One of the most common problems that affects the skin is congestive heart failure, which is the inability of the heart to expel sufficient blood to keep pace with the metabolic demands of the body.
In the healthy individual, the heart can tolerate large increases of workload for a considerable length of time, but in an elderly person who has this problem it can have a negative effect on the skin's ability to heal.
Because of these reasons, it is critical to keep elderly skin healthy and protected.
The good news is that some skin problems can be prevented by adhering to a few basic principles.
One of the most important steps is making sure that your elderly loved one has a highly nutritional diet.
If there is a suspected problem, a consultation with a dietician may be recommended.
The dietician can work with both the elderly patient and the caregiver to determine the best way to increase the nutritional value of the elderly person's diet, and thereby improve the condition of his or her skin.
If supplements are called for a wide variety of nutritional supplements can be found, such as puddings, powders and juices, which help enable easy digestion.
Direct care of the skin is especially crucial as well.
There are a number of products that can be used to care for the skin of the elderly.
These include:
- Cleansing-Everyone needs to keep their skin clean to be healthy, and the elderly are no exception.
Using a gentle cleanser is recommended.
Studies show that skin that is regularly and gently cleansed is less likely to breakdown and have problem.
The TriDerma line offers great products for skin cleansing. - Moisturizing-After cleansing, the next important step is moisturizing.
Due to the natural process of aging, and sometimes because of certain diseases or conditions, the elderly tend to suffer from extremely dry skin.
Using a healing moisturizer is recommended.
- Problem skin-The elderly are also much more susceptible to having problems with their skin.
This includes problems like: eczema, Rosacea and psoriasis. - Wound care-This often becomes an issue for the elderly.
This is especially true if your loved one is diabetic.
Many diabetics have a very difficult time healing, and often need extended care for their skin.
In addition if a senior has had surgery or other medical intervention, then skin can need extra care while healing.
Your loved one may need products that can help with the relief of general skin irritations, pressure sores, diabetic ulcers, burns (including radiation from cancer treatment), and any other skin irritation. - Incontinence skin care-There is a special need to care for the skin if your elderly loved one suffers from incontinence.
If left untreated, this problem can cause the skin to quickly break down, and numerous problems arise as a result.
This is especially crucial since all elderly skin is far more fragile then someone who is younger.