By Sakala Jacob Registered Nurse Working in the UK
Often we hear of the politicians, the privileged being flown to South Africa for treatment for review and for all sorts of treatment. Were do our old and vulnerable people go? Are the people flown out more human than those left behind? Does it always work when we are flown to South Africa? Most come back in a casket at colossal sums of Tax Payers money.
What greed! For how long are we going to continue with this barbaric uncaring behaviour? We need services close to ourselves and not taking chances with life.To illustrate this I have thought of looking at the plight of the elderly as they are the most vulnerable.
Old age is scary; brings along a lot of physiological and psychological changes to ones life. When I was young people told me things that would happen to me at puberty,I heard about mid-life crisis but had to get to mid-life to know what it is.
We do not have to get old to understand what old age is because most of us may never grow old but may be tasked to look after the elderly. You could be classified as elderly from 65 on wards though for some could be much early.[pullquote]We do not have to get old to understand what old age is because most of us may never grow old but may be tasked to look after the elderly[/pullquote].
What happens in old age? I will be as elementary as possible and I will avoid medical jargon and terminologies. From the head as one grows older the hair greys, suffice to say that even young people may have grey hair as a result of Genetic predisposition, but this is common amongst elderly people.
It is not un common to experience loss of Hair in old age,the hair cells reduce in number. Not un common in the elderly to have problems like dandruff and rashes. For this the elderly need special anti fungal creams and shampoos to treat and maintain the Hair lustre.
The Brain shrinks in old age and as the brain shrinks thought processing wanes. We lose brain cells as we grow older the brain density becomes lower. We are not as quicker and sharper as we used to be when we grow older. Our memory wanes. We begin to have memory lapses, forgetfulness.
Ever wonder in the village an elderly person forgets the route to his village and found him or herself in another village,people anonymously agreed that the Old person was a witch, why was he or she found in the wrong place wondering.[pullquote]Ever wonder in the village an elderly person forgets the route to his village and found him or herself in another village,people anonymously agreed that the Old person was a witch, why was he or she found in the wrong place wondering.[/pullquote]
This commonly happens at night when the elderly go out of the house to relieve themselves they wonder off their hamlet into the other people’s homes and villages and are suspected of being witches; she was flying and dropped off in another village.
A lot of elderly people have lost their lives by lynching mobs because of this mystery of old age when just a little sensitisation for the community is all that is needed. If near a road side, they have ended up being struck by a Car and killed. We have read these stories in the papers and nobody has disputed them.Thus the power of ignorance.
Suffice to say that the western world are more inclined to a young leader due to some of these reasons highlighted. Thought processing. Do not deny the argument of experienced and tested leadership.
Mental Disease and Alzheimer’s may set in due to old age and this may cause confusional states. From shouting, memory loss, aggressive behaviour, self harm wondering, hallucinating, paranoid behaviour etc. This is largely a topic on its own and needing an article on its own.
The elderly may Lose sight as they grow older.Cataracts formation that need to be operated upon.Refraction and needing lenses to see. Other degenerative conditions of the elderly may be present needing very specialised care. This always takes me to my days at Kitwe eye clinic with Dr Jonathan Munkombwe the ophthalmologist. We did a number of cataracts extractions.Its a great service for the elderly. A bulk of opticians and ophthalmologists work with the elderly to keep them seeing.
Impaired hearing is common among the elderly.The elderly oftenly have got to be tested for hearing and hearing aids are prescribed for them. Loss of hearing can be the most frustrating thing in old age.
We all want to hear clearly and perceive things. Specialised Audiology department and Hearing aid department is so essential for the elderly.I have had my elderly parents who have had problems with hearing and needed audiological examination had to travel to access it. Lusaka or Kitwe,these facilities need to be accessible wherever they are old people.Most end up frustrated and chose to live with it. [pullquote]If they cannot chew food they will have a phobia for food:choking etc.they lose weight they get malnourished.[/pullquote]
What happens to your mouth when you grow older? You may lose all your natural teeth. A Dentist is not only for feeling cavities.They provide a huge service for the elderly in fashioning dentures for them. Dentures will definitely help the elderly person to bite and chew food.These facilities have got to be accessible to the elderly people. If they cannot chew food they will have a phobia for food:choking etc.they lose weight they get malnourished.
