Common Ailments To Watch For As You Age
As you get older you may find that you are more susceptible to many different ailments. This is simply due to the fact that your body is getting older. That means that your bones, joints, muscles, and everything in between are starting to feel their age. You can prepare yourself for any conditions that hit you by trying to be as healthy and fit as possible. This will lessen the effects you feel from certain problems. If you are not sure what you could be at risk of then take a look at the article below.
Visual Disturbances
One of the first things that you may notice declining as you age is your vision. This can be a shock to the system especially if you have had 20/20 vision all your life. However, it happens to the best of us and at some point, you may need to wear glasses. You will only know this for sure if you attend your opticians for regular eye checks. Once you get past a certain age it can also be common for you to struggle with glaucoma or cataracts. When you visit your optician they will take a picture of your eye and give you an update on how your eyes are looking and how healthy they are.
Bad Quality Sleep
Another thing that people don’t really talk about is sleep quality as you get older. Unfortunately, as you age your body doesn’t seem to get the memo that it needs around six to eight hours of sleep each night. You may be getting this but if you are waking up regularly then you will be missing out on adequate sleep that you need to function. When you sleep your body is busy repairing any broken parts that have occurred a previous couple of days. If you don’t get enough sleep then your body isn’t able to do this. Which means you could be walking around in constant pain.
Bad quality sleep could also be due to an old, lumpy mattress. In an ideal world, you should change your mattress every eight to ten years so you can continue to sleep well. If you leave it too long then your mattress can cause you to toss and turn all night. So if you are regularly waking up with aches and pains then head to your local bed store.
Colds & Flu
When you get older you might find that you are more at risk of catching every germ that goes around. This means you could have a cold or the flu whenever you come into contact with someone that has it. Not ideal, especially as your immunity isn’t the best when you are older. This was especially risky when covid-19 was doing the rounds, a lot of older people were catching it and ending up in hospital. Luckily there are jabs now for covid and flu so if you know you catch things easily then this might be something to look into. Make sure you have a good supply of cold and flu tablets as well as paracetamol and cough medicine.
Hearing Loss
Something else that can be a shock when it lets you down is your hearing. When you go from being able to hear everything to noises sounding like muffled speaking it can be a struggle. The good news is there is help out there when you begin to lose your hearing. You can take a trip to your local audiologist for a hearing test. They will be able to give you advice on what you can do to improve your hearing, potentially with the use of hearing aids.
You might find that you are struggling with ear pain as well as occasional deafness. Be sure to tell your hearing specialist about all the symptoms you are experiencing. Be aware that there may be other things out there causing your pain and discomfort. For instance, you might be wondering, can allergies cause ear pain?
Arthritis
When you get older you should be aware of problems such as arthritis. This is a really painful inflammation of your joints that commonly affects the wrists, fingers, knees, and ankles. It is essential you keep moving so you don’t allow your joints to stiffen up. Incorporating a gentle workout into your daily routine will really help you and your joints stay supple and pain-free. Try something like yoga or swimming, this is gentle and won’t aggravate any existing arthritis in your body.
Cognitive Decline
There are some things that you can cope with when you age and some you can’t. You never know what you are at risk of developing and if anything runs in your family. Things like cognitive decline can run in families, so if your mother or father got dementia then you want to make sure you are keeping your brain active. Keeping your brain busy with regular puzzles will give it the workout it needs to keep fighting against cognitive decline. Something else that keeps these horrible conditions away is regular socials with friends and family. A study has found that people who regularly meet up with familiar people are less likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s.
Teeth Falling Out
Finally, one of the common things that you might begin to experience as you get older is your teeth becoming loose. They can only hold on for so long if you don’t look after them. When you are younger and told to brush your teeth twice a day, there is a reason for this. It is so your teeth can continue to be strong into old age. However, if you do experience issues with your teeth then make sure you sign up for a recommended dentist. They will be able to help you keep hold of your teeth for as long as possible. It may be something simple such as a filling that is needed, or you might benefit from dentures if your teeth have given up.
We hope that you found this article helpful and it gave you some useful tips on how you can avoid certain ailments hitting you as you get older. Remember, age is just a number and you are only as old as you feel.
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