In this article, we dig deep into the thoughts of women who are 60 years and over to find out what are some of the embarrassing health concerns that they grapple with every day without the knowledge of their children.

1. Urinary Incontinence

As women get older, especially, after having children, they experience weaker pelvic floor resulting in involuntarily passage of urine. Imagine you now, strong, healthy, outgoing and confident. Then fastward many years and you wet yourself every now and again with little to no control. Did you notice the ammonia smell of urine the last time you visited? That’s the effect of urine incontinence and your mother has to deal with it because she thinks there’s nothing she can do to manage it.

2. Trip and Fall

Notice how your mother walks with a limp but does not utter a word about it? This could be related to a fall which occurred from tripping from what she could swear was an obstacle but turned out to be nothing.

3. Memory Loss

It all started way back when she would call you using your sibling’s name. Then she started forgeting where she kept her phone and keys. Well, things have progressed quite a bit from then and she is worried. She fears she may become unconscious of who she is if things keep going down this path.

4. Depression

For us Africans, depression has been a foreign concept that we hardly understand muchless acknowledge. With everything that is going on, your mother finds herself feeling low many times than she would care to count.

5. Body Pains

From aching fingers to aching knees and back. At this age, if you have stairs in your house, it is very likely that with every step, your mother feeels a sharp pain. It happens all too frequently she cannot be bothered to talk about it as it has now become a part of her life.

6. Isolation and Loneliness

Only a handful of youths still live in their towns of birth much less at home. Due to the politico socio economic dynamics of Cameroon, it is not unusual for one to leave to another city or travel abroad for a chance at a betteer life. While this greatly improves the conditions back home, it creates a void which extended relatives can hardly fill.

7. Unprescribed Medication

As all of these changes are happening all at once, your mother has a stash of medications, some of which have long expired, which she takes every now and again. If you were to ask her what the prescribed dosage is, she would hardly give you a comprehensive response.

8. Malnourishment

 Malnutrition in older adults has been recognised as a challenging health concern associated with not only increased mortality and morbidity, but also with physical decline, which has wide ranging acute implications for activities of daily living and quality of life in general. Malnutrition is common and may also contribute to the development of the geriatric syndromes in older adults.

9. Alcoholism

 It may not necessarily be alcohol but in many cases, older adults turn to substances to help cope with the changes which they are experiencing in life. Imagine how difficult it can be for your mother to open up to say she might have an alcohol dependency at her age! What is worse, she might not know she does.

10. Poverty

 With all the money that you may be sending back home, your mother has a longer list of things which needs her attention. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that not all the money earmarked for healthcare actually ends up being used for healthcare. How can she tell you then that sometimes she finds it easier to divert money for her health to other needs?

All these points may apply to your mother to different degrees if at all. We hope that you have some insights into what changes are taking place in her life and can take swift measures to ensure that she ages healthily as prescribed by the WHO.

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