Chills that make you shake
  • Fatigue (feeling very tired)
  • Low appetite
  • Sharp or stabby chest pain, especially when you cough or take a deep breath
  • Sweating a lot
  • Fast breathing and heartbeat
  • Blue lips and fingernails
  • Confusion, especially if you’re older

Building Your immune system

As we age it is essential that we take care of ourselves and one of the ways to keep us from getting sick is to build the immune systems.

 Many supplements on the market may help improve immune health. Zinc, elderberry, and vitamins C and D Calcium. Magnesium and Potassium are just some of the substances that have been researched for their immune-enhancing potential.

However, although these supplements may offer a small benefit for immune health, they should not and cannot be used as a replacement for a healthy lifestyle.

Maintaining a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, engaging in regular physical activity, and not smoking are some of the most important ways to help keep your immune system healthy and reduce your chances of infection and disease.

If you decide that you want to try a supplement, speak with your healthcare provider first, as some supplements may interact with certain medications or are inappropriate for some people

Thank you for your time hope you found this post informative, please remember to share, and leave your questions and comments, I will reply.

If you have any specific questions about any medical matter, you should consult your doctor or other professional healthcare providers”

.NOTE:  This post includes affiliate links, which, if clicked on and a product purchased, I get a small commission (with no increase in cost to you)

The Elderly And The Flu Prevention and Cure

The flue and the elderly   Cause, treatment, and prevention
The Flu and the Elderly Cause, treatment, and Prevention

2020 has been a terrible year for everybody, especially for older people regarding the virus COVID 19. Still, the flu seasons are also devastating, even though available flu shots exist.

So  in this post, I will be looking at the  flu and the elderly population

What is the flu?

The flu (influenza) is a seasonal virus that causes mild to severe symptoms. Some people recover in about a week, while others can be at risk of serious, life-threatening complications. There are many strains of the virus.

The risk of complications increases if you’re over the age of 65. Older adults tend to have a weaker immune system, naturally occurs as we age. And when your immune system isn’t robust, it becomes harder for the body to fight off a virus.

Continue reading “The Elderly And The Flu Prevention and Cure”

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis And Its Causes

One of the many ailments that affect us as we age is Arthritis, and there are many different types of Arthritis in this post; I will be looking at one of them, rheumatoid Arthritis.

There are different types of Arthritis, up to 100 types, but the most common are rheumatoid Arthritis, osteoarthritis, and septic Arthritis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is the most common type of Arthritis. It is an autoimmune disease that affects 1% of the whole earth’s population, which is equivalent to over 75 million people suffering from this disease which are suffering from this disease. It is chronic, which means a stable condition with intermittent periods of remission and exacerbation. https://betahealthy.com/

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. The wrist and hands are most commonly involved, with the same joints typically involved on both sides of the body. Wikipedia

What are the symptoms of rheumatoid Arthritis

https://www.mayoclinic.org/

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis may include:

  • Tender, warm, swollen joints
  • Joint stiffness is usually worse in the mornings and after inactivity
  • Fatigue, fever, and loss of appetite

Early Rheumatoid Arthritis tends to affect your smaller joints first — particularly the joints that attach your fingers to your hands and your toes to your feet.

As the disease progresses, symptoms often spread to the wrists, knees, ankles, elbows, hips, and shoulders. In most cases, symptoms occur in the same joints on both sides of your body.

About 40 percent of people with Rheumatoid Arthritis also experience signs and symptoms that don’t involve the joints. Rheumatoid Arthritis can affect many non-joint structures, including:

  • Skin
  • Eyes
  • Lungs
  • Heart
  • Kidneys
  • Salivary glands
  • Nerve tissue
  • Bone marrow
  • Blood vessels

Rheumatoid arthritis signs and symptoms may vary in severity and may even come and go.

Periods of increased disease activity, called flares, alternate with periods of relative remission — when the swelling and pain fade or disappear. Over time, Rheumatoid Arthritis can cause joints to deform and shift out of place.

How does rheumatoid Arthritis affect your body https://www.healthline.com/

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is more than just joint pain. This chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease mistakenly causes your body to attack healthy joints and leads to widespread inflammation.

While RA is notorious for causing joint pain and inflammation, it can cause other symptoms throughout the body.

RA is a progressive autoimmune disease that mainly affects your joints. According to the Arthritis Foundation, about 1.5 million U.S. people live with RA.

Anyone can get RA, but it generally begins between 30 and 60. It also tends to affect women nearly three times more than men.

The exact cause of RA is unknown, but genetics, infections, or hormonal changes may play a role.

Disease-modifying medications can help slow the progression of RA. Other drugs, combined with lifestyle changes, can help manage the effects and, in turn improve your overall quality of life.

Skeletal system

One of the first signs of RA is inflammation of the smaller joints in the hands and feet. Most of the time, symptoms affect both sides of the body simultaneously.

