Health Blog
Written by Dr. Heo Ji-young. Each piece takes a single symptom and follows what is actually happening in the body.
If an Older Adult Suddenly Loses Their Appetite and Weight
Do not dismiss a sudden loss of appetite and weight simply as part of aging. A medical team should first review when it began, how much weight was lost, swallowing, current medicines, and accompanying symptoms.
Aging Is Not a Disease, It Is a Matter of Reserve
"Aging is not a disease." Does that mean there is nothing to worry about, or nothing more to look for? Saying it is not a disease is not the same as saying nothing is happening. What lies between the two is reserve. One question changes into another — not where something has gone wrong, but what the reserve you have left is being spent on first. Changes you can date to a particular moment, and a drop in energy or appetite, deserve to be checked before they are chalked up to age.
What Changes When Muscle Shrinks
Your arm has grown thinner, but you say, "It has not caused me any trouble in daily life" — is that all right? Muscle is both an organ of movement and the protein reserve the whole body draws on. Strength falls three times faster than mass does, and once the reserve thins out, even a single cold can leave you unusually run down. If your weight drops more than 5% over six months to a year, if the change is one-sided, or if swallowing trouble and changes in speech come with it, getting it checked comes first.
Frequent Falls Are Not Just a Matter of the Legs
You turn off the light at night and stumble on your way out of the room — you are fine during the day, so why? Your legs are the same legs by day and by night. A standing body is held up by three things — the sensation coming from the feet and legs, the vestibular system in the inner ear, and the eyes — and when one grows unclear, the others take up the slack. If you cannot recall the moment you fell, if weakness on one side or slurred speech comes with it, or if falls have suddenly become more frequent over the past few weeks, finding the cause comes first.
The Same Advice Fits Each Body Differently
"Drink plenty of water" — you hear it everywhere, so why does it never come with how much, from when, or which cases should skip it? Advice carries conditions at the place where it is first made, but as it passes from person to person, the conditions are the first thing to fall away. All you need to do is reattach three things — who the advice was for, how much it meant, and what it was judged against. If jaundice, severe fatigue, or nausea appears after starting several supplements at once, stopping them and seeing a doctor comes first.
Pushing Harder Makes the Body Shrink Back
A day spent finishing all the kimchi-making at once — for some people it marks the start of the body building itself back up, and for others it marks the start of a long stretch of suffering. Why? A moderate stimulus raises the body's capacity to adapt, but past a certain line the direction reverses, and that line moves depending on age, sleep, and recent illness. Chest tightness during exertion that eases with rest, and cola-colored urine after pushing hard, both call for same-day checking first.
Diagnoses Multiply, but the Body Is One
Three circles on this month's calendar — one for the knee, one for the stomach, one for dizziness. Do the signals the body sends increase along with the number of names? They overlap instead. Low energy, poor appetite, and a slowed gait are not words that belong to only one disease. There is only one question to ask — do the names already attached explain every symptom that is currently there? If confusion sets in over a few days, or a symptom you have always had changes shape, checking comes first.