LOSS OF SENSATION: PERCEIVED IT AND PREPARE FOR GREAT PRECAUTION AND ACTION.

(REFLECTION 1)

All of us are not given the chance to witness the biological process of aging but everyone knows
that it is not a piece of cake, indeed challenging and needs better and deeper understanding. Elderly
care should be given emphasis especially nowadays that life becomes tougher and tougher so to have
access of those changes and the effect they might have on the process of aging really gave me
something to look forward to when it’s about time for me to take care the elderly and when I’m about
to face and experience restrictions due to aging.

Through my readings, I’ve realized the needs of elder people from people who are younger and
stronger. They are in a time zone where complications are inevitable which somewhat stop or prevent
them from doing what they want. Decrease in height, increase of postural sway and difficulty of
maintaining of balance and foot problems are some of the common results of aging. Aside from these
physical constraints, their hearing, vision, taste and smell are also affected depending on how an older
person’s body react to these changes. The aging process sometimes is difficult to analyze because of the
way the body’s organ systems work together. Visual impairment and blindness usually happened due to
cataracts, age related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. These are not a joke for these
may lead for older people to be depressed, become dependent of others affecting the life they are used
to.

Common and uncommon signs for one to experience visual problem should be taken into
account as well as to prepare ourselves and older people and help them from experiencing worse
effects. In addition, normal age-related changes are observed such as graying and thinning of eyebrows
and eyelashes, wrinkling of the skin surrounding the eyes and other changes which involve the
breakdown of structure of the eye resulting for slow results of its main functions. With the sensitivity of
their eyes to light namely to brightness contrast, dark adaptation and recovery glare, it is highly
recommended for us people around them to do things that help them overcome these changes: we
need to provide lighting to prevent glare, consider the color and spaces of the spaces the usually occupy,
means and ways to help them live to a place or environment that is made friendly to address their
situation. Aside from having poor eyesight, hearing loss is also common in older adults and statistics
don’t lie that older men of all ages are more likely to have hearing impairment than older women. It
should be addressed properly during our early days until we reach elderly stage with medical assistance
and prevention to avoid risk factors that can worsen the problem

Moreover, when reaches elderly stage, our tastes are also affected, for some cases leading to
having hypogeusia and xerostamia. So, the sense to know what to do to avoid these or least help not to
worsen its effects in the future must be done to realize and truly appreciate how the cards of life had
been dealt in front of them. We should not fear aging but be ready to face it when we are the ones
experiencing it and responsive to those who badly need our help, our understanding and support.
 Reflection no. 2

Smell is an important sense as it can alert us to danger and is closely linked to parts of the brain
that process emotion and memory. Unpleasant and bad smells actually send pain signals to the brain to
warn us of possible danger. With these being said, we can really say that sense of smell is really is
functional to our daily life so diminishing sense of smell is really challenging and it might be the result of
olfactory nerve damage. According to research, Hyposmia cannot always be prevented but you
can reduce your risk of developing hyposmia by avoiding toxic chemicals and cigarette smoking.

Aside from taking care of olfactory sense, we should take care of our heart because
heart problems pose an increasing threat to our health as we age. We should be mindful of what we eat
and what is the current state of our heart- our heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, pre load,
afterload and adrenergic receptors. This enable us to regulate the blood flow in our body minimizing the
risks of heart failure. This most likely to be the problem of older people as their body functions poor
leading to hypertension. With the knowledge of blood pressure category and ways to keep it normal or
address if beyond normal we can be keen of reducing the risks and educating other people, especially
older people since an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

The process of growing old is an intricate part of the life cycle. This has something to do with
critical changes among individual entering elderly stage. If not everyone, majority is fond of eating but it
would be a different scenario when we get older like in the process of taking food and how it is being
digested that is way different and less mechanical than when we are younger. Aside from the Gastro-
intestinal System, aging can also affect the endocrine system, for aging leads to decreased secretion of
insulin, potential thyroid function problems, decreased sensitivity to insulin and becoming insulin resistant
of peripheral tissues. This study implied as well that aging increases the risk of kidney and bladder
problems

Upon enumerating these changes, I may say that being old is really an exacting phase of life for it is
accompanied of certain episodes like retirement and changes in social relationship and roles, living
arrangements and coping with loss.

