It is never too late to prepare for old age as it is an investment of one’s younger days, a community medicine and public health expert, Prof Bayo Onajole, has said. According to him, man ages with time and he has to prepare for old age.
Onajole, who spoke to The Nation, said geriatrics is the science that deals with the ageing process. The process of ageing, he said, is multi disciplinary, stressing that a lot of care and attention should be devoted to old people.
He condemned the abandonment of the elderly, saying: “most time the old are left out forgetting they are humans and are left to take care of themselves.”.
The consultant in public health said: “Old people need specialists to address the problem of ageing. These specialists can make the whole ageing process pleasant and pleasurable.”
He added: “The specialists who handle the ageing process are known as Geriatricians”
He said as people grow older, the cells in their organs begin to reduce, which is why the aged need to check their organs.
“For instance old people may have problem with their sight and will need an ophthalmologist to aid their vision. When they have the problem with hearing an Ear Nose Throat doctor (ENT) is needed. They sometimes have blood pressure increases in their cardiovascular system. So, they need an endocrinologist to teach them to manage sugar to avoid diabetes,” he said.
He spoke about individuals of the same age growing differently. “One can age faster than the other because there is no specific age for ageing,” Onajole said.
Ageing, he said, is more of a mental characteristic than any other aspects because “the old tends to be very forgetful as forgetfulness is associated with aging and most cases a psychologist may be needed and sometimes a psychiatrist too”.
He continued: “Old people are often lonely and need company. They have much time on their hands. Most of them are retired from their places of work and they need people to talk and play with. In cases where a partner is dead, life becomes even more boring for them and as such makes them to pass through the aging process alone.”
He said a very successful way of creating interaction among old people is by organising a get together for them in a particular community. “By this, they will come together to interact, play games and socialise. It will make them explain their feelings and conditions to one another.
“The biggest problem is boredom for the old people, mental depression and poor eating pattern. Most of them do not have anyone to prepare meals for them and most times have to eat whatever they can find. Most of them are prone to hypertension, diabetes and cancer as they undergo the process of aging. Old people also have problems with their dentition, their teeth begins to fall off. In some cases, it is a failing heart. The heart is not able to pump blood around the body,” he said.
Onajole advised people to drink good portable water, adding that they should avoid air and water pollution. “But they must eat good food, improve environmental engineering and try to avoid stress,” Onajole said.
