Geriatric disease prevention and precautions include

Carry out targeted early screening before symptoms appear, control the fluctuations of basic chronic diseases within safe thresholds, do not forcefully "healthy" your living habits but adapt to your own status, and do not regard psychological and emotional problems as "normal for old age."

Believe it or not, at least 60% of the elderly’s annual routine physical examinations actually miss the most important items. There are actually two completely different views on early screening for the elderly: one group believes that free routine physical examinations issued by work units or communities every year are enough, and adding random items will cost more and may lead to the risk of over-examination. The other group believes that "screening should follow the past medical history and family history", which is generally recognized by clinical geriatrics. There is no need to pursue expensive items, but accuracy. I met 68-year-old Aunt Zhang at a community free clinic before. All the indicators of routine physical examinations for three consecutive years were green. Because her brother was diagnosed with bowel cancer the year before last, I casually mentioned that she should add a 10 yuan fecal occult blood screening. The result was positive. She further underwent a colonoscopy and found early cancer polyps. After the removal, she did not even need to undergo chemotherapy. She is now fine. Of course, there is no need to blindly perform screenings. For example, the elderly who do not have high-risk factors for lung cancer such as long-term smoking and occupational dust exposure may suffer from radiation exposure after having low-dose CT every year. The gain outweighs the gain. It is really uncertain to ask a family doctor in the community, which is much more reliable than blindly buying a physical examination package by watching health videos.

When it comes to controlling chronic diseases, many elderly people tend to go to two extremes. They either secretly stop antihypertensive and antihyperglycemic drugs because they think "the medicine is three-thirds poisonous", or they are so obsessed with the standard value that their blood pressure is 1mmHg higher than the normal value and they are so nervous that they can't sleep for half the night. There are also differences in the recommendations of different disciplines: Western medicine generally requires patients with chronic diseases to take medicine regularly for a long time and control the indicators within the standard range to reduce the risk of complications. ； Formal Chinese medicine conditioning is to improve the physical condition through moxibustion and medicinal diet on the premise that the indicators are stable, but it is absolutely not supported to stop taking western medicine at will. The 72-year-old Uncle Li downstairs is a negative example. His high blood pressure has been well controlled after taking medicine for five or six years. After hearing from an old man in the community that antihypertensive medicine hurt his kidneys, he secretly stopped taking it for half a month. He suffered a cerebral infarction and was sent to the emergency room. Now he still has to use crutches to walk. In fact, there is no need to be so nervous. Just keep a small notebook at home and measure blood pressure and blood sugar at fixed times two or three times a week. There is no need to measure eight times a day to make yourself anxious. It is normal for the value to fluctuate within 5%. If something is not right, go to the doctor to adjust the medicine. It is like lubricating old parts. There is no need to insist that they are as new as they can run smoothly.

Many children focus on the elderly's living habits as soon as they return home. They are not allowed to eat pickles or smoke, and they must walk 10,000 steps a day. This makes the whole family unhappy and the effect is not good. The geriatric medicine circle is actually arguing about this issue now: experts in the public health field believe that diet and exercise must be adjusted strictly in accordance with health standards in order to reduce the risk of disease. ； Most of the front-line clinical geriatricians support "fitting first" and there is no need to forcibly overthrow the old people's lifelong habits. For example, if an old man has been eating pickles for decades, he cannot eat them every now and then. However, if you ask him not to touch a bite, he will become greedy. Take two less bites at a time, add 1g less salt when cooking, and use spices such as vinegar and Sichuan peppercorns to enhance the flavor. It is much more practical than completely banning it. There is also exercise. I met an uncle Wang before. In order to get the 10,000 steps on his mobile phone, he walked hard for two hours a day. The fluid accumulated in his knees caused pain for half a month. Later, he changed to walking slowly downstairs for 20 minutes every day. In the morning, he played Baduanjin for 10 minutes at home. I sat on the sofa and lifted two mineral water bottles filled with water to practice arm strength. My weight stabilized and my knees no longer hurt. On the contrary, I was in better condition than before. Others say that you should eat more whole grains. If the elderly have a weak stomach and suffer acid reflux if they eat too much corn or millet, then it is okay to mix in some refined grains. There is no need to pursue "absolute health". Eating comfortably and sleeping soundly are the first priority.

One thing that many people tend to miss is that emotions have a greater impact on geriatric diseases, sometimes even more than diet and exercise. Nowadays, many elderly people always complain about headaches, insomnia, and chest tightness. They have gone to the hospital for a round of examinations and found no organic problems. In fact, they are mostly caused by emotions. Different departments have different approaches to handling this problem: neurology departments will generally check for vascular disease and nerve damage first, while most doctors in the geriatric psychology department will recommend emotional counseling first, rather than prescribing painkillers and sleeping pills right away. I met 70-year-old Aunt Liu in the clinic before. She complained of migraines for three months in a row. CT and MRI were done without any problems. After chatting for a long time, she found out that her grandson went to college away from home. Her husband went out to play chess every day, and she was left alone at home with no one to talk to. The more she stayed, the more bored she became, and her head hurt more and more. Later, I recommended her to a hand-knitting class in the community. She went there twice a week to chat with other old ladies and do handicrafts. Within a month, her headache was gone. So, don’t always think that the elderly are “pretentious because of their age”. Sometimes, making two more phone calls and chatting with the elderly for half an hour about household matters is more effective than buying many nutritional supplements.

In fact, there is no standard answer for the prevention of geriatric diseases. You have to rely on your own body. No matter how good other people's experience is, it is not as important as your own comfort. When you are really unsure, talk to a doctor, which is much more reliable than blindly following those health rumors that "eating this can cure all diseases".