The main pathology affecting the senescent do not differ from those which may affect other age groups. There are few diseases that only affect the persons recognized as elderly people. However, there are a number of characteristic elements of the geriatric pathological processes that determine the specificity of care and any professional who work in gerontology what should bear in mind.
Major general aspects of diseases of the elderly are:
- tendency to chronicity.
- greater use of health care resources.
- less favorable prognosis.
- pluripathology and polypharmacy.
- heterogeneity and fragility.
On geriatric pathologic processes, the symptoms did not appear clearly. However, there are a number of symptoms that recur in various diseases, although not characterized by being of a specific one. The main symptom is the pain.
As stated by the article mentioned in the bibliography, the pain could and should be treated. I agree that medical personnel must not allow the elderly suffer, since there are therapeutic proposals to alleviate it. We cannot allow that pain is considered something normal in the elderly.
The geriatrics syndromes are expressed by a set of symptoms depending on the disease situation. There are a set of tables originated by the concurrence of a number of diseases which have their expression through pathological pictures not included in common diseases. It is a common way of presentation of the diseases of the elderly and require a care assessment of its meaning and etiology to give a proper treatment.
The geriatrics syndromes were described by Kane in 1989. There are: inmobility, instability, incontinence, intelectual impairment, infection, inanition, impairment of visión and
hearing, irritable colon, isolation, iatrogenesis, inmune deficiency, impotence.
Bibliography
- Cecilio Álamo. Opioides y dolor crónico en el paciente geriátrico. Del reto al éxito [Internet]. Disponible en: http://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/dolor/v15n7/editorial.pdf
- Infermeravirtual.com [Internet]. Síndromes geriátricos. Col-legi oficial Infermeres i infermers Barcelona. [acceso 2 de abril de 2013]. Disponible en: http://www.infermeravirtual.com/es-es/situaciones-de-vida/vejez/informacion-relacionada.html
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