Health Information for Senior Citizens
Chronic diseases exact a particularly heavy health and economic burden on Senior Citizens due to associated long-term illness, diminished quality of life, and greatly increased health care costs. Although the risk of disease and disability clearly increases with advancing age, poor health is not an inevitable consequence of aging.
Much of the illness, disability, and death associated with chronic disease is avoidable through known prevention measures. Key measures include practicing a healthy lifestyle and the use of early detection practices (e.g., screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers, diabetes and its complications, and depression).
For chronic diseases and conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, depression, psychiatric disorders, osteoporosis, Parkinson's disease, and urinary incontinence, much remains to be learned about their distribution in the population, associated risk factors, and effective measures to prevent or delay their onset. This site is intended to provide health tips for Senior Citizens to help them live longer, healthier lives.
Infectious Diseases
West Nile virus is a flavivirus commonly found in Africa, West Asia, and the Middle East. It was first detected on the east coast of the United States in 1999. Since then the virus has rapidly spread westward and West Nile virus has been detected in nearly every state in the country. The main route of human infection with West Nile virus is through the bite of an infected mosquito. The easiest and best way to avoid West Nile virus is to prevent mosquito bites. People over the age of 50 are more likely to develop serious symptoms from West Nile virus infection and should take special care to avoid mosquito bites. You can Fight the Bite! by 1) applying insect repellent containing DEET (Look for: N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide); 2) when possible, wear long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors to reduce the amount of bare skin exposed to mosquitoes and; 3) reduce the amount of time you are outdoors during dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active. There are other things you can do to reduce your risk of exposure to West Nile virus in your home and community.
The information on this site was produced by the CDC or other government agencies, and has been compiled byt the site owners, who are not responsible for errors or omissions. Site design is a trademark of hiaxis.com (c)2007