Most elderly people experience a decline in physical strength and a weakened immune system, as well as a decrease in temperature regulation and shrinking sweat glands. Therefore, when choosing clothing, elderly individuals should prioritize warmth, lightness, softness, roominess, and simplicity.
In hot summer weather, elderly people should avoid wearing dark-colored clothing and instead opt for clothes that have strong sweat absorption, good ventilation, wide openings, comfortable fit, and are easy to wash. Silk is a suitable fabric for summer clothes as it does not stick to sweaty skin and allows for better heat dissipation.
Elderly people's clothing should be loose-fitting, lightweight, and soft, providing a comfortable feel. Additionally, the clothing should have simple styles and be easy to put on and take off. It is advisable for elderly individuals to avoid pullover clothes and clothes with many buttons and instead opt for clothes with a front opening.
Elderly individuals should preferably wear undergarments made of cotton fabric or cotton textiles and avoid wearing synthetic fiber clothing. Synthetic fiber underwear can generate static electricity and irritate the skin, leading to itching in elderly individuals. However, elderly individuals suffering from rheumatoid arthritis can wear pants made of spandex fabric as the static electricity produced by spandex can provide some help in treating the condition.
The feet are the extremities where blood vessels are distributed, and the subcutaneous fat in the feet is relatively thin, consisting mostly of dense fibrous tissue, which provides poor insulation. "Cold starts from the feet" is the principle behind this. Due to poor peripheral circulation, elderly individuals are more prone to cold feet. Exposing the feet to cold can reflexively cause the blood vessels in the nasal mucosa to constrict, leading to a cold, and some elderly individuals may also experience symptoms such as stomach pain, diarrhea, abnormal heart rate, and numbness in the legs. Therefore, elderly individuals should prepare shoes and socks suitable for different seasons.
Elderly individuals' socks should help maintain normal body temperature, keep the body clean, and even have health benefits. The sweat glands on the soles of the feet are as abundant as those on the palms of the hands, and even if sweat secretion stops in other parts of the body, sweat secretion on the soles of the feet continues. Especially in summer, elderly individuals should wear thin, breathable, moisture-absorbing, and moisture-wicking socks to facilitate the evaporation of foot sweat.