This takes us to the next problem in the elderly -swallowing.As we grow older swallowing may pose a problem.The muscles of the throat that propel food downwards may slacken. Specialised assessments may need to be undertaken for swallowing to prevent choking and to encourage eating. This is a very important unit of care for the elderly. Some end up on blended diets,puréed diets or soft diets depending on risk assessments.We need these services were ever our old people are in Zambia.
Dieticians play a very important role in the care of the elderly as they also prescribe diets for the elderly. The elderly are prone to lose weight for various reasons and some already explained. Their senses are oftenly in reversal, may lose sense of smell,taste etc. It is an important role that the dietician plays to prevent malnutrition in the elderly.[pullquote]Because the skin is so fragile and weak it breaks easily and if laid in bed for a long time or sat in chairs forms sores due to pressure.[/pullquote]
They may recommend food supplements,artificial feeding etc remember in the elderly they suffer shrinking of organs as well and one of them is the stomach may not hold the same volume of food.It is not un common to get stomach cancer in the elderly.Gastric irritability is common anti acid medication need to be availed to the elderly.
The skin being one of the largest part of the body in old age suffers lack of elasticity and shrinks.Wrinkles as well.In some various dermatological conditions become a problem needing prescribed maintenance medications and creams.Specialist Dermatologists need to be available.Because the skin is so fragile and weak it breaks easily and if laid in bed for a long time or sat in chairs forms sores due to pressure.
Specialised mattresses, beds,wheelchairs.cushions and forms are prescribed for this.Equipment therefore forms another bulk of the care for the elderly,whether in a Hospital or at home.
They may have difficulties to walk due to age or stroke,may need physiotherapist to attend to them use aids like Zimmer frames,wheelchairs.They may need hoists and other mobility Equipments to mobilise them.This is the reality about ageing.
Skeletal problems arthritis, aches and pains become the norm in old age needing constant medication pain killers etc. [pullquote]In old age your bowel motion may not be as regular as a young person this could be due to immobility,being in a wheelchair or in a chair for sustained periods[/pullquote]
In old age your bowel motion may not be as regular as a young person this could be due to immobility,being in a wheelchair or in a chair for sustained periods.It is so common that the elderly need laxatives and apperients to help them to open bowels.They need to take them regularly or they become constipated and fear to eat lose weight subsequently.Constipation can cause other surgical complications.
TO BE CONTINUED
Sick n tired of Blame games ,tell us of what you’ve done,not what you want people to do.
Manje iwe Sakala Jacob, Is your job there in UK to look after those elders in the picture?
i can’t ready it toooooooooooooo long
The onus is on all of us…..what are we doing about it? We are in influential position, we have the time and energy. Lets not spend all the time drinking and parting, we are all potential candidates in this area. God bless Zambia.
Funny how in the USA and UK, the health care industry is booming, but bankrupt in Zambia. Mr. Sakala, the people in Zambian Govt. won’t understand you.
#5 stating a case for care I believe is what Jacob is trying to do.This is a very silent group of people who have no voice but have numerous health problems than anybody.They should be able to understand.Today we are celebrating the Birthday of Nelson Mandela at 94,we have our own eminent elderly people in KK,Elias Chipimo senior,Sikota Wina etc and many more in the compounds and townships.
This male nurse is becoming very boring! Why cant he come back here in Zambia to start a project on how to take care of the elderly instead of presenting plagiarised information? The information presented is full of fallacies and i wonder which school this boy went to! There is no expertise in the information presented and it is not backed with any scientific research! Anyway we can forgive him since he is just a mere male nurse who enjoys washing old people’s backs! Next time try to sound intellectual!
