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Primary Aging Of Older Adults

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Primary aging refers to the normal and intrinsic processes of biological aging (PSYC 401: Lisa Hollis-Sawyer, personal communication 10/11/11). Skin changes and hair changing to gray hair are examples of primary aging in older adults. In addition, in primary aging, the sensory senses begin to change in older adults.
The aging-related changes, in the integumentary system due to aging are graying of the hair wrinkling of skin, reduced skin, dry skin, thicker nails and age spots (PSY:403 Shannon Saszik, personal communication, Integumentary System). Gray and thinning of hair of older adult men and women is part of primary aging which may be heredity. Liver or age spots on the skin may appear and wrinkles may become more pronounced on all older adults. As much as individual try to change their outer appearance such as bleaching their hair; plastic surgery, etc. there is no way to stop aging.
As the aged population is starting to live longer, individuals sensory will begin to change such as taste, smell or touch (PSYC 401: Novak, 2009, Personal Health and Well-Being, p. 96). The four basic flavors of taste is salty, bitter, sweet and sour. As age begins to decline, smell decrease as well as taste to detect salt, sweet, bitter and sour foods. An individual saliva production begins to decreases in which this affects their taste.
Smell usually declines with ages especially the ability to detect odors. Smelling a gas leak or rotten food can put an individual at risk

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