Mary's Corner: Failure to Thrive is a Reality - Concierge Care Advisors: The National Institute of Aging describes failure to thrive (FTT) as a “syndrome of weight loss, decreased appetite and poor nutrition, and inactivity, often accompanied by dehydration, depressive symptoms, impaired immune function, and low cholesterol”.
Many of these features of FTT are actually defined as features of frailty including weight loss, malnutrition, and inactivity. In geriatric practice, FTT describes a syndrome of global decline that occurs in older adults as a worsening of physical frailty that is frequently compounded by cognitive impairment and/or functional disability. FTT describes a point further along a geriatric functional continuum that is closer to full dependence and death, with “frailty as a mid-point between independence and pre-death”
When FTT sets in, it is time for you to get step in with our professional Senior Advisors to reach good decisions based on the medical, mental and emotional care needs of your loved one. This is no time to guess what you think your loved one needs; you may not get a second chance to set things right. As noted by the clinical description above, symptoms of FTT will result in quick death if not addressed swiftly.
