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Tetanus Takes Terrible Toll on Unsuspecting Elder
University of Florida (UF) spokesperson, Melanie Fridl Ross reports that two out of three senior citizens may lack adequate immunity to tetanus, according to UF researchers. Tetanus is a life-threatening central nervous system ailment contracted when bacteria invade an open wound, usually a deep puncture or cut made by a nail or a knife. Also known as lockjaw, tetanus causes painful muscle spasms and is associated with a high death rate. Symptoms include a stiff jaw and neck, difficulty swallowing, muscle rigidity, fever, sweating and rapid heart rate.
The findings suggest older Americans are failing to comply with immunization guidelines recommending tetanus boosters at 10-yearintervals throughout adult life, says Dr. Desmond Schatz, an associate professor of endocrinology at UF's College of Medicine and the first author of a paper that describes a five-year study of the issue. "The bottom line is that tetanus vaccinations are protective against the development of the disease, and what is needed is a follow-up vaccination every 10 years to protect against it," Schatz said. "What we are finding is there are certain people-- particularly older people -- who haven't had the vaccinations every 10 years. That puts them at risk for getting the disease and suffering its devastating
consequences."
Only 40 to 60 cases of tetanus are reported annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Most occur in individuals older than 50 who are unvaccinated or whose history of vaccination is unknown. "The classic situation is you're out in the garden, you drive a nail through your finger or somebody hits you with a golf club and you need stitches," said Mark Atkinson, the study's senior investigator and an associate professor of pathology and medicine and director of UF's Center for Immunology and Transplantation. "Some say we're spending an awful lot of money as a society to protect against the relatively rare event. But if you get a tetanus infection, it's a real painful, very tragic end."
UF researchers studied blood samples taken from 461 randomly selected individuals ages 2 to 73, and found that immunity declined dramatically starting around the age of 41. Less than 30 percent of study participants older than 60 were immune to tetanus. The UF team's recommendation? Boosters for elderly individuals who already completed a primary immunization regimen, and a primary series of tetanus shots for those who are unvaccinated. Prevention is always better than cure, Schatz said.
Source:Melanie Fridl Ross, University of Florida, Gainesville.
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Clinton Opens Door for Eldercare Business Boom
In announcing perhaps one of the boldest eldercare initiatives of his administration, U.S. President Bill Clinton opened the door for both hope and prosperity. On the hope side, American families may no longer need to "go broke" trying to care for aging parents. On the prosperity side, the President's proposal sets the stage for phenomenal growth in America's senior living industries. "The senior boom is one of the central challenges of the coming century", says Clinton. "The baby boom is about to become a senior boom, and like the baby boom, the senior boom will change the face of America."
What follows is the gist of the President's initiative.
During the next 30 years, 76 million baby boomers will join the ranks of the retired. The number of elderly Americans will double by 2030; by the middle of the next century, the average American will live to an age of 82 -- that's six years longer than the average life expectancy today. We know that with aging, inevitably, come the infirmities of age. Nearly half the people over 85 -- one of the
fastest-growing segments of our population -- need help with everyday, basic tasks -- eating, dressing, going to a doctor. We cannot expect that every older American will be able to fend for
himself or herself. And the real question is what are our obligations to help every American get the care that is appropriate for each individual case?
Today, we announce a critical new initiative to give care to the caregivers; to help Americans provide long-term care for aging, ailing and disabled loved ones. The size of the senior boom demands it, the needs of our disabled population require it; the length of our lives makes it more important than ever -- and so does the sacrifice of American families who put the well-being of their relatives above their own.
To improve long-term care in America and to give it a priority and support these families, the Administration proposes to do four things:
- First, to provide a long-term care tax credit.
$1,000 for people with long-term care needs or for the families that shelter them.
- Second, we should create a family caregiver support program,
a new national network to support people caring for older Americans.
- Third, we must educate Medicare beneficiaries about long-term care options.
Medicare does not cover most kinds of long-term care, so it is important that beneficiaries understand
their alternatives.
- Fourth, the federal government should offer its employees long-term care insurance.
As the nation's largest employer, the federal government should use its market leverage to set an
example, by offering private long-term care insurance to federal employees.
