That's Old Age

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Development through the life stages – It’s old age – part 2. P5 – Explain the physical and 5 of the psychological changes that may be associated with ageing. During old age individual’s experience a variety of physical and psychological changes, these changes may vary depending on the individual lifestyle as different life style factors can influence how an individual develops. However I’m going to cover all the common physical and psychological changes which can occur during old age. Physical changes: A physical change which occurs only in women as they reach old age is menopause, however in some circumstances this can occur in younger women. As NHS, (2012) tells us, ‘menopause is also known as the ‘change of life’ and is the end of menstruation.’ This then means that a woman will stop producing an egg every 4 weeks, as a result of this she will no longer have a period or be able to have children. During menopause the first sign for women will be a change in the pattern of her monthly period. Women will experience physical changes such as hot flushes and night sweats, headaches, loss of libido, palpitations, vaginal dryness and itching or discomfort during sexual intercourse and also urinary tract infections. Women may also experience psychological changes such as mood changes which could include depression, anxiety or tiredness and also insomnia. Hormones are also another physical aspect which changes as we get older. Hormones which usually change by decreasing as we get older are: ‘Aldosterone, calcitonin, growth hormone and renin. In women, estrogen and prolactin levels usually decrease significantly.’ These then cause older individual’s to experience changes such as additional hair growth on specific areas of their body. (David, C. 2013.) Cardiovascular changes can also occur during old age, this is when the heart may have to work harder to ensure

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