COVID-19 and The Elderly: Is It Different From The Young?

Pp: 229-235 (7)

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Abstract

There are some differences in the way the symptoms are perceived and expressed by the elderly. Senses and perception can be blunted due to difficulties and impairments in the structure and function of the nerves. For example, the perception of pain, which is sharper and more severe in young people, can be felt milder, more uncertain, or ill-defined in the elderly. In the elderly, too, the main complaints can be listed as fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath. There may be mild to severe sore throat, loss of sense of smell, weakness, muscle and joint pain, headache, diarrhea, rarely runny nose, and cough with phlegm. They are more prone to have a more severe disease course. Researchers reported that the fatality rate in all cases in China was 1.4%, while it was 22% in cases over 80 years old. This chapter aims to delineate specific difficulties the elderly face when they were infected with COVID-19 and to discuss possible solutions for this vulnerable group in the pandemic period.

Keywords: COVID-19, Diagnosis, Elderly, Geriatric care, Pandemic, Treatment.

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