The central worries of the baby boom generation is that, as we age, we will impose unsustainable burdens on our children and undermine their ability to raise our grandchildren. We must use this time now to do everything in our power, not only to lift the quality of life and the security of the aged and disabled today, and the baby boom aged and disabled, but to make sure that we do not impose that intolerable burden on our children.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
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Dental Poll Offers Oral Report on Boomers
Advancing age has many boomers distracted by health issues. One of them is oral health. But what are their oral health priorities? What types of services should schools be preparing hygienists and dentists to preform on the 80 million aging boomers? The American Dental Association (ADA) decided to find out. The ADA says that 43% of dentists believe maintaining good oral hygiene/preventive care is going to be the primary oral health issue facing the baby-boomer generation, followed by periodontal disease at 32 percent. However, 80 percent of dentists report that whitening/bleaching is the service that this generation is most likely to request versus other age groups, followed by other cosmetic dentistry (69 percent). Periodontal disease ranked a far third, with 46 percent of dentists citing it as the most requested service.
The computerized survey, sponsored by Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals at ADA’s annual session, polled 525 U.S. dentists about general oral care trends. The survey, in its seventh year, was administered by Pathfinder Research group of Acton, Mass., an independent opinion and market research firm specializing in trend and leadership studies.
ADA is a Chicago-based professional association representing 143,000 U.S. dentists. Based in Canton, Mass., Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals is the professional oral care products subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive.
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NCSC Wants Social Security Tax Cap Raised
Some folks believe there's nothing wrong with the Social Security system. Instead, the real problem is the way the system is funded. And the key to that funding problem is to remove the Social Security Tax Cap. "It is truly outrageous that those pushing for Social Security privatization never mention when they themselves stop contributing to the system", says Protulis, Executive Director of the National Council of Senior Citizens. "Most of the key players attending the White House Conference on Social Security stopped paying Social Security taxes months ago."
Americans who make more than $68,400 a year stop paying Social Security taxes as soon as they reach that threshold. "Eliminating the Social Security tax cap, when combined with changes to the Consumer Price Index already being made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a complete fix for Social Security’s long-term solvency problems," says Protulis. "There is no reason to cut benefits, subject Americans to increased risk through stock market speculation schemes, or raise taxes on 96 percent of all American workers. No other proposed solution is as popular and efficient as simply raising the Social Security tax cap.
"We need to discard the notion that Social Security is a 401(k) plan. It’s not. Social Security is a social insurance system that provides 50 percent or more of all retirement income to 66 percent of all older Americans, while providing income protection for 4.3 million seriously disabled Americans and 3.7 million children. "Those who want to take action now, should be pushing for progressive increases in the Social Security tax cap, rather than a radical departure from the current system."
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Light Therapy Brightens Seasonal Depression
Troubled by the bleak winter's discontent? Don't reach for the medicine cabinet. Go out and get some sunshine. Research suggests that in the case of seasonal depression, light therapy may be more effective than drug therapy.
One in 20 Americans suffer depression in winter, oversleeping by several hours and gaining 20 or more pounds, according to author Lynne Lamberg, writing in the November/December issue of BrainWork (Dana Press, 1998). These individuals have what Lamberg calls "SAD" or Seasonal Affective Disorder. Interestingly, the best therapy for SAD victims may not be drugs, but something as simple as natural light.
Light therapy involves the use of light that mimics the intensity of natural, outdoor light. Natural light reduces the symptoms of depression associated with the dark winter months. According to Lamberg, light therapy was developed by the National Institute of Mental Health in the early 1980's. Some experts now believe that light therapy is as effective as traditional drug therapy in the case of seasonal depression. In one study, subjects suffering from SAD were treated with 90 minutes of light therapy each day over a four week period. As a result, 61 percent of those receiving morning light and half those getting evening light recovered from their depression.
Lamberg's article outlines a variety of disorders in which light therapy appears to produce positive results. These disorders include sleep disorders, certain types of bulimia nervosa, premenstrual depression, shift work, and jet lag. It makes you wonder if the reason many patients are prescribed drugs instead of light is that one is a money-maker and the other is free.
Lynne Lamberg is the author of "Bodyrhythms: Chronobiology and Peak Performance" (Morrow, 1994). "BrainWork" is a publication of The Charles A. Dana Foundation located on the Internet at: www.dana.org
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
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AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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