The ever changing health care needs of seniors
It's been a long established fact that our society is living longer and seniors' needs are paramount and unique . It has long been acknowledged that people are living longer and staying active far beyond generations prior.The number of Americans age 65 or older increased tenfold in the last century and the elderly are living longer, in more comfort and in better health than ever before, researchers report. But up to one in four elderly Americans, by some measures, is not sharing equally in this better life, according to a report being released today that summarizes data from nine federal agencies. “People are living longer and living more of their life in better health than before,” said Richard Suzman, an expert at the National Institute on Aging, the lead agency in assembling the report. The challenge, he said, is to keep up that trend of improvement and to spread the benefits more equally among all races and ethnic groups. Suzman said the report will help policy-makers brace for the old-age arrival of the baby boomers, a population wave that will create “an enormous stretch” of society’s health and elder care services. Not only has this trend been stretching the resources of our country regarding health care services. But the success story of longer lives is a worthless prize if the quality of those lives is compromised because of poor health and a loss of autonomy. To ensure that people of all ages, but particularly older people, can do what they value, national health care systems must be able to respond to those with age-related chronic conditions such as type II diabetes to ensure timely access to education, screening, and appropriate treatment it has raised concern over our medicare insurance reserves. Aside from the political issues which the trend awakens, another concern is how to actually treat some of the more prevalent health issues of this growing population. As a practitioner in the field of holistics a plan concerning the treatment of all persons needs to be formed in conjunction with the person's medical doctor.
According to the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, the most common chronic diseases afflicting the elderly are:Adult onset diabetes.Arthritis.Kidney and bladder problems.Dementia.Parkinson's disease.Glaucoma.Lung disease.Cataracts.
When it comes to treating the aforementioned diseases, as with all diseases, medical doctors are fairly set in their ways. Let's face it, we've all had our experience dealing with that fickle combination of our doctors, hospitals, and our limited and sometimes stubborn insurance plans. Granted, there are times when our organs fail us due to age degeneration, e.g., our hearts, eyes, and joints, etc. Granted, under these circumstances progress in medical research has been beyond reproach.Advancements in surgical procedures can sometimes make it hard to fathom the successes of technology. Then, there are those of us, through experience of our own, friends, or family cause us to question our doctor's eagerness to jump into surgery.They rationalize medication wouldn't help at this stage. . Why, then, are they so reluctant to look into the ancient, but proven science of holistic medicine which aims to treat a person as a whole entity. This method of holistic health claims that an individual should be seen as a balance of natural energies is what keeps a person in a homeostatic balance and that disease is only a temporary imbalance of this homeostasis. Ergo, a person can restore his own balance through natural remedies, such as meditation or even strength of his own will, exercise, diet, nutrition and even his faith. The nature of holistics also implies that human beings are similar to the universe in which we live inasmuch as we consist of the same elements as are abundant in the world. When we hear of needing elements like iron and zinc these are all contained within us similarly to how they're in proportionate amounts in our universe. Since during the creation of the earth we were created and are like miniature universes. Thus, when doctors prescribe medications-often short fixes for our ailments, albeit with certain side affects, many times these medications can be replaced with natural supplements which our aging body just stops producing enough which may simply need to be added to our system to keep our optimal health