Health in old age

Press, 20 March 1982, Page 16

Health in old age

The Doctors' Guide to Growing Older. By S. A. Friedman, F. U. Steinheber, and A. H. Lass. New American Library. 326 pp. index. $11.50 (paperback). (Reviewed by Dr David Hay) Two New York professors of medicine, and a professional educator, have combined to write this book for those “dn the way to getting older.” Their aim is to bridge the communication gap between doctor and patient. They achieve this admirably in a book which is easily understood, thoroughly up-to-date, and full of commonsense information. The chapters range from "shortwindedness” to “the discontented bowel”; from “food and faddism,” through “sex — good at any age,” to “for women only.” Americans like the full story about their illnesses and treatment, and they get it in this book. We learn about endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography, fluorescin retinal angiography, normal pressure hydrocephalus (water on the brain), and a host of other technical procedures, some of which are new to me. On the other hand, the coronary patient who has been told he needs a coronary artery X-ray might expect to turn to a reference book such as this and find some information about what happens in the procedure, whether there are any cuts involved, whether it hurts and so on. Instead he gets seven lines and presumably has to consult the layman's

handbook on heart disease. Similar comments could be made about coronary bypass surgery, a common operation for those in older age groups. The aging (and not so elderly) male might want some information about the operation of prostatectomy, but again there are gaps. For example, he may want to know whether a catheter is left in after operation and for how long; whether the procedure is painful, how long he stays in hospital, and whether any tendency to dribbling or lack of control will disappear after surgery. I was not aware before that women suffered from “hot flashes,” and the unlabelled crosssectional diagram of the female pelvis will not make older ladies much wiser about their anatomy. I cannot imagine many people reading this book from cover to cover; if they did. they would learn a great deal of medicine and receive sound, orthodox and wellinformed advice. The usual reader would use it only when he wants more information about specific health problems. For the most part he will be well <satisfied, but there will still ’be certain questions unanswered and these he should address to his doctors. Indeed, if we take the authors’ advice about choosing a doctor and find one who will faithfully carry out the recommended 15point examination check list each year, books such as this would probably no longer be necessary.