Rick's Interview: Senior Getting Sick - Skaggs School of Pharmacy

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There are many factors that impact infectious disease for senior adults. We know that seniors are more likely to acquire CAP (community acquired pneumonia ) and to have more serious complications than younger patients, including hospitalization. Vaccination is the best line of defense for seniors. Drug therapy for prevention against influenza for elderly patients at high risk may also be initiated for seniors who have household exposures. Smoking cessation support should also be offered because seniors who smoke or have smoke exposure are at a significantly higher risk of upper respiratory infections. Even with the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, seniors are consistently heavily impacted by the illnesses. It seems that some flu seasons are worse than others. Stress can make patients of all ages more susceptible to illness and seniors with diminished lung function have difficulty clearing mucus.

I always recommend following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's every day recommendations to decrease the spread of infections. Seniors should avoid others with known illness, seek medical care as soon as symptoms appear, avoid contact with others if possible to avoid spreading the flu, cover nose/mouth when sneezing/coughing, place all tissues in the trash after use, wash hands frequently with soap and water and clean potentially infected surfaces frequently.