By Julie E 
Photo Credit (Pixabay)
The U.S. population is getting older regardless of how you look at it. However, we are not aging as we once were. The bodies we bring into the final third of our lives are very different from those of previous generations due to incredible advancements in technology, public health, and medicine.
People getting older nowadays can realistically expect to die with their eyesight and teeth, unlike our forefathers, grandparents, and even, in some circumstances, parents. They will probably appear younger and maintain their mobility for a longer period of time.
Here’s a closer look at five ways that we’re turning into a country of younger people who look and feel like old people.
Our joints
Prior to surgical procedures, elderly patients suffering from debilitating joint conditions like osteoarthritis had little respite. In addition to being sold oils, tinctures, rubs, and liniments that would have helped with the symptoms, they were frequently counseled to look for temperate regions.
Dr. James Pacala, a geriatrician who leads the University of Minnesota’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, stated, “They didn’t move because it hurt.”
They were in greater danger of falling and needed wheelchairs and crutches. They were dependent on caregivers because they were unable to drive. This single issue involved your entire family.
Pacala views it as a “game changer” since it can “simultaneously be able to eliminate someone’s pain and improve their mobility almost immediately.”
Complete knee and hip replacements, which were first done in the 1960s, are currently among the most popular elective procedures. According to 2014 Mayo Clinic research, 2.5 million Americans have had hip arthroplasty and 4.7 million have received knee implants.
Pie & Mighty, Bunny’s in the Northeast, and Canton in Burnsville are among the restaurants closing.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons predicts that by 2030, the number of replacement surgeries will have increased by 189%.
“These operations have been perfected and are now being done in surgical centers or on an outpatient basis rather than with a hospital stay,” added Pacala.
“The rehab techniques for recovery have also improved.”
These enhancements aid in regaining the patient’s and caregivers’ freedom and quality of life.
Our outlook
Those who were fortunate enough to live long lives throughout history frequently had some degree of eyesight loss.
Millions of older persons’ sight is preserved by cataract removal, even though cataracts, a normal aspect of aging, continue to be the primary cause of blindness in this population. Indeed, in the Western world, it is now the most common surgical surgery.
When the clear lens of the eye starts to thicken and cloud around middle age, the first signs of cataracts appear. Reading glasses and bifocals are initially helpful, but for some people, hazy vision and trouble seeing in low light make it difficult to read and drive. When colors fade, it may be followed by a reduction in visual acuity.
“Everyone has some level of this by the time they are 65 to 70 years old. Ophthalmologist Dr. Joshua Hou, an assistant professor in the U’s Medical School’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, stated that there is no method to prevent it.
The first known instance of cataract removal, a cruel procedure that involved pushing the clouded lens off the pupil with needles, occurred in India in the fifth century. Not until 1949, when a British physician removed the cataract and implanted the first corrected plastic lens, did the contemporary form of the procedure start. However, recovery proved difficult.
“Patients were still hospitalized and laid on their backs for two to three weeks after cataract surgery when I was a medical student in the late ’70s,” said Dr. Erik Van Kuijk, who is the chairman and professor of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences at the U.
“We now perform procedures in five to ten minutes, and 99 percent of them are successful. The following day, patients return to work feeling better than they have in years. ‘I wish I would have done this sooner.’ is the most common comment they make.
“We waited until the patient was debilitated when the surgery was more invasive and the risk was higher,” Hou added. We now provide it as soon as they perceive a visual impairment.
Our teeth
Dr. Stephen Shuman saw several elderly patients with significant tooth loss after graduating from dental school in 1982. Not right now.
Shuman, an assistant professor at the University of Utah School of Dentistry and the head of the Oral Health Services for Older Adults program, stated, “In my teaching clinic we routinely care for patients in their 80s and 90s with a mouthful of teeth—their own—and with crowns, bridgework, and implants.”
Even Shuman’s elderly patients now benefit from a dental revolution that took place during their lifetimes: the fluoridation of public drinking water, which was adopted as the U.S. Public Health Service’s official policy in 1951 and had expanded by the 1960s. One of the main causes of tooth loss, rotting, is said to be lessened by it.
The way that we take care of our teeth has also changed significantly.
As dental hygiene improved, social norms changed as well. “Earlier generations did not visit the dentist for regular examinations and preventative care, nor did they brush a few times a day,” he stated. “They went to the dentist when they were suffering, and there wasn’t much to do but extraction.”
Crowns and implants have been enhanced by new methods and technologies. Dental visits are now more bearable thanks to advancements in pain control.
According to Shuman, “Anesthetics got better and safer.” “When the discomfort was not well managed and people were holding onto the sides of the dental chair, they wouldn’t come in and use the services.”
Our epidermis
Smoking and “laying out in the sun”—which often involved nothing more than a bathing suit and baby oil—were common pastimes until the 1960s and 1970s. There wasn’t any solid proof at the time that smoking and sun exposure increased skin aging.
However, as more research was conducted, public policy and the general consensus about skin protection evolved.
Early sunscreens evolved, such as those created during World War II to protect American servicemen in the Pacific from UV rays. Commercial sunscreens were on the market by the 1970s. Since then, they have been getting better.
Longer-lasting, broader-spectrum lotions, gels, foams, creams, and sprays are now available, along with water-resistant sunscreen. Sunscreen is frequently found in several over-the-counter creams and cosmetics. Additionally, the popularity of sun-protective apparel is rising.
In the meantime, our skin, hearts, and lungs have all benefited from the sharp decline in smoking rates. In 1964, 45% of Americans were smokers when the surgeon general came to the conclusion that smoking causes heart disease and cancer. That percentage dropped to 14% by 2017. Less acquired wrinkles are one consequence of stopping the behavior (or never starting it).
According to Edina facial plastic surgeon Dr. Ed Szachowicz, “long-term nicotine exposure shrinks blood vessels — and blood vessels nourish the body, including skin — which accelerates sagging.” “Those wrinkles around the mouth are accelerated by smoking, which involves repeatedly pursing the lips. Smoke surrounds the face and has a poisonous effect on the skin when exhaled.
Our attire
Since strict guidelines regarding what people could and could not wear have mostly vanished, our wardrobe choices no longer reflect our age.
“House dresses are a thing of the past,” stated Kelly Gage, a fashion history professor at St. Catherine University in St. Paul.
Rather, yoga pants are becoming the preferred “leisure wear for hanging out at home.”
Although slow, the change has been significant.
“Historically, there were even cultural norms about how women of certain ages could wear their hair—what was appropriate for maidens or matrons,” said Gage.
“There’s more individuality for men and women and how they style themselves,” she remarked, referring to the more relaxed fashion of today.
That also applies to shoes.
One in four persons over 45 suffers from foot pain, including tendonitis, falling arches, bunions, and hammertoes. However, this does not imply that elderly people must wear the bulky orthopaedic shoes of the past.
“There’s so much knowledge about how shoe construction supports the foot, with heel placement and control of the pressure on the ball of the foot,” Gage stated. “The lifespan of feet is taken into account while designing shoes. They are strong and comfortable, yet they still look good.
Kevyn Burger works as a freelance writer and broadcaster out of Minneapolis.