Your name is an insult in some eastern tribe
The article has explained some of the problems that my foxes are going through, good to think about
This is an alien issue to most kaponyas despite the fact that their tribal warlord is already exhibiting the same very issues of old age!
I give you my support 100% J. Sakala. Forget about the -ve comments, just keep moving. @1&2; Sakala has made a step. What about you and me. Think of how many people have read and benefited from this man’s writing. If we did not have nurses, what would be the situation? (Specialization in lower secondary school civics). Let us move our country forward.
#7 be an intellectual yourself without insulting.Dont you have old people yourself in your family.Won’t you grow old yourself.Lets be reasonable and try to put things in place for ourselves.Short cuts will not help.What research do you need about old age?its as straight forward.Thus why we do not do things because we need research even in straight forward things.#7 too personal does not help with the discussion matter.
Jacob the issues you have raised about care of the elderly are too advanced for people who take old age as a mystery-ubuloshi.You can only try to raise awareness but eeeeeishhh!!! do people care pa Zed-kuyimwena.Worse when you are old.Fili eko tuleya mune.
#7 this subject does not need a university desertation nor thesis to discuss it.Bane what do we need to do to improve the situation.Lets not discuss people-the writer of the article-let’s discuss the issue at hand?is there a problem of care for the elderly in Zambia?let those who have issues highlight them.Especially those looking after an old granny or parent.Lets raise the Bar.Very important subject.
#7 what’s wrong with cleaning your backside ?don’t tell me yours is a no go area .
Nice one #12.Why do people always think elderly care is about cleaning back side did #7 even read the article?iam sure he just saw the title about elderly care and concluded its about cleaning backside.Indeed what is wrong with it when we clean our backside every day.My thought is that this article is trying to broaden the horizon.
Pensioners, surviving relatives, jobless people, street kids …… i don’t know whenever my frail grandparents will ever be considered for government benefits to sustain their livelihood, especially that they are in the rural area where the government comes only at election times. Same. Only 13 million people in Zambia , too much copper wealth e.t.c. that goes to too few citizens! Support the elderly, they are too weak and frail to fend for themselves, you selfish lot.
iwe Sakala, don’t make our useful old Zambian people useless monga bazungu. we need them next door. not ku old people’s home atase.
Well done, Jacob. An easy-to-understand and educative article for those of us not in the medical field who just want to understand the basics in aging process without the threat of sitting for an exam in medicine. Like why my aging father would start looking for his hat which was already on his head, and only realised when he walked past a mirror on the wall. I nearly broke a rib suppressing laughter, till he openly joked about it.
Sakala you have to realise anytime a smart person speaks sensibly to *****s all the *****s here is muffling noises coming out . This has always been an issue with older people in Zambia, if you get dementia ati ni nfwiti banamulowa blah blah. It all comes down to taking care of the vulnerable who are subject to exploitation in zambia both old, disabled and young. In Zambia if you are past your seventies and have no family to take care of you the grave is usually the next stop. All these ailments you mention can be treated but because theres no infrastructure or even  the go ahead to deal with them. The whole irony of this if its not dealt with most of us will face these old age problems.
Let us do something …we can change the condition of the old people and the disabled….u don’t need to be disabled or old.
Asakala tinakamba kudala bwelani kwanu kuno ku zambia tigwilizane tonse iyo progulamu yankote….you always use this article to get sympathy of what you are doing for the whites, come back first
I am sorry to the huge review, however Now i’m actually loving the new Microsoft zune, along with hope this, as well as the excellent evaluations another everyone has published, will allow you to evaluate if it does not take answer you’re looking for.
#22 offside do not dilute the importance of the subject matter by throwing in jokes these are real time life issues.
At least someone is highlighting our problems we the elderly.I hope some Government officials will look into our plight.We were once young like you and even yourselves you will one day grow old like us.Continue joking about these things.
We are family oriented, we look after our eldrely in our homes, so some of the problems faced in these western world do not apply to us. Its been know all along for decades the problems highlighted above. {nutition, memory loss elimination problems etc} ……