Are you elderly?

I am 79 , dodgy hip use a stick grumble a lot ........... but no I'm not elderly

I am 74, also have a dodgy hip, a TKR, take a cocktail of meds for heart probs, I shall be old(er) in a couple of weeks when I reach 75, do I qualify?

I think you are right petal in that the term elderly is always somewhat older than we are ourselves.

Elderly is in ten years time. It's been that far away for at least the last twenty years.

I'm 70 this year - but not yet elderly. Thats ten years away.

DH and I are 72, we are elderly. We walk, hike, swim, and ride bikes but elderly we are. Our GC tell us.

I think the NHS website that recommends not eating raw eggs etc. says over 65, which is hardly elderly, as we will all still be working past 65 soon. In comparison, the NHS Care of the Elderly/Geriatric services are for over 75s. I guess this age may go up soon with the increase of very elderly frail patients.

I also don't think anyone whose contemporaries still have parents alive can't be classed as elderly.

I'm 77 this year. I am not elderly.

I'm 65, keep getting offered all kinds of things for the elderly. They must be coming to the wrong address surely.

I feel elderly first thing in the morning and get younger as the day moves on. Now its almost midnight and I feel fresh and active and will tidy the kitchen and empty the dishwasher before going upstairs.
I have just read that the elderly need Vit D pills as they can no longer convert enough of that valuable hormone from the amount of sun we get at the moment.

seriously the sellers of all these foods and drugs are just playing safe. They would like nothing better than that the elderly buy everything.

I am also 70 this year but call me elderly at your peril

MargaretX I feel quite young first thing in the morning until I get out of bed

MargaretX I am with you on this one. I also feel elderly when I first get up ( I am 64), but then I never was a morning person even as a youngster. I too get younger as the day progresses. It is just half an hour past midnight as I type this. I will go to bed in a minute or six , some cups and plates to wash first, I may also see if I can finish off the crossword before I go.

tomorrow morning I will be the walking dead again. It is a good job that DH has nerves of steel

Yesterday I did the election survey on Gransnet/Mumsnet and was pleasantly surprised to find that when it asked for your details at the end there were several "elderly" age bands – instead of the usual single one such as "65 or over", lumping together people born as much as 30 years apart!

Do people actually eat raw eggs at any age? Ugh.

Definitely (not the raw eggs, elderly)

I've had raw eggs three times this week. In homemade mayonnaise and mousse, and in a chachapuri (sp?) at a Georgian restaurant on holiday. The last one was a one off (but delicious!), but the other two aren't unusual.

My dad used to tackle a hangover by drinking raw eggs beaten together with sherry. It was probably kill or cure.

I'm 76. I didn't feel elderly until last Saturday when I had a passport photograph taken. They say the camera cannot lie but I do hope that one did. I haven't made mayonnaise for years so I don't think I've had any raw eggs recently. When I was 17, I lost my voice and my Classics teacher recommended swallowing a raw egg. Much as I admired my mentor, I didn't take that advice and my voice came back of its own accord.

We're the same age anno, I.e. not at all old. But as in your case, the camera definitely lies. You should see my bus pass photo. Thank goodness I never have to show it, just swipe it.

My passport photograph , fortunately now never needed truly looks like a corpse. It is so pale I did not think it would be accepted by the passport office but it was. My bus pass is definitely of a little old lady. not at all like me!!

I decided that my recent passport pic is awful but not because of my age!
The harsh lighting.
Looking straight ahead and not smiling.
Having to swipe my full fringe to one side.
All add up to a very unflattering picture!
So not 'cos I'm old!

Was aware of the raw eggs warning but not pate although DD avoided both when pregnant. Can cope without the eggs but would really miss pate.

Judge for yourself, Petal, whether you want to eat any of those things. If you think you might be at risk avoid them. Otherwise don't avoid them. None of them bother me. Yet. They might do one day. I ate pâté when pregnant (not enough to show) because I couldn't bear to refuse (the politeness ethic I was brought up with + I wasn't ready to 'out' my pregnancy at that point) when it was part of a dinner at someone else's house. There were no repercussions.

I think the risk of illness from the things mentioned is really quite low but babies and elderly people are mentioned because, what with extreme youth and, possibly, extreme age there are a lot of unknowns about how well their immune system is or will work.

PS When I watch DD1 with her kids I realise that I am certainly a bit elderly. I no longer have that kind of energy.

My neighbour, who is 92, was affronted when her GP referred to her as elderly