Elderly people with Covid-19 have some "atypical" symptoms, which complicate efforts to ensure timely treatment.
Covid-19 is typically signaled by three symptoms: fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath. But the elderly may not have any of these characteristics.
They may sleep more than usual or stop eating, they may look confused. They may also become dizzy and fall. The reason has to do with how older bodies react to disease and infection.
In the elderly, "the immune response may be vague and their ability to regulate temperature may change," said Dr. Joseph Ouslander, a professor of medicine at Schmidt College of Medicine, Atlantic University.
"Some seniors, regardless of age-related changes or previous neurological problems, such as stroke, may have different cough reflexes. Others may not be able to communicate their symptoms."
Recognizing the signs of danger is important: If the early symptoms of Covid-19 are absent, the elderly may worsen before receiving the necessary care.
In Switzerland, Dr. Sylvain Nguyen, a physician at Lausanne University Hospital Center, has compiled a list of typical and atypical symptoms in elderly patients with Covid-19 for future work at the Revue Médicale Suisse. Included in the list are changes in a patientâ??s normal status, collapse, fatigue, lethargy, low blood pressure, painful swallowing, pallor, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and loss of ability to smell and taste.
