Email a Friend
Print ArticleHealthy Aging Health Center
Healthy Aging - Normal Aging
As your body ages, you can expect gradual changes, at your body's own pace. How your body ages depends in part on your family (genetic) patterns of aging. But your lifestyle choices have a more powerful impact on how well your body ages. Fortunately, you can control your lifestyle choices.
The following are normal signs of aging. Some of these changes may apply to you. Others may not. A healthy lifestyle may slow many of these effects of aging.
Skin. With age, the skin becomes less elastic and more lined and wrinkled. Fingernail growth also slows. The oil glands gradually produce less oil, making the skin drier than before. You can slow skin aging by using moisturizer and protecting the skin from the sun with sunscreen and sun-protective clothing, such as a hat or cap.
Hair. It's normal for hair to gradually thin on the scalp, pubic area, and armpits. As hair pigment cells decline in number, gray hair growth increases.
Height. By age 80, it's common to have lost as much as 2in. in height. This is often related to normal changes in posture and compression of joints, spinal bones, and spinal discs.
Hearing. Over time, changes in the ear make high-frequency sounds harder to hear and changes in tone and speech less clear. These changes tend to accelerate after age 55.
Vision. Most people in their 40s develop a need for reading glasses as the lens becomes less flexible. It's also normal for night vision and visual sharpness to decline, while glare increasingly interferes with clear vision in the later years.
Bones. Throughout adulthood, bones gradually lose some of their mineral content, becoming less dense and strong. In women, bone loss increases after menopause. You can slow natural bone loss and reduce your risk of osteoporosis by getting regular, weight-bearing exercise (such as walking), taking daily calcium and vitamin D, and avoiding lifestyle choices that weaken bones (such as too much caffeine or smoking). Your doctor may also recommend a bone-protecting medicine. For more information, see the topic Osteoporosis.
Metabolism and body composition. Over time, the body typically needs less energy, and your metabolism slows. Hormone changes in the aging body result in a shift to more body fat and less muscle mass. The best approach to managing these changes is to take in fewer calories while keeping up or increasing your physical activity. Strength training is an especially good way to build or keep your muscle mass. When your muscle mass is reduced, your metabolism slows down. Building or keeping your muscle mass allows your metabolism to remain the same or increase.
Brain and nervous system. Starting in the third decade of life, the brain's weight, the size of its nerve network, and its blood flow decrease. But the brain adapts to these changes, growing new patterns of nerve endings. Memory changes are a normal part of the aging process-it's common to have less recall of recent memories and to be slower remembering names and details. You can help keep your brain sharp with regular social activity; "mental exercise," such as doing crossword puzzles and reading; and physical activity, which increases blood and oxygen flow to the brain.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Healthy Aging Topics
VIVELLE-DOT (estradiol transdermal system) IS AVAILABLE BY PRESCRPTION ONLY.
INDICATION
Vivelle-Dot is used after menopause to: reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; treat moderate to severe dryness, itching and burning in or around the vagina; help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones); and treat certain conditions in which a young woman's ovaries do not produce enough estrogens naturally. Vivelle-Dot 0.025 mg/day is only used to prevent osteoporosis from menopause. If you use Vivelle-Dot only to treat your dryness, itching, and burning in and around your vagina or if you use Vivelle-Dot only to prevent osteoporosis from menopause, talk with your healthcare professional about whether a different treatment or medicine without estrogens might be better for you.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus (womb). Report any unusual vaginal bleeding right away while you are taking estrogens. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the uterus (womb).
Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes. Using estrogens with or without progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. Using estrogens with progestins may increase your risk of dementia (decline in memory and thinking skills).
Vivelle-Dot should not be used if you have unusual vaginal bleeding; currently have or have had certain cancers, including cancer of the breast or uterus; had a stroke or heart attack in the recent past (for example, in the past year); currently have or have had blood clots; currently have or have had liver problems; or think you may be, or know that you are, pregnant.
The most common side effects that may occur with Vivelle-Dot are headache, breast tenderness, and back pain.
You and your healthcare professional should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with Vivelle-Dot.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see Full Prescribing Information for Vivelle-Dot.
