The Aging Process

Because of “the baby boomer generation” is reaching 65 years old, the elderly population has increased since 2010; consequently, it is said that the older population will continue to grow until 2030 (Mauk, 2014, p. 30). Understanding what are normal or abnormal in aging as well as people’s view toward aging are extremely important for us, as health professionals, since the majority of people who need medical assistance would be those elderly. The movie “Cocoon” is describing several gerontological perspectives and issues, which are useful to learn the necessary points for developing nursing care plans of older adults.

As a person ages, the constant need to accommodate when looking at nearby objects such as in reading or doing close-up work becomes more difficult (Goldstein, 2014). The main reason a person may experience the need for a brighter light when they get older is a result of a condition called presbyopia, also referred to as "old eye" (Goldstein, 2014). Old eye describes when the distance of the near point increases as a person ages. According to Goldstein (2014), "The near point for most 20-year-olds is at about 10 cm, but it increases to 14 cm by age 30, 22 cm at 40, and 100 cm at 60" (p. 25). Generally, this change occurs because the lens hardens with age and the ciliary muscles in the eye become weaker, causing great difficulty in vision when looking at objects in close range (Goldstein, 2014).

With an older adult it can be a difficult time of their life as they are going through the aging process. They physical appearance include hair turning grey, bones becoming fragile, skin wrinkles, sight and hearing deteriorates and sense of taste and smell is reduced. Their intellectual development has declined as they find it difficult to remember, they are too confused to manage affairs but

Aging is a universal phenomenon and humans are no exception. Gerontology deals with the psychological, social and biological aspects of aging process. A recent study shows that people aged 85 years and older are expected to augment from 5.3 million people to 21 million as the world reach 2050. In today’s world Gerontology has an enormous role to play so that the senior citizens could be analyzed and their needs may be addressed with compassion and empathy.

These issues happen gradually, and, to most seniors, the progression is just a normal part of getting older. It does not seem strange that the television is much louder than it used to be or that they have to ask for clarification several times during a conversation. Since they don't know they have a problem, they do not seek help for their ailment.

Reminiscing to 2010, when I was faced with my grandmother 's illness during the adolescent years in my life I knew that I had a passion to care for the elderly (aging) population. From this passion, it ignited a fire so strong that I pursue my certified nursing assistant certification to gain a better understanding of working with the elderly population. By doing so, it has been a great benefit to my life; aging is an inevitable experience that we all will go through during our life. It is important to ensure that our elderly individuals are still able to enjoy the best quality of life after retirement. However, as we age, there will be a lifestyle change that the aging population must encounter.

After spending an afternoon interviewing my elderly father-in-law, I gained insight into how he perceives the aging process and the impact on the quality of his life. First, and foremost he viewed aging in a very positive and healthy manner. He believes that a positive attitude assists in accepting physical and psychosocial changes and enjoyed the fact that he and his wife are both physically fit and cognitively alert. He felt confident that advances made in health care and the quality of their lives would continue to be empowering. He enjoys the benefits of being a senior citizen including discounted travel, free education, and other incentives marketed towards seniors. He expressed a sense of well-being with respect to the numerous

After someone gets to a point in life they can’t do everything they could before. Such as going on trips. They probably couldn’t climb well or ride roller coasters like younger people could. When someone can’t move real well around on there own then they more than likely couldn’t take care of themselves. If they couldn’t take care of themselves then they probably couldn’t drive themselves. Older people are also more predisposed to lose their eyesight. They would need help doing everyday

With the population of adults 65 and over steadily climbing, medical professionals and the healthcare system are struggling to keep up. One major issue concerning the healthcare system is that it is not set up properly provide care for these older adults. The physicians today, who regularly see patients, focus mainly has been; diagnose—usually in a 15-20 minute office visit, treat, and cure. Many of these senior citizens have multiple chronic illnesses or diseases, which require time to manage and treat. The problem is that they may not be able to explain what the real problem to a doctor in that time.

According to our lecture, vision is restricted in old age. This is due to that fact that the lens becomes dull and thickens. The pupil becomes less reactive. Other medical issues can include cataracts and glaucoma. Cataracts is a medical condition in which the eye becomes progressively opaque, resulting in blurred vision. Glaucoma is an increase of pressure on the eyeball, causing gradual loss of sight. As for hearing, it can be damaged due to the small hairs within the cochlea. The elasticity of the tympanic membrane can also damage hearing. As for the sensory system, elderly often experience substantial decline in their ability to detect and discriminate touch stimuli. The age–related changed in prehension patterns (grip and pinch strength) and hand dexterity in the elderly population is most common. Deterioration in hand function is, to a large degree, secondary to degenerative changes in the musculoskeletal, vascular, and nervous systems. Deterioration of hand function is a combination of local structural changes (joint, muscle, tendon, bone, nerve receptors, blood supply, and skin) and more distant changes in neural

Older adults are thus slower in receiving information through sensory receptors, slower in transmitting, processing, and interpreting information, and are slower in acting upon it” (Shulman, Silverman, & Golden).

As an older individual there are many physical changes that occurs during this stage of life. Older individuals live independently and maintain close relationships with family and friends. Most individual’s personalities remain relatively stable throughout their lives. Depression is less prevalent than depression in younger adults. Becoming older can cause hearing impairment. 37 percent of women and 48 percent of men over the age of 75 have impaired hearing. Also there is a decline in vision. It will start to become difficult to read small print, seeing in sim light, or even finding objects. Some aging adults may even need

Aging! We all do it every day, but have you ever thought how it is going to affect the rest of your life or more importantly your career? Aging isn’t something that we get to choose if we participate in, however working is, and aging may affect that choice. Right now, I want you to think about the age of sixty-five. What words pop into your head when you think of someone sixty-five? I’d imagine some of the words you thought of were retired, old, fragile, slow, as well as many others. Those words right there all help to explain the many concerns that one’s employer may have when hiring someone that is of the older population. When we think of the older population in the work force we don’t necessarily think of positive things, instead we think of things. When we think of this population in the workforce we generally think of lower production rates and higher costs. These can create issues among the older population, as employers must consider all the possibilities when hiring someone. We know that more people in the older population are continuing to try to continue their careers, but why? How hard is it for them to continue? What changes have made it easier? How are the younger and middle aged populations perceiving them in the work place? This are only some of the many question surrounding the increase of aged workers.

As people age they develop many special needs related to the later period of life. Many elderly people have specific physical needs where adaptations to their home are necessary or where they need specific equipment for self care. Old age also brings new emotional challenges for the elderly person when the family can be useful in helping to meet the persons mental health needs. Senior citizens experience needs in their social life; they also experience the need for activities with other seniors. Health needs also negatively affect the elderly and cause multiple physical problems. Every elderly person experiences needs that are related to each of these areas.

Advancing age is a common hindrance to the proper functioning of the body senses. The eyes will have difficulty focusing on near and distant objects. Adapting to different levels of light is the other common problem. Cataracts, also called clouding of vision is another common condition that results from changes in eye’s lens. Hearing abilities also diminish. With this, you will have difficulties following a conversation or hearing high frequencies.