Posted on January 23, 2012 - by Nurse Virginia

STRESS RELATED CONDITIONS IN THE ELDERLY – ALOPEIA/SHINGLES

(PART I)

The elderly couple was shopping at the mall, “their mall,” they had been there many times. Louise was getting tired, her knees hurt as they often did walking those hard floors. Charles told her to sit down for awhile and he would bring the car to the door. “Take your time,” he told her, “I’ll just wait.”

Which door? The problem came when they went to different doors. No one would ever know who was right, they just didn’t communicate before he left for the car.  Louise went to the exit she thought Charles would be at, stood and waited on those sore tired knees till she was crying and still he didn’t come.

Charles was waiting at another door and because of the frustration of waiting, he became angry. Finally Charles started circling the mall checking all the doors and found Louise. Seeing Louise standing there crying, Charles became even angrier and began yelling at her. The situation had scared him and he reacted poorly.

Louise was in severe pain by this time and being yelled at in an enclosed car, where she couldn’t even walk away, didn’t help. When she got home she was beyond crying.

Soon her hair started falling out in large clumps. That episode at the mall was still so painful to remember, Louise being the mild mannered, meek person she was, she never said anything, she just kept going over it in her mind.

The loss of hair or Alopecia can occur because of medications, cancer treatments, fungal infections, hypothyroidism, hormonal changes – as after giving birth and many other environmental causes. Hair loss may be temporary or permanent. However this kind of hair loss was probably due to stress. The stress might be a significant illness, a crash diet,  physical trauma as in an accident, or a shock to the system.

This episode probably would not have cause the hair loss in a younger person, but because of Louise’s age, close to 80 at this time, she suffered major hair loss for the next six months and had to wear a wig.

Virginia Garberding R.N.

Director of Education, The Wealshire, Lincolnshire, Illinois

Author: Please Get To Know Me – Aging with Dignity and Relevance

www.pleasegettoknowme.com