For Seniors, Falls are Public Enemy #1
You want the stats? Consider this:
- Falling once doubles your chances of falling again.
- Fall injuries are the leading cause of 30-day hospital readmissions.
- Hospitalizations due to falls last twice as long as hospitalizations for any other reason.
- People who live alone are up to 24% more likely to have a fall.
- Home hazards are the cause of 50% of falls.
The outlook feels bleak, especially if you’re over 65 and you’ve already had a fall.
What can be done to prevent a fall? Short answer: nothing.
There is nothing that can absolutely, positively guarantee that your loved one won’t have a fall (short of strapping him or her in a bed and never letting them get up, but that’s both immoral and illegal).
So the best we can do is directly attack the factors that contribute to falls. If falls are public enemy number one, consider these its accomplices.
Accomplice #1: Clutter
Your loved one’s home doesn’t need to be as cluttered as some of the residences you see on the Hoarders reality show. A pile of laundry here or a stack of newspapers there is all it takes to trip up an elderly person living alone.
Sometimes, aging seniors just get overwhelmed. Their mailbox fills with advertising circulars. They still subscribe to the daily newspaper. They tire easily and can never seem to get around to washing AND drying AND folding AND putting away the laundry, so it sits in a pile in the hallway of all places.
For others, it’s a lifetime of accumulated memories (in the form of trinkets, souvenirs, music programs, church bulletins, or old mail.
And for others who live in a home that just doesn’t seem to have enough electrical outlets, it’s a network of extension cords.
The point is, when clutter ends up on the floor and blocking a person’s path, it’s an invitation to join that clutter on the floor, whether you intend to or not. And the results can be devastating. From a bruised face to a broken hip, it’s more than just one’s pride that is wounded.
Accomplice #2: Uneven Surfaces
Shouldn’t this accomplice be listed under “Clutter”? Nope. In our experience serving many seniors across the Gainesville area, we’ve seen plenty of homes that were well maintained. But while free from clutter, they weren’t free from throw rugs and thresholds.
I discovered the problems with throw rugs first hand. A couple of years ago, I had a total hip replacement. For the first few weeks after the procedure, yours truly had to use a walker everywhere I went. It was in the bathroom that I saw what could really happen with area rugs.
I was perfectly capable of lifting my walker to get over the front of the throw rug. What I didn’t expect was how the back of my standard two-wheel walker would bunch up the area rug under my feet and out of my sight. Although I didn’t fall, I realized how it happens.
Look, we get it. We’re not immune to your mom and dad’s sense of design. A well-secured (think two-sided tape) tight weave rug under a coffee table has its place in interior design. But things like thresholds and easily bunchable area rugs are a real risk. If you can live without the rug in your home, you should.
Accomplice #3: Inadequate Lighting
Many modern homes emphasize and open floor plan with many windows and lots of natural light. Unfortunately, many of the elderