Vital Signs Can Cause Changes In The Elderly

Changes due to the aging process also need to be addressed. Calcium reabsorption increases especially in women after the menopause, this decreases bone density. Lean tissue decreases as fat increases with age; there is also a decline in the percentage of body water meaning that body temperature is more difficult to control. Thirst decline and decreased renal function means that older people can become dehydrated (Copeman 1999). The function of the bowel reduces, meaning that the elderly are more susceptible to indigestion and constipation. The risk of constipation is also increased with Parkinson’s disease (Parkinson’s UK 2011). The final consideration is the deterioration of the sensory system. Taste, smell, vison, pain and touch all decline meaning that food may not be as appealing (Copeman 1999).

Middle-aged adults begin to show visible signs of aging. Vision usually changes and many who did not need corrective lenses or eyeglasses may find that they need them. Hearing loss begins, especially at the higher frequencies. Height begins with the maximum height from young adulthood but then begins to diminish. This process is more rapid in women who have osteoporosis. Changes occur in the nervous system and reaction time slows. The ability to perform complex tasks remains intact. Those in middle age usually begin to gain weight, 5–10 kg (10–20 lb) and experience a decline in strength and flexibility. Women in late middle age experience menopause. Menopause can have many side effects, some welcome and some not so welcome.[2] Menopause ends

6. Loss of subcutaneous tissue can reduce the ability of older adults to regulate body temperature, leading to

Older adults need the list to be presented at a slower speed in order to improve recall. This is because older adults experience a slowing down in the speed of processing. This is mostly due to the fact older adults also experience a decrease in the amount of dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine. These three are all important in high cognitive functioning.

Temperature - the hypothalamus regulates body temperature, and problems within the hypothalamus will lead to abnormal temperatures;

Age- related changes that happen in the epidermis are more likely to occur in sun exposed areas of the body. As one ages, the epidermal thickness decreases, however, the number of cell layers remains about the same. The skin’s ability to act as a barrier against loss of body fluids or entry of substances through the skin is essentially stable. The dermis does decrease in thickness in older age, causing the skin to appear extremely thin and transparent. Collagen decreases in the skin, and elastin fibers thicken. Increasing in size, the sebaceous glands enlarge, while the sebum (oil production) tends to decrease. As one begins to age, the normal “shivering” reaction tends to decrease, as does vasodilation and vasoconstriction in response to heat and cold. Therefore, ones sweating response is reduced, and a lower metabolic rate is created due to less body mass in the individual. In the hypodermis, the layer of fat cells become thinner with age, and diminishes both protection and insulation. The protection of the hypodermis avoids trauma, while the insulation of the hypodermis prevents loss of body heat (Saxon,

Vital signs are measurements of the body’s most basic functions. They are very useful in detecting and monitoring medical problems. There are five main types of vital signs which are temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, and pain. They can be measured in a medical setting, at home, at the site of a medical emergency, or elsewhere.

As an individual grows older, the body will also undergo changes to its system. The effects of changes on the respiratory system can cause problems to develop more easily and be more difficult to manage. Some changes that occur over time are that the nose tissue has reduced support which causes symptoms that interfere with air passage and reduced secretions causing tickling of the throat and coughing. The trachea will stiffen causing more difficulty in the coughing process making the ability to expel lodged items less effectively. The lungs will become smaller; the recoil of the lungs is decrease forcing the body to use other muscles in order to maintain the proper amount of gas exchanges. The thorax and the diaphragm lose skeletal muscle strength causing a reduction in vital capacity and residual volume left in the lungs. Elderly are also more apt to getting respiratory infections because their immune and lymphatic systems also are undergoing changes as they age. All of these changes mentioned above not only impact just the respiratory system but they also force an individual to change their normal daily functions. An

The physiological aging signifies to the changes in structure and body functioning that happen over a lifetime. Some of these changes are involuntary and happen very slowly while other changes happen in a short period of time. The physiological changes that usually happen are cardiovascular system which reduce the elasticity of the blood vessels and heart valves, regulated blood stream due to the thickening of the vessel walls and as the fatty deposits lining the vessels and a reduce the ability of the heart pump out as much blood with each beat. For this reason, you can feel fatigued, develop short of breath and get simply less ability to physical effort.

