How Can Diarrhea, Bloating, Upset Stomach, Productive Cough And Intermittent Weakness In An Elderly Person Close To 90 Years Of Age Be Diagnosed?

Posted on Sun, 6 May 2018

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 6 May 2018 Answered on

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 Last reviewed on

Question : I am 89 years old so cant expect miracles, I have been sick for about a month off and on and right now it's on so I don't feel very good, I have the following: diaria (the runs), I have an upset stomach which swelled up with gas I guess, I cough up flem which is dark brown color, and I am weak off and on. I have taken this year flu and pneumonia shot
I was taking aspirin along with aleve but start to urinate blood so I stopped the aspirin and the blood stopped also.

Answered by Dr. Ivo Ditah (-4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Any fevers?

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

I have reviewed your information and this sounds like an ongoing infection. It seems to be more of a respiratory tract infection. My best advice is that we start with an X-ray of the chest and a stool analysis to understand what might be going wrong. From there, we can move on to narrow down what the cause is and treat accordingly.

You might be 90 but, 90 remains a number. I have seen 90 years old persons who are healthier in every aspect than 60years old. We cannot base any hardliners on this.

Also, do you have any fevers? Shortness of breath? Chest pain when you cough?

Hope to hear back from you.

Waiting...

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar