As the immune system ages, it renders people vulnerable to increased risk of infection, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and makes them less responsive to vaccinations. Robert Short discusses with Dr Meirion Llewelyn the advice of NHS Direct on ‘boosting the immune system’ and what practical nursing support might be of help to older people

A s we become older, the defences that protect our bodies from disease become less effective. This deterioration of the immune system’s ability to respond to foreign threats to the body (eg bacteria) and also rid the body of its own malfunctioning cells (eg tumour and autoimmune cells) is termed ‘immunosenescence’.