Common knowledge about geriatric disease prevention and health care

The core essence of prevention of geriatric diseases has never been achieved by relying on the "cool tips" spread online such as taking expensive health products and regular infusions to clear blood vessels. Instead, it needs to be combined with one's own basic health conditions and make adaptive daily adjustments in four aspects: diet, exercise, chronic disease management, and emotional regulation. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for everyone, and the most effective one is what suits you.

I have been doing elderly health services in the community for almost 5 years, and I have come across countless health-care pitfalls. The one that impressed me the most was last spring, when three aunts came together for a physical examination. They just received a "blood vessel opening needle" at the clinic for a week. They said that two injections every spring and autumn can prevent cerebral infarction.

The controversy over regular infusions to prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases has actually lasted for almost ten years. The mainstream view of Western medicine is very clear: for healthy elderly people who do not have atherosclerotic plaques, dizziness, numbness in limbs and other ischemic symptoms, regular infusions of drugs that activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis are not only useless, but may increase the risk of endothelial damage, allergies, and infusion reactions, causing more harm than good.； Traditional Chinese medicine does not recommend this kind of "strong medicine to flush blood vessels". It is also recommended that people with high blood lipids and mild hardening of blood vessels should use a small amount of Panax notoginseng flowers and Salvia miltiorrhiza slices boiled in water instead of tea to gently improve circulation, which is much more reliable than sudden infusions.

Speaking of this, I remembered the Uncle Li I met before. The pitfalls he had stepped into before were even more outrageous than regular infusions. Most of my retirement salary was spent on imported health products. I bought a lot of deep-sea fish oil, grape seeds, and aminoglycosides. I stewed ribs and boiled chicken soup every day to replenish my body. They said that supplements are necessary when you get older. As a result, last year’s physical examination revealed high blood lipids, moderate fatty liver, and high transaminases. Later, under the guidance of his family doctor, he made adjustments for 3 months, but he was not allowed to go completely vegetarian. He mixed white rice with one-third of cereals such as oats and millet, ate a pound of green leafy vegetables every day, and only chose lean pork, fish and shrimp for meat. He also ate deep-sea fish twice a week. In the health supplements, he only kept the vitamin D recommended by the doctor, and stopped all the rest. I checked again last month, and the indicators were all normal.

In fact, there is really no need to pursue "big supplements" in the diet of the elderly. Many people do the opposite. Among the 90-year-old longevity people I have met, many have some "little hobbies." There is a 92-year-old grandma who eats a small piece of cream cake every day, and an 88-year-old grandpa who drinks two taels of white wine with every meal. But they all have one thing in common: they don't eat too much of anything, they don't restrict food, and they still maintain the habit of exercising every day. Think about it, as long as your metabolism is fine, you can occasionally eat something sweet or something you like, and you will be in a good mood, which is better than anything else. There is really no need to force yourself to eat boiled vegetables every day for the so-called "healthy diet". On the contrary, it will make you depressed and the gain is not worth the loss.

Oh, by the way, when it comes to sports, more people fall into the trap. There was a 68-year-old aunt who heard from her elder sisters that walking 20,000 steps a day can lower blood sugar, so she walked for two hours a day. After half a month of walking, her knees hurt and she couldn't go downstairs. She went to check for meniscus wear and underwent a minor surgery. Regarding what kind of exercise is suitable for the elderly, doctors from different departments do have different opinions: Orthopedic surgeons generally do not recommend that the elderly walk for a long time, climb mountains, or climb stairs. Such exercises put too much pressure on the knee joints. They also recommend low-weight-bearing exercises such as swimming, baduanjin, and slow walking. ； However, there are also appropriate squatting and tiptoeing movements in the Daoyin technique of traditional Chinese medicine. As long as the intensity is controlled well, for example, squatting 10 times each time and doing 2 sets a day, it can exercise the strength of the lower limbs and prevent falls. The core is not to compare the amount of exercise with others. If you are tired after walking 500 steps, then walk 500 steps. There is no need to compete with your old friends to see who is ranked first in the number of steps.

What many people most tend to overlook are the details of chronic disease management. The year before last, I met a 70-year-old man who had high blood pressure for three years and never took medicine. He said, "antihypertensive medicines are dependent, and you can't stop taking them." As a result, he suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage in winter. By the time he was sent to the doctor, it was already too late, and he became paralyzed. There has always been controversy about the "dependence" of antihypertensive drugs, and there is now a consensus in the academic community: If you are an elderly person with mild hypertension (systolic blood pressure between 140-159) and no other underlying diseases, you can stabilize your blood pressure below 130/80 through 3 months of diet and exercise adjustments, and you do not need to take medicine. ； But if you have moderate to severe high blood pressure, or if you already have underlying diseases such as coronary heart disease or diabetes, you must take medicine on time as directed by your doctor. The so-called "dependence" actually means that your body needs medicine to control blood pressure, not that the medicine itself is addictive. You must understand this clearly and don't gamble with your life.

Oh, and there’s another question that people ask a lot: Do I need to have a full set of cancer screenings every year? This actually depends on the situation. If the elderly over 75 years old have no family history of cancer and no high-risk factors such as polyps and nodules, they do not need to undergo too frequent invasive screenings, such as colonoscopy and gastroscopy. Instead, they will suffer. This is also the consensus of many geriatric departments in tertiary hospitals. ； But if you have high-risk factors, you still need to follow your doctor’s advice for regular check-ups. Don’t be too troublesome.

Finally, to be honest, after working with the elderly for so many years, I found that all the elderly in good health have one thing in common: they don’t worry blindly. I once had an aunt who was usually in good health, but after her son got married, she worried about her grandson's studies and the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law every day, and was angry at home every day. Last year, she was diagnosed with thyroid nodule 4a, and her blood pressure was also high. Later, she sang with the community choir, played with her old friends every day, and stopped meddling in the younger generation's business. Half a year later, the nodules were reduced to Category 2, and her blood pressure stabilized. The old saying that "all diseases arise from Qi" is true. Many studies have now confirmed that elderly people who are chronically anxious and stressed have a 30% higher incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases than those who are in a calm mood.

In fact, there are really not so many flashy tricks to prevent geriatric diseases. You don’t need to buy tens of thousands of physiotherapy devices, and you don’t need to take all kinds of supplements of unknown origin every day. Pay more attention to how your body feels, and go to community hospitals regularly to measure blood pressure and blood sugar. Don’t force yourself when you feel uncomfortable, and don’t frighten yourself by searching Baidu. Follow the doctor’s advice, eat well, sleep well, and be in a good mood. This is better than anything else. If you really don’t know what health care plan is suitable for you, go to a community hospital near your home and ask a family doctor. It’s free and much more reliable than those messy health care posts on the Internet.