Aging – Part 2

In our continuing series of what to expect as you age we are thinking about two areas today, your digestive system and your bladder and urinary tract.

Both of these can be a bit delicate to discuss because it isn’t always something you talk about but it’s important to understand the changes.

With your digestive system, it is changes to the large intestine that can have some of us stopped up with constipation.  You get extremely uncomfortable with this and if it’s prolonged you can run into additional issues.

There are times medications contribute to digestive issues so stay on top of the side effects of medicines you are taking.  Work with your medical professional.

For your bladder and urinary tract, it’s a case of your bladder being less flexible.  This is for both men and women.  You’ll find yourself going to the bathroom more often. When this happens at night it can leave you tired the next day.

Additionally you may find you have less bladder control so accidents can occur.  For men, it is your prostate that gets inflamed to cause these same issues.

Things that we can do at any stage to help.

1. Once again, you need a healthy diet and be sure to include daily fiber.
2. Pay attention when you have to go to the bathroom.  Be sure you go and go regularly.
3. Do not smoke and if you do try and stop.
4. You should avoid bladder irritants like caffeine, acidic foods, alcohol and those carbonated drinks.

Private Home Health Care includes physical activity in our day which keeps all of our systems healthy.  In addition, we try to listen to our bodies and understand ways we can adapt to help us feel better.