The respiratory system changes in many ways as one ages. These gradual changes begin at age twenty to thirty (Miller, 2015, p. 443) and function starts to weaken at age forty (El-Kader, and El-Den Ashmawy, 2013, p. 15). Changes occur in the upper respiratory structures, chest wall and musculoskeletal structures, and lung structures and function. The upper respiratory structures in the nose become less supportive, due to less connective tissue, and smaller, because of decreased blood flow (Miller, 2015, p. 443). Also, degenerative changes in the submucosal glands of the nasopharynx produce thicker mucus (Miller, 2015, p. 443). Cough and gag reflex are decreased (Miller, 2015, p. 443). Because of chest wall and musculoskeletal changes, elderly spend more energy on breathing. This occurs as a consequence of chest wall stiffness, weakened muscles, and changes in the shape of the chest (Miller, 2015, p. 444). The lungs become less elastic and smaller, the alveoli enlarge and thin out, the pulmonary artery becomes stiffer, wider, and thicker, the pulmonary capillaries decrease and have less blood flow, and the mucosal bed thickens (Miller, 2015, p. 445). Elastic recoil diminishes and can cause air trapping and less gas exchange (Miller, 2015, p. 445). Due to changes, elderly do not always respond in a compensatory manner and can have mental changes instead (Miller, 2015, p. 445).

show several aging-dependent changes such as changes in anatomy and function in identified neurons [8], behavioral changes [9,10], expression of mRNAs [11], and neurotransmitter regulation [12]. (2) A simple and well-studied nervous system and behavioral repertoire to facilitate the study of neurological and behavioral correlates of aging at the level of single neurons and circuits. (3) Two learning assays (Sensitization and Habituation of the GWR) proposed in this study are well studied and show age dependent decline [9]. (4) Importantly, neural circuitry underlying GWR has been identified [5]. Neurons of Aplysia GWR offer several advantages. In contrast to Drosophila, C. elegans or mammalian neurons, those of Aplysia are gigantic, allowing relatively easy study of cell-specific changes during aging. Importantly the presynaptic sensory (LESN) and postsynaptic motor (L7MN) neurons of the GWR circuitry can be easily identified (Fig 1) and manipulated. Sensitization of GWR result in growth of new synaptic connections, whereas habituation induces retraction of synapses. Thus, the experimental system allows for precise measurements of electrophysiological, morphological and molecular changes to address the specific aims of this proposal. (5) As described in the “Significance” section it is important to recognize that many concepts that are central to our overall understanding of the LTM were established using Aplysia [5, 13-17;18-23]. Therefore it is expected that

As people age over time, they have a way of changing both psychological and biological. These changes affect everyone in different ways and the changes that can take place over the years can vary from individual to individual. “For the human brain, there's no such thing as over the hill. Psychologists researching the normal changes of aging have found that although some aspects of memory and processing change as people get older, simple behavior changes can help people stay sharp for as long as possible. Although researchers are still piecing together what happens in a healthy aging brain, they can explain some typical changes” (Memory Changes in Older Adults, 2006).

With aging, there are natural changes that occur in the body, these changes affect they way the body response to pharmaceuticals. The absorption, metabolism and excretion of many drugs decrease, requiring that doses of some drugs be adjusted. As we age our small bowel surface area decrease, our gastric emptying becomes delayed and our gastric acid pH increases, all of these changes change the drug absorption by the body. Similarly metabolism of pharmaceuticals is also affected because as we age our hepatic metabolism decreases, along with the first-pass metabolism. In addition, the most important pharmacokinetic change worth mentioning that associated with aging is decreased renal elimination of drugs. With age it's common to have a lower muscle

Several major physical and mental changes occur with aging. One physical change being in the cardiovascular system as heart rate decreases and arteries and blood vessels become firmer, causing the heart to have to work harder in order to pump blood to the rest of the body. These changes can cause several cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure. A second physical change being in the bones, joints, and muscles. With age, bone density and size decreases which makes them less durable, more susceptible to fracture or break, and may even decrease one’s height. Muscles also lose strength and flexibility with age, causing coordination and balance to be altered. A third physical change being in the digestive system as constipation is a common

The physiological abilities change with increasing age, older adults often have few physical resources to deal with stressful situation .The situation that was appraised as less stressful in middle aged may be appraised as stressful later in life