Common symptoms include pain, swelling, tenderness, and stiffness, which are more pronounced in the morning. Morning RA pain can last for 30 minutes or longer.

RA can also cause tingling or burning sensations in the joints. Symptoms can come and go in “flares” followed by a period of remission, but the initial stages can last at least six weeks.

Symptoms of RA can occur in any of the body’s joints, including your:

  • fingers
  • wrists
  • shoulders
  • elbows
  • hips
  • knees
  • ankles
  • toes

RA can also result in:

  • bunions
  • claw toes
  • hammer toes

As the disease progresses, cartilage and bone are damaged and destroyed. Eventually, supporting tendons, ligaments, and muscles weaken. This can lead to a limited range of motion or difficulty moving the joints properly. In the long term, joints can become deformed.

Having RA also puts you at greater risk of osteoporosis, a weakening of the bones. This, in turn can increase your risk of bone fractures and breaks.

Chronic inflammation of the wrists can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, making it difficult to use your wrists and hands. Weakened or damaged neck or cervical spine bones can cause chronic pain.

Circulatory system

RA can also affect the system responsible for making and transporting blood throughout your body.

A simple blood test can reveal the presence of an antibody called the rheumatoid factor. Not all people with the antibody develop RA, but it’s one of many clues doctors use to diagnose this condition.

RA increases your risk for anemia. This is due to the decreased production of red blood cells. You may also have a higher risk of blocked or hardened arteries.

In rare cases, RA can lead to inflammation of the sac around the heart (pericarditis), the heart muscle (myocarditis), or even congestive heart failure.

A rare but serious complication of RA is inflammation of the blood vessels (rheumatoid vasculitis, or RA rash). Inflamed blood vessels weaken and expand or narrow, interfering with blood flow. This can lead to nerves, skin, heart, and brain problems.

Skin, eyes, and mouth

Rheumatoid nodules are hard lumps caused by inflammation that appear under the skin, usually near joints. They can be bothersome but typically aren’t painful.

According to the Sjogren’s Foundation, as many as 4 million U.S. people have an inflammatory disease called Sjogren’s syndrome. About half of these individuals also have RA or a similar autoimmune disease. When the two conditions are present, it’s called secondary Sjogren’s syndrome.

Respiratory system

RA increases the risk of inflammation or scarring of the linings of the lungs (pleurisy) and damage to lung tissue (rheumatoid lung). Other problems include:

  • blocked airways (bronchiolitis obliterans)
  • fluid in the chest (pleural effusion)
  • high blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension)
  • scarring of the lungs (pulmonary fibrosis)
  • rheumatoid nodules on the lungs

Other systems

The pain and discomfort of RA can make it difficult to sleep. RA may lead to extreme fatigue and a lack of energy. In some cases, RA flare-ups can cause flu-like symptoms such as:

  • short-term fever
  • sweating
  • lack of appetite

Early diagnosis and treatment may help slow the progression of RA. Disease-modifying medications, symptom relievers, and lifestyle changes can significantly improve your quality of life.

Treatments FOR RA

Healthy joints are the “hinges” that let you move around. Many of us take that for granted. However, these simple movements aren’t always automatic or easy when you have RA. They can be painful.

The goals and treatments used by physical and occupational therapists sometimes overlap, but there are some general differences.

Physical Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis

The goal of it is to keep you moving. It uses exercise and other methods to stimulate muscles, bones, and joints. The result is more strength, tone, and overall fitness.

Physical therapists understand the mechanics of bones, joints, and muscles working together, the problems that can happen, and what to do about them. It’s a good idea to work with a therapist, whether you’ve had RA for a long time or are newly diagnosed, no matter how severe it is.

Exercise. This is the cornerstone of any physical therapy plan. It will match your ability and fitness level and include flexibility, strength, and cardio.

Heat or ice. Treating inflamed or painful joints with heat or ice packs helps some people feel better.

Massage. It can also help you feel better.

Motivation and encouragement. It’s a big plus to have a pro to cheer you on and push you to keep going.

Occupational Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis

This helps you stay independent. A therapist will check to see what you need help with. Then, he can teach you better or easier ways to accomplish those things.

Occupational therapists can recommend or provide solutions if activities like dressing, cooking, or bathing become hard or painful. Assistive devices are products or improvements that make everyday tasks easier.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc-9dfem3lMom/watch?v=Yc-9dfem3lM

Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet

There is no specific diet for Rheumatoid Arthritis, but it is suggested that the Paleo diet would be perfect for Arthritis sufferers

Eat food that fights inflammation. some of these are beans, Broccoli, Cherries, Citrus Fruits,

fish, Nuts, Ginger, Green Tea, Soy, Turmeric, Whole Grains

Thank you for your time and comments; I do hope you found this post informative,

.NOTE:  This post includes affiliate links, which, if clicked on and a product purchased, I get a small commission (with no increase in cost to you)

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