![]() Seniors should talk to their doctor about what is best for them. What’s more, “people over 65 and anyone with a chronic lung condition should also be sure to get a flu vaccine as well as make sure to be vaccinated with the two types of available pneumonia vaccines,” he says. And if you have a cold or the flu, practice careful hygiene - cover your mouth when you cough, wash your hands regularly, and consider wearing a mask if you are contagious. Adelman says prevention begins with good hygiene - washing hands before meals and after you’ve been outside your home and exposed to others, and avoiding people with colds or the flu. “As a geriatrician, you always want to be on the lookout to see if an infection is at the root of the problem.”ĭr. “The minute an older person who is normally functional has a precipitous decline, geriatricians make a comprehensive assessment of the patient with a careful history and physical exam, blood work, urinalysis, and often a chest X-ray to make sure something else isn’t going on,” says Dr. “Older people with pneumonia (and other infections) are more susceptible to developing an acute confusional state, as well as rapid heartbeat and lethargy - all of which might not bring pneumonia to mind.”īut these symptoms, the more common ones like coughing or difficulty breathing, along with sweating, headache, bringing up sputum (a mixture of saliva and mucus), or clammy skin merit a doctor’s visit. “An older person is just as likely to experience delirium, loss of appetite, dizziness, falls, or lethargy when they get pneumonia as some of the physical symptoms,” says Dr. ![]() ![]() Delirium - or an acute confusional state - can indicate that an infection like pneumonia is brewing. Older people can also be prone to swallowing problems, making them susceptible to aspiration pneumonia, caused when food, saliva, or liquids are inhaled into the lungs.Īlong with recognizing common symptoms, there are specific steps both seniors and younger adults can take to stave off pneumonia.ĭelirium, depression, and dementia are known as the three D’s of geriatrics, according to Dr. Potential signs of pneumonia include coughing, chills, fever, and difficulty breathing. Adelman, co-chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. “Immunity is not as robust in seniors, so it’s important to get to the doctor and take care of the earliest symptoms quickly,” says Dr. And pneumonia sends more than 400,000 people to emergency rooms each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s because older people who are hospitalized for pneumonia have a greater risk of death compared with the other top 10 reasons for hospitalization, according to the American Thoracic Society. As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” - and that’s especially true when it comes to pneumonia in older people.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |