Older people are more likely to need glasses and hearing aids as they get older. Meaning that as we get older, the number of things we can go for ourselves also decreases. Older people also become unable to do certain things that they may have done when they were younger. Lack of facilities and houses not adapted to cater for the needs of older people may it harder for elderly people to live normal lives. • As we get older, our skin has less collagen, causing wrinkles to form.
The ability to focus on close up objects becomes more difficult, due to presbyopia. This is the loss of focusing ability because of the hardening of the lens in the eye (All About Vision). Trouble seeing can affect older drivers’ ability to recognize traffic signs and signals. Aging also causes a loss of peripheral vision, meaning that the size of visual field decreases (All About Vision). This increases the risk for car accidents because of the lost ability to see far distances.
When we get old our lenses changes and become hard and cloudy and it gets stop by cataracts from changing shape or transmit light. Hearing: - older people find it very hard because of the nerves cell in the inner ear may decrease and from the wax in the outer ear that prevent them to hear. Menopause Menopause is a normal part of ageing. It is not a disease or disorder. Women who have symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats may decide to use hormones like estrogen because of the benefits, but there are also side effects and risks to consider.
Senile Dementia 3 Introduction Senile dementia is mental deterioration that is associated with old age and is caused by a degeneration of brain cells. Roeltgen writes, “Dementia is an impairment of thinking and memory that interferes with a person’s ability to do things which he or she previously was able to do”. Senile dementia is different then normal age-related forgetfulness. With normal age-related forgetfulness, you may joke about memory loss or may momentarily forget where you placed the car keys. With senile dementia, you may have little or no awareness of cognitive problems and you may not know what a car key is or may put it in an inappropriate place.
Ageism; Often elderly people are labelled as useless, unable to cope and diseased. Often younger generations can make them feel most vulnerable as they tend to see them as if they have already finished their lives. Elderly people may feel that they are going to be treated with dignity in hospital or any care settings. Culture, religion and beliefs; Often, because of religion, beliefs and your culture this will influence on how you are as an elderly person. For example, someone who is very ill may still have a big positive view on life, whereas some may feel depressed and extremely unhappy.
Based on these facts, I recommend a proposition that can help lower the number of car accidents. Older drivers should have to take and pass another drivers test because their alertness, vision, and reaction time may not be good enough to be a safe driver. If this happened, then it would take off the older drivers who are not able to drive safely and are a possible threat to other drivers. Being alert and knowing what is going on around you when driving is a good way to avoid car accidents. A police expert reported to The Telegraph new company that older drivers fail to give way and stay in their lane.
There are arguments to support that many older people leave hospital less able to function or mobilise than when they were admitted (de Morton, Keating & Jeffs 2007). This is due to the occurrence of deconditioning, a risk for many elderly patients admitted to an acute hospital setting. Deconditioning refers to the significant decline in the functional ability of patients, and is generally associated with prolonged bed rest and immobility (Kortebein, 2008). The term is used to describe the physiological changes caused by inactivity, with virtually every body system affected (Eliopoulos, 2010), and it also incorporates functional losses in mental status, ability to accomplish activities of daily living (ADLs) and a decrease in muscle mass and strength (Gillis, MacDonald & MacIsaac 2008). Hospitalisation is often the cause of deconditioning, particularly due to the focus on bed rest in order to recover from illness, or the limited mobility resulting from surgery.
The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease may change as the disease progresses. Many symptoms include becoming confused, forgetful, withdrawn, loss if communication, behavioural problems such as mood swings, frustration, anger and sadness. They may begin to have difficulties performing every day tasks such as personal hygiene or eating and drinking. However every person is unique and no two people may have the same symptoms. There is currently no cure but medication can be taken to stabilise some symptoms for a certain period of time.
Depressions and dementia are rather frequent cases, and both of these influence the driver’s mentality and decision-making. And so in extreme situations they may fail take the correct decision. As you age, your joints may stiffen, and muscles weaken. Turning your head to look back or steering and braking the car may become hard to do. Movements are slower and may not be as accurate.
For example, a victim in an accident resulting in head injury may have difficulty remembering anything new. Concussions are a leading cause to anterograde amnesia. It is also a very common type amongst elderly people battling for of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s. In cases of anterograde amnesia, the damage resides in areas of the hippocampus,