Geriatrics differs from adult medicine in many respects. The body of an elderly person is substantially different physiologically from that of an adult. Treating an elderly person is not like treating an adult.

Many people cannot differentiate between Disease and Aging effects. For example: Renal impairment may be a part of aging but renal failure is not. Also urinary incontinence is not part of normal aging, but it is a disease that may occur at any age and is frequently treatable.

Some elderly people may find it hard to describe their symptoms in words, especially if the disease is active and causing confusion, or if they have cognitive impairment. Delirium in the elderly may be caused by a minor problem such as constipation or by something as serious and life threatening as a heart attack.

The decline in physiological reserve in organs makes the elderly develop diseases and be liable to have complications from even mild problems.

For example: Fever in elderly persons may cause confusion leading to a fall and from the fall, they may have a fracture causing further difficulty.

Another major difference is that elderly persons sometimes cannot make decisions for themselves. The issues of power of attorney, privacy, legal responsibility, advance directives, and informed consent must always be considered in geriatric procedures.

Elder abuse is also a major concern in this age group. In a sense, geriatricians often not only have to “treat” the elder but the caregivers and sometimes, the family.