CHARACTERISTICS OF DISEASES IN THE ELDERLY. THE GERIATRIC SYMDROMS

A geriatric syndrome is a illness situation expressed by a multiple symptoms caused by a variety of disease.

GERIATRIC SYNDROMES are common clinical conditions that don't fit into specific disease categories but have substantial implications for functionality and life satisfaction in older adults. Besides leading to increased mortality and disability, decreased financial and personal resources, and longer hospitalizations, these conditions can substantially diminish quality of life.1

It’s necessary to value the meaning of these symptomps and where they are coming.

The Geriatric Symdroms are:

1. Inmovility
2. Falls
3. Incontinence
4. Intellectual Impairment
5. Infections
6. Inanition
7. Impairement of vision and hearing
8. Irritable colon
9. Isolation
10. Iatrogenesis
11. Inmune deficiency
12. Impotence

There are a serie of elements that are important to consider when you have to work with elderly:

The heterogeneity of the older population because there are differents characteristics between all of them.

Also, the disease presentations are atypical, it has differents symptoms comparing with adult population.

They are fragile people and all the risk factors are increased.

More over, elderly have a lot of diseases at the same time and takes a lot of medications which produces secondary effects and affect  a lot of organ functions.

Their diseases have tendence to chronicity and are related to discapacity.

Nurses must recognize geriatric syndromes and apply best practices to the care of older adults to achieve the best outcomes possible