New research indicates that there are some medications that are designed to treat chronic diseases that can make it difficult for elderly folks to regulate body temperature in a healthy manner.
The list of medications that were listed as impacting the body in this way include medications for Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, dementia, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. This is obviously a very wide range of diseases, which means that a large number of medications and types of medications have the ability to impact someone in this way.
These medications impact people by impacting the body’s ability to sweat. Blood flow to the skin and sweating are both reduced. When someone is hot, these are the body’s main natural methods of lowering the body temperature. If the body isn’t able to do this there are serious health consequences that can occur–including death. In the senior population, these health concerns can be exaggerated, making complications from body temperature dysregulation much more pronounced.
It is very important that any concerns or questions that you have about your medications or those of a loved one that you are caring for are discussed with a physician that is familiar with your medical history. Temperature dysregulation won’t impact a huge number of people, but it can impact some–especially during seasons or climates where extreme weather is experienced. A doctor has the training to make these kinds of decisions in a way that will not hurt you or a loved one even more than temperature dysregulation might.
This research comes out of the National University of Singapore. It sheds more light on how chronic disease can have a negative impact on the lives of senior citizens. Even medications that are supposed to help people live a higher quality of life can have an adverse effect. Unfortunately, this is a reality for many people. There’s a lot more research needed here to help this population see an improved outcome in this specific area of life. The team published their findings in the journal, Pharmacological Reviews.
Complications with what were once easily manageable chronic conditions can become more and more likely as we age. There are a number of reasons why this happens, but as a general rule, the older someone gets, the more time a chronic illness has been at work in their body and the harder the body’s immune system needs to work to regulate. Add onto this the complications that can come along with certain medications, other illnesses and comorbidities, and the general stress of aging, and you can see how seniors can easily struggle with issues that they dealt with easily earlier on in life.
The care that we provide here at Paradise In-Home Care isn’t meant to give medical attention, but rather to complement it. When the right care team is partnered with the right medical help, your entire family can thrive. That’s our hope and our goal for each family that we work with: to make life better.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you please do not hesitate to call.
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