Question: @Sara as an elderly citizen if we get ill why does it take longer for us to heal or recover?

Richard Unwin answered on 17 Nov 2015:

Basically as we get past bout 60, our body starts to work less well as wear and tear begin to take their toll (think of how well a car work after 200,000 miles, versus when it was new). This Includes healing, as our tissues take longer to repair themselves, and our immune system work less well too, so we’re more likely to get infections, coughs, colds, and they affect us more than when we were young.