The Essence of Senescence

LATELY Ive been watching television series that presents the topic on ageing from genres that range from incredible science fiction to freaky psycho-horrors and mellow dramas. And the most likely theme that emerges is the great fear and negative perceptions staged by the actors and actresses towards getting old, inevitable it may seem as if the only horror that lies ahead is not death in itself but rather the consequences, both biological and sociological of grey hair, wrinkled face and sagging skin.

Everyone wants to be young or contain youth. It is beyond argumentation that there are many things one can accomplish with strong bones and gorgeously elastic, pore-less skin both literally and figuratively: they are preferred; they enjoy certain prestige and pride on top of physiologic advantages.

A person at the prime of his or her youth is an epitome of health. He can be injured (not that he liked to but simply for the sake of a rational proposition) but he can be expected to heal fast given the fact he has no pre-existing disease. He can party all night and grab bottles of alcohol and packs of cigarette and can still be expected to report to work the day after. A lady of 21 or 22 may choose to sunbathe the whole day and yet may fade away her sunburn and recover her original skin tone in a matter of days (with the aid of skin lighteners) or weeks. Metabolism is undeniably faster for someone young. These are all the so-called physiologic advantages of youth.

On the sociological side, most would agree that there are more drawbacks to ageing than gains.

For instance, when one is applying for a living, among the major requirements is age. Prospective employers set a particular age range that is acceptable and appropriate for the demands of the job being applied for.

Although senior citizens enjoy 20 percent discount on medications and certain dined-in foods, there are pharmacies that hoard stocks of medicines whenever they realize that the customer at the counter is a senior.

Ill health also takes its toll among senior citizens. Even those enrolled to PhilHealth and other preneed programs applicable, are not relieved from the effects of a deteriorating body caused by ageing.

They need regular check- ups for their prostate (men) and breasts (for women) for possible malignancies. The physical body can only be stretched to a certain degree before it snaps-out as in ageing. For the most part, the stretching was done during the heydays and the golden age seems to be the snapping out time. A classic wear-and-tear theory is elucidated in this example.

Another dilemma shared among senior citizens is the heightened cost of living. Medical bills for maintenance drugs, regular check-ups for degenerative disorders like Alzheimers or dementia and chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension are the culprits for the Peso losses. And when the angel of death has come to kiss them good bye, their survivors would have to shell out thousands of pesos for a decent rite of passage: a burial.

That is why anti-ageing creams and supplements that even come in invasive intravenous forms sell like hotcake. Those in the middle-age range refuse to progress to an older age group that they are more than willing to bet at anything just to remain young. Some would even succumb to the controversial and priced stem cells implantation whose integrity still merits even the most modest research pursuits.

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The Essence of Senescence