As we age we are more vulnerable to colds, even if we don’t always feel them

Cold wave – temperature felt down to -10 degrees. Since Sunday 7 January, France has been experiencing unprecedented cold weather in the last six years. And certain populations are at greater risk than others from these temperatures, such as the elderly. Cold affects their body temperature more easily.

“Under the influence of extreme cold, the aging body will be less able to regulate its temperature”, explains Claude Jandel, professor of geriatrics at the University of Montpellier and former president of the National Professional Council for Geriatrics. Some reasons for this: “Age is an explanation in itself, but it further explains the illnesses that people contract and the treatment of certain drugs. »

Medicines and diseases

So age is a factor: physiologically, organisms have a less good ability to cope with cold because the regulation of thermogenesis – which allows maintaining body temperature – is less efficient. “You can get very old, without illness or treatment, you will be less efficient at regulating your temperature, A geriatrician explains. But if we have certain illnesses or certain treatments, we will be even less. »

According to the professor, the most important factors affecting the thermogenesis of seniors are certain diseases and medications. He cites, for example, neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, but also certain metabolic or endocrine diseases.

For drugs, this is “those that act on the nervous system” Which also affects body temperature: “They are called by the common names of psychotropic drugs: benzodiazepines, tranquilizers, neuroleptics…”

According to a professor of geriatrics, malnutrition also makes it difficult to maintain body temperature at the right level. “Losing weight and no longer having enough muscle means that thermogenesis is also less well regulated”, he explains. And if you are sedentary, the effect of cold can be even greater.

“Don’t confuse emotions and objective effects”

Claude Gindel points out an essential distinction: an older person does not necessarily feel colds more acutely. “We must not confuse the emotional and objective effects on body temperature. You can feel the cold more strongly than young, healthy and old people”

Details of what describes emotion as being “Individual “And “personal”.

Some older people cannot feel cold enough, which can lead to health problems, especially since lower temperatures affect our thermogenesis more easily. “For example, people with Alzheimer’s are less able to adopt good habits when exposed to cold and put themselves at risk”That explains.

For a professor of geriatrics, the main danger of a cold is hypothermia. According to Health Insurance, this chilling is a body temperature below 35 degrees Celsius, which can sometimes have serious consequences on the heart.

But Claude Gindel reassures: “You have to stay in very low temperatures for a really long time, reaching zero degrees. People most at risk are the homeless. The risk increases if they are elderly and under the influence of alcohol. »

However, a feeling of cold may appear when the house is not heated enough. The room temperature should be at least 17-18 degrees. But some people can live in conditions of energy poverty”, he explains. If the risk of hypothermia is lower when you have a roof over your head, the professor recalls that it is important to identify and monitor people in isolation situations.

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