Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1949-07-01
Health Needs Of
Our Older Citizens
~ Dr Robert Barr of the Health Association


A cold-Weather cough that re-
fuses to 60 away when summer
comes may be accepted by the
elderly person as one of the COM
mon trials of old age. But that
persistent cough may indicate
the presence of tuberculosis or
lung cancer-diseases that call
for immediate treatment. Like
wise, indigestion, constipation,
WEAKNESS, loss of appetite, fail
ing eyesight, enlarged veins, per
sistent headache or backache-
all these symptoms that old
people so frequently complain
of but seldom do anything about
may be danger signals of dis
ease. For the sake of their own
comfort, and also for the sake
of those who must care for them
if they become ill, elderly
people should be urged to have
a medical checkup every year.
Also, they should be sure to re-
port to their doctors any little
aches or abnormalities that
trouble them. Such a policy pays
in the long run. If we can see to
it that the physical complaints
of old people receive prompt and
efficient medical care, we shall
often save them and ourselves
a great deal of expense and suf-
fering. There are Red Feather
Services which help older peo-
pie keep healthy and happy, and
occupied.
Of course, in due time our
bodies wear out. The day of our
departure from this life cannot
be postponed forever. But if we
can delay the development of
chronic disease - such diseases
as cancer, hardening of the arter-
les, and heart ailments-we can
probably prolong the average
life of man to ninety years. And
person who anticipates living
to the age of ninety doesn't want
to retire at sixty-five, and spend
the final one-third of his life in
idleness. Nor is such an early re-
tirement necessary or advisable
in most cases. During the war,
we found that many people OF
siXty-fiVe or over could do a
better days work than some OF
the younger ones. These older
men and women have had more
experience. They are often stead
ier workers, less likely to be
distracted, and more inclined to
stay on the job. One thing en-
ployers should keep in mind is
that elderly people must not be
overworked. If their hours are
too long or their work too heavy
they cannot do satisfactory job
Another thing to watch out for
is the provision of proper equip
ment for older workers. Many OF
them need glasses, hearing aids
and other such helps, and in
common with younger workers
they should of course have ade-
quate protection if their work
/ is at all hazardous.
Some of the most advanced
thinkers among our big indus
trial leaders have long ago
reached this conclusion. They do
not ask a mans age-they ask
what his working capacity is
And they have found that many
older workers do a better days
work than many younger ones
AS one of them says, There is
no decline in earning power
with advancing age. In some
cases the productivity is in
creased. Older workers are like
ly to be more stable, loyal, and
responsible"
Of course, great deal of edu-
cation still needs to be done in
this field-not so much educa-
ton of the older worker himself
though that is sometimes advis-
able, but education of the en-
ployer and the labor union. We
need to educate management to
be more understanding and more
loyal to older workers. And the
older worker must cooperate by
demonstrating that he is still a
productive worker-that he is
not asking any special favors
Just because he has reached a
certain age. The older person
should also have many interests
outside of his work, so that he
doesn't concentrate his attention
too much on himself.
The emotional health of the
older person is of paramount i'm
fSA ee'iiNS' LICie are e L a / N
physical changes that sometimes
take place in old age, and that
affect the brain so that the old
person becomes forgetful, irrit-
able, or otherwise abnormal in
his reactions. Until we find ways
OF preventing such degenerative
conditions, we must reconcile
ourselves to their occurrence in a
few old people. But if no degen-
Grafton of the brain or nervous
system takes place, there is no
reason why the old person can
not be mentally active as well as
physically active.
We can reduce the health
problems of our older citizens in
several ways-by training our
medical workers to meet the
health needs of older people. by
encouraging n Older man ,oI