Old age is a sensitive phase; elderly people need care and comfort to lead a healthy life without
worries and anxiety. We should make a stand not only to provide them comfort that they need but also
the help that must be expected from us especially in terms of the factors affecting Pharmacokinetics in
older clients such as absorption, distribution, hepatic metabolism and renal clearance. We need to
improve medication compliance and have teaching plans for older adults to create an environment that
thinks of their welfare and implements programs and means to open opportunities to learn how to deal
with arising conditions for great health of our loved ones.
 Reflection no. 3

Let me start my reflection with the quote, Death is as natural part of life as is birth. Although
birth is embraced with joy and celebration, death is frequently denied and often prolonged for the sake
of living. With this, I must say that this profession or work requires sheer professionalism, dedication
and skills because it gives you the opportunity to make a real difference in someone's life. 

In this part of my study, providing assistance with elderly’s personal care needs must put into
action with 3Hs- The head, hand and heart. The head that knows what to do to provide the needs that is
being taken care of a hand that is equipped with skills and uses a heart to provide the emotional
support that older people deserve. This has been pondered when I got to differentiate Palliative and
Hospice Care. Apart from this, open communication with the patient and family must be in track to
provide comfort to both parties and see what one can do best and what should not be done because it
not helpful and needed by the patient.

Enclosed with the topic, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’stages of dying process acquired and explored by
the experience of dying through interviews with terminally ill patients and described Five Stages
of Dying: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance (DABDA). With the knowledge, we can
be an effective crying shoulder and source of strength of the family affected for we help them cope with
common fears and concerns of the dying or the pain relief at the end of life.

In the process, assessment of pain has been called the fifth vital sign and must be routinely
carried out when other vital signs are assessed. This helps elderly care to become manageable and on
point especially when dealing with various signs of pain and address it as soon as possible. I’ve learned
about the types of pain namely acute (associated with sudden onset and often may be correlated with a
single cause or event), chronic pain (associated with long term illness designated by a disease and
neuropathic pain that occurs when the nerves have been damaged. With all of these, specialize in health
care can play a critical role so wide range of readiness and expertise should always observed regardless
of the situation.

Lastly, principles of pain relief during the dying process are meant to handled effectively and
efficiently, knowing the exact difference to handle and categorize mild pain, moderate pain .severe pain
and breakthrough pain properly especially with the help of the knowledge about pharmacological
approach which objective is to give pain sufferers greater control over their pain and provide
symptomatic relief- non-opiods, opiods or adjuvant analgesics.
 Reflection no. 4

We always want to stay in our comfort zone because of the fulfillment and satisfaction we are
getting from staying. On the other hand, if a better life switches to a standpoint where we can no longer
do what we like doing and eat to satisfy our craving, emotional and psychological factors are affected;
hence people experiencing these problems should be well taken care of. Based on the knowledge I have
acquired, it made me realize how crucial elderly stage is, from tendency of having anorexia and
dehydration, skin complications, bowel and incontinence and visual or auditory hallucinations. So, it is
imperative to always open for opportunities to help and be saved from a situation majority of us are not
yet ready, that is to die.

Older people are closer to the stage where they need to say goodbye but it does not mean that
we just let them die. Everyone deserves to live longer and happier so we have to be instrumental in
helping them prolong their lives. Elderly care means knowing the signs of impending death, like mottling
of the lower extremities, having death rattle or noisy respiration, Cheyne stoke respirations, changing of
skin color where it looks dusky or gray and feel cold or clammy, with their eyes and many more. Strict
monitoring, advice, support and guidance should always be on our list. Aside from this, post mortem
care should be listed on our directives, preparedness and responses.

Aside from physiological changes, psychological and emotional support are also part of elderly
care for there are some unexpected happenings. We should be ready to any loss or at least
knowledgeable of the preventives and do’s and don’ts once experienced. Commonly, grief,
bereavement, mourning and anticipatory grief. With these experiences, emotional breakdown is
possible so it should be part of our list to handle situations both with professionalism and compassion.
We should be aware of the phases, we should not be insensitive of what they are feeling and let them
feel that is okay not to be okay and help them throughout the course until they have moved on.

With aging, bones become brittle and fragile, so older people still need to be exercised to help
them recover and work on their motor skills. The range of motion is dependent on the current state of
the bone of muscles of our patients, exercises, therapy are crucial so we need to become knowledgeable
and skilled as to provide them many health benefits. Muscles pull on the joints, allowing us to move and
do several activities so we have to be aware of the treatment we provide to our patients may it be in the
form of active or passive range of motion.

With all the learnings I’ve acquired, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to make a
difference and which have helped me to realize that caring about others, running the risk of feeling, and
leaving an impact on people, brings happiness