Understanding What They're Facing
Reviewed by a board-certified gastroenterology and geriatric care specialist Constipation in aging parents is painful, common, and deeply undertreated because nobody wants to talk about it. Medications, dehydration, reduced mobility, and diet changes all contribute, and the problem goes well beyond discomfort into mood, appetite, and willingness to leave the
Understanding What They're Facing
Reviewed by the How To Help Your Elders Medical Advisory Process Incontinence affects millions of older adults and is one of the most undertreated conditions in aging because shame prevents people from seeking help. It is not an inevitable part of getting old. Many types can be improved, managed, or
Understanding What They're Facing
Reviewed by Dr. Marcus Webb, M.D. According to the CDC, roughly 68 percent of adults over 65 have gum disease, and poor oral health is linked to heart disease, pneumonia, and malnutrition. Dental problems in older adults are not cosmetic issues. They are medical problems that affect nutrition, infection
Understanding What They're Facing
Reviewed by the How To Help Your Elders Medical Advisory Process Aging skin is thinner, tears more easily, bruises from minor contact, and heals with agonizing slowness. Small wounds that would be insignificant in a younger person can become infected and life-threatening in an older adult. Prevention through moisturizing, pressure
Understanding What They're Facing
Reviewed by the How To Help Your Elders Medical Advisory Process Hospitals save lives, but they also create new problems for older patients. Delirium, falls, infections, muscle loss, and medication errors are common during hospitalization of adults over 65. Your presence, your advocacy, and your preparation for discharge can meaningfully
Understanding What They're Facing
Reviewed by a board-certified geriatric care specialist Your parent's thyroid is a small gland at the base of the neck, and when it stops working right, everything else looks like the culprit. Depression, dementia, heart trouble, weight changes. A simple blood test can catch it, and treatment often
Understanding What They're Facing
Reviewed by a board-certified pain management and geriatric care specialist Chronic pain in an aging parent does more than hurt. It changes personality, fractures sleep, shrinks their world, and feeds isolation and depression in a cycle that compounds on itself. The goal isn't to cure the pain but
Understanding What They're Facing
Reviewed by Dr. Marcus Webb, M.D. More than half of adults over 65 report some form of sleep difficulty, according to the NIH. Poor sleep in older adults is not an inevitable part of aging. It is often caused by treatable conditions including pain, medication side effects, sleep apnea,
Understanding What They're Facing
Reviewed by Dr. Marcus Webb, M.D. Swallowing difficulties, called dysphagia, affect roughly 15 percent of older adults and up to 68 percent of nursing home residents, according to the NIH. Untreated swallowing problems are a leading cause of aspiration pneumonia, which is one of the top killers of older
Understanding What They're Facing
Reviewed by the How To Help Your Elders Medical Advisory Process Anemia is one of the most common and most overlooked conditions in aging parents. The fatigue it causes gets blamed on aging itself, but anemia is a diagnosable, treatable blood condition. A simple blood test can identify it, and
Understanding What They're Facing
Reviewed by a board-certified oncology and geriatric care specialist Cancer in an aging parent forces a question most families aren't ready for: is aggressive treatment the right call when the body is more fragile and the side effects could steal what time remains? The answer depends on your
Understanding What They're Facing
Reviewed by the How To Help Your Elders Medical Advisory Process Hearing loss in aging parents is not a minor inconvenience. It is a treatable health condition that accelerates cognitive decline, increases fall risk, and drives social isolation. Understanding what is happening, why your parent resists help, and what solutions