Health & Wellness

Throughout September, the Ohio Department of Aging partnered with individuals, groups, and organizations around the state to raise awareness of the epidemic of older adult falls and the many things older adults can do to reduce their risk. The fifth-annual “10 Million Steps to Prevent Falls” campaign boasted 114 local walking events or groups. In all, 13,242 individuals walked 50,693 miles, or 126.7 million steps, in the name of older adult falls prevention.

One in three older adults will fall this year. An older Ohioan is injured in a fall every five minutes on average, and two older Ohioans are hospitalized each hour. Three older Ohioans die each day because of a fall-related injury. While older adults make up nearly 17 percent of our population, they account for more than 87 percent of fatal falls.

“Older adult falls are a community issue, which is why ’10 Million Steps to Prevent Falls’ engages partners at all points in our communities,” says Ursel J. McElroy, director of the department. “We thank all our partners for making fall prevention a priority. We far exceeded our goal and posted a record number of steps.”

Regular physical activity, such as walking, is one of the most basic things older adults can do to reduce their risk. “10 Million Steps to Prevent Falls” encourages older adults to remain active as the weather begins to turn colder. The agency’s goal is to have at least 4,000 Ohioans of all ages walk at least one mile to raise awareness.

Community partners volunteered to create local walking groups or events. The events were spread around the state and throughout the month, with the majority taking place on National Falls Prevention Awareness Day, Sept. 23. Partners included state agencies, area agencies on aging, senior centers, local health districts, local school districts, health care providers, long-term care providers, Alzheimer’s Association Chapters, businesses, and more.

When  I heard that Boomer’s theme this issue was “restore,”  it touched me in many ways — both personally and professionally. 

Having reached my mid-60s, I understand how important it is to review your life priorities and consider how to maximize every day, both spiritually and physically. And, as a dentist with 42 years of experience and having seen many oral conditions, I have a sense of how our health plays a major role in how we move forward.

Good Teeth, Good Health
Our teeth and mouth need to be in great shape. Fillings, crowns, bridges and veneers are called “restorations” by the dental community. They restore teeth to their original conditions, before cavities or fractures. In this way, the patient has the ability to masticate (chew) food and break it down into the various nutrients needed to sustain life. Ask any person with a lower denture if they enjoy eating and most will tell you that it will never be like it was when they had their own teeth. Implants help with stability, but the force is still greatly reduced and the acrylic and/or porcelain changes the taste of food.  

From an emotional standpoint, having a nice smile is very important to one’s presentation and outlook. The first thing we see when we have an encounter with someone else is their teeth and smile. Having focused my practice on cosmetic and restorative dentistry, I can tell you that the most gratifying thing we can hear in our office is a patient’s comment that the veneers and/or crowns we placed on their anterior teeth have “changed their life.” 

As we continue to live longer, which may include working longer and dating at a more mature age, our smile plays a more important role. Just recently, a patient whose daughter was getting married and another who was attending her high school reunion wrote us that they kept getting compliments about how wonderful they looked; both were convinced that their teeth and smiles were the attention-getters.

Tattoo artists do more than accessorize Millennials. Many provide cosmetic and medical services.

Pat Peters of Chardon recently tapped into their services for eyebrows. “I was a child of the late ‘50s, early ‘60s. Back then, we all had to pluck our eyebrows. When you keep plucking, eventually they don’t come back,” she says. “Combine that with age and I lost the last one-third of my eyebrows. I couldn’t find the right color eye pencil to replace them and I got tired of crooked eyebrows. They never matched.”

After her husband’s death, Peters decided to do something for herself – get permanent eyebrows.  “I’m trying to be the best me I can be,” she says. “Now I can’t picture my face without them. They frame my face. The color is perfect.”

Ink that Camouflages
Christine Gallowan, tattoo artist and owner of Mirror Mirror Artistry in Cleveland, works with people to camouflage scars from chemotherapy ports, to define lip shape after cleft-palate surgery, to recreate belly buttons and to restore breast appearance. 

For example, mastectomy patients lose nipples and surrounding breast structure. “I will recreate in 3D — using shadow and highlight 0151 — a nipple and areola. Some women visit me before surgery or bring a photograph so when they come back after healing, I can recreate what they had before.”

“I’m not fixing anything, I’m camouflaging,” she says. 

While medical issues draw many Boomers to tattoos, cosmetic changes due to aging such as hair loss and skin fading lead others to find a permanent and convenient solution. 

Peters’ daughter, Anna Peters, 55, of East Claridon Township, had brownish-black eyeliner tattooed onto her lower lids several years earlier. “I like my eyes and like to show them off, ”she says. “Permanent eyeliner is the best thing I’ve done for myself. If I’m just hanging out around town, I never have to put makeup on.

Here’s the magic pill: Walking as little as two hours per week can help you live longer and reduce the risk of chronic disease.

A study from the American Cancer Society followed 140,000 older adults and reported that those who walked six hours per week had a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and cancer than those who were not active, but that walking even as little as two hours per week could begin to reduce the risk of disease and help you live a longer, healthier life.

“Our bodies were designed to move,” said Dr. David Agus, Professor of Medicine and Engineering at the University of Southern California.

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