Elizabeth C.

Bernardino
BSN 3-5
1. Fill up the table by listing the normal physiologic signs of aging

Body Organs/system Physiologic change

Your fatty tissue beneath the skin thins, gets less elastic, and
becomes more brittle as you age. Your tendency to bruise more
Skin readily may come to light. Your skin could get drier if natural oil
production is reduced. More people experience wrinkles, age
spots, and tiny growths known as skin tags.
Hair loses density, and the scalp could be seen. Dark hair. One of
the normal of aging hair is graying, which is brought on by the
Hair hair follicles' diminished ability to create pigment.
Dry hair, thinning hair, brittle hair, volume loss, dull hair, fading
hair color, and changes in the texture of the hair.
decrease in visual acuity, loss of visual field sensitivity, loss of
contrast sensitivity, and a rise in the threshold for dark adaption.
Vision
Losing the capacity for near vision having problems recognizing
black from blue,
Other people's speech comes off as mumbled or slurred, high-
pitched sounds like "s" or "th" are difficult to detect, and
Hearing
conversations are challenging to follow, especially when there is
background noise.
As you become older, your brain experiences changes that might
have a little negative impact on your memory or cognitive
abilities. Healthy older persons may, for instance, forget familiar
Memory names or words or have more trouble multitasking. Repeating
questioning, being unable to retrace steps, having difficulty
naming objects or people of one's immediate family, and
becoming lost.
The bladder gets less flexible and the elastic tissue grows stiffer.
The bladder's capacity to store urine has decreased. Lessening of
Voiding
the bladder muscles One or both sides of the urethra might
become obstructed.
Bladder capacity declines, leading to additional toilet visits and,
Elimination frequently, disturbed sleep habits. Slower metabolism might
cause constipation to become a condition.
Low levels of physical exercise, obesity, compromised strength
and balance, age, which can result in alterations to posture and
Mobility gait, as well as overall weakness and weariness when doing daily
chores When participating in activities like walking, people
could feel a difference in their mobility.
 Nails The nails alter as we age, slowing down in growth and become brittle
and dull. The hue can shift from transparent to opaque and yellowed.
Ingrown toenails may become more often when nails, particularly
toenails, may become thick and hard. It's possible for fingernail tips to
break off.

Taste As you become older, fewer taste buds are there. The last taste bud
likewise starts to go away. After the age of 60, the five tastes are
frequently less sensitive. Additionally, as you become older, your
mouth produces less saliva.

2. Using a similar table, cite examples of pathologic processes that can be mistaken for
normal aging process
Body Organs/ Physiologic Change
Systems
Skin unwanted skin changes, such. As we become older, skin conditions
such seborrheic keratosis, solar keratoses, bowen's disease, and skin
cancer become more frequent and are often made worse by exposure to
the sun.
Hair A receding hairline is a hair loss condition that elderly women are
experiencing more frequently (frontal fibrosing alopecia). patches or
circles of baldness. On the scalp, beard, or eyebrows, some persons
have bald patches that are round or spotty.
Vision The formation of cataracts is one of the most common sight-related
problems in the elderly, while glaucoma is an abnormal rise in the
eyeball's internal fluid pressure. Macular degeneration is another major
factor in age-related blindness.
Hearing As a person ages, presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss,
progressively develops. It appears to run in families and might be
brought on by alterations to the auditory nerve and inner ear. A person
with presbycusis could find it difficult to endure loud noises or to hear
what others are saying.
Memory Severe memory loss is the traditional indicator of Alzheimer's disease
or dementia diseases in general.
Voiding Kidney and bladder disorders, such as leakage, urinary incontinence
(inability to contain urine), or urinary retention (inability to completely
empty your bladder), are more common as people age. Bladder and
other urinary tract infections are also more common as people age
(UTIs)
Elimination Consistency, chronic or severe stomach pain, prolonged straining with
incomplete evacuation, and blood in the stool are common symptoms
among older persons. Elimination problems sometimes cause people to
take laxatives or enemas more frequently, which can make
gastrointestinal disorders severe.
Mobility A widespread issue, especially for elderly women, is osteoporosis.
More easily broken bones. Vertebral compression fractures may result
in discomfort and decreased mobility. Weak muscles can lead to
weariness, weakness, and a decreased capacity for action. Joint issues
are quite prevalent and can range from little discomfort to crippling
arthritis (osteoarthritis). Due to the possibility of falls brought on by
gait alterations, instability, and loss of balance, the risk of injury rises.
Taste losing your sense of smell may be a sign of a more serious disorder,
such as Parkinson’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, or Alzheimer's
disease.
Nails In the elderly population, nail problems are common. This is partly
caused by poor blood flow, and in particular, the senile nail's
sensitivity to fungus infections, poor biomechanics, neoplasms,
concurrent dermatological or systemic disorders, and associated
therapies. The nail unit's development rate, color, shape, surface,
thickness, chemical make-up, and histology vary with age. Brittle
nails, trachyonychia, onychauxis, pachyonychia, onychogryphosis,
onychophosis, onychoclavus, onychocryptosis, onycholysis, infections,
infestations, splinter hemorrhages, subungual hematoma, subungual
exostosis, and cancers are only a few of the conditions connected with
aging.