Did you know that the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology has deemed the elderly the fastest growing segment of asthma sufferers? In fact, it is not unusual to have elderly asthma patients in Bergen County develop symptoms in their 70s or 80s.
Did you know that there is something called Late Onset Asthma? It’s when the patient is first diagnosed with asthma after the age of 65. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Aging has determined that over two million Americans over the age of 65 have asthma.
Late Onset Asthma
This late onset effects 10% of the elderly population and must be carefully monitored. These cases are more serious than those who have had childhood asthma which has persisted into their older years. Alarmingly, asthma in the elderly can be even more fatal than in the young.
Asthma has can have a big impact on the quality of life. Asthmatics frequently report that they cannot perform the activities of daily living (ADL). Furthermore, they were twice as likely to exhibit depression. Both the ability to carry out our ADLs and bouts of depression become more and more or a concern as we age.
Unfortunately, about 50% of cases of asthma in older adults are so often undiagnosed. Patients themselves are often the source of this. The elderly and their families often mistake the symptoms of asthma as just part of the aging process. Shortness of breath and a wet productive cough can easily be mistaken for other conditions such as congestive heart failure, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema. As such, it has become a challenge for doctors to identify and treat their elderly asthmatic patients.
Treating Elderly Asthma
Treating elderly asthma patients can be tricky since they are more likely to experience side effects and drug interactions with medications they are already taking. For example, inhaled steroid therapy does not appear to have side effects in this group. However, systemic corticosteroids are another story. These have been found to aggravate common elderly diseases like diabetes, cataracts, hypertension, and osteoporosis.
Sometimes non-adherence to medication is unintentional. Sometimes it is due to something physical in terms of a disability or impaired cognitive function. The key to successful outcomes for the elderly asthma patient is a clearly written action plan. These plans have been instrumental in protecting patients from the worst outcomes.
Here is a handy checklist from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America to make your home asthma friendly.
David York Agency Understands Elderly Asthma Patients in Bergen County
If the above information about asthma in the elderly has been useful, check out David York Agency’s blog for more articles about senior care in Bergen County.
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