Summary of Lectures on Prevention and Treatment of Geriatric Diseases

There is no "universal disease prevention list" suitable for all elderly people. A personalized layered intervention plan based on their own basic conditions and tolerance is the most effective way to prevent and control geriatric diseases.

To be honest, I used to think that the prevention and control of geriatric diseases was nothing more than eating less oil and salt and walking more. After listening to the first lecture, I realized that many people had fallen into the same trap. Just 10 minutes into the lecture, Aunt Zhang, who was sitting in the front row, squeezed to the podium with a soft-cover book filled with words. The notes were densely packed with "health tips" she had learned from short videos: 3 grams of panax notoginseng powder a day to open blood vessels, a cup of wolfberry water in the morning and evening to replenish qi and blood, and walking thousands of steps a day to do cardio-pulmonary exercises. However, she persisted with this method for almost a year, and her blood pressure still soared to 160/95 during the last physical examination, and her knees still hurt so much that she couldn't walk downstairs.

The two doctors gave two completely different opinions on her physical examination report, but both of them got to the root of the problem: Dr. Wang from the Geriatrics Department of Western Medicine saw at a glance that the homocysteine ​​value in her blood test sheet exceeded the standard, and she was diagnosed with H-type hypertension. Panax notoginseng powder alone could not treat the symptoms at all, and she had to supplement folic acid to stabilize her blood pressure. Looking at the X-ray of her knees, she already had moderate degenerative lesions. Taking 10,000 steps a day is equivalent to carrying dozens of kilograms more weight on her knees with each step. It is strange that she does not feel pain.； Dr. Li, a Chinese medicine practitioner sitting next to her, felt her pulse and said that she had a yang deficiency constitution. Drinking cold wolfberry water for a long time would hurt her spleen and stomach, and even reduce the absorption of the antihypertensive drugs she took. You see, for the same problem, the solutions given by two doctors from different directions are different, but the core is based on her personal situation and is not a general template on the Internet at all.

Speaking of this, I have to mention one of the most heated misunderstandings on the scene: many elderly people follow the trend of "cutting out sugar" and "cutting out staple foods", claiming that it can prevent diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Dr. Liu from the nutrition department gave an example of what he saw last month. 72-year-old Uncle Li listened to an online "health class" and didn't eat a bite of rice or fruit for two months. As a result, he suddenly fainted due to hypoglycemia while taking care of his grandson at home. He hit his head and was hospitalized for a week. It also induced transient cerebral ischemia. Dr. Liu said that as long as you are not a diagnosed diabetic patient, it is perfectly fine to eat cereals and seasonal fruits normally. What you need to avoid are milk tea, cakes, and snacks made with refined sugar. This does not mean that you should not even eat. If you fall due to low blood sugar, the consequences will be much more serious than if your blood sugar is higher.

The controversy about treatment is also quite interesting. At that time, someone asked "Should antihypertensive drugs be taken for a lifetime?" The two doctors had different opinions: Dr. Wang said that if you have newly diagnosed grade 1 hypertension and do not have underlying diseases such as coronary heart disease and diabetes, you can make 3 months of lifestyle adjustments first, control salt within 5 grams a day, have a regular schedule, and monitor your blood pressure every week. If it can drop below 140/90, you don't need to take medicine at all.； But Dr. Li also added that if you are prone to dizziness and have trouble sleeping, you can also use traditional Chinese medicine intervention such as auricular pressure beans and chrysanthemum and cassia tea to stabilize your blood pressure faster. But the core premise is not to force yourself. If your blood pressure cannot be lowered for half a month, you must take medicine when you need it. Don't believe the rumors that "antihypertensive drugs are dependent".

There was a particularly practical detail at the end of the lecture. The doctor gave everyone an information card about the size of a business card, asking everyone to write down their underlying diseases, allergy medicines, commonly taken medicines, and family contact numbers on it, and keep it in their pockets when they go out.

At the end of the show, there were many old people surrounding the doctor asking questions. I heard Dr. Wang saying to an old man who asked how to "cure" high blood pressure: "At our age, don't always think about fighting the disease. If you control your blood pressure and blood sugar within the normal range, you can go to the park and pick up your grandson, what's the difference between you and not having the disease?" ”I was very touched after listening to it. Many elderly people are always afraid of getting sick. As soon as they find out some problems, they take medicines and look for folk remedies randomly. Instead, they turn small problems into big problems. In fact, the prevention and control of geriatric diseases is not that complicated. Don’t follow the trend. What suits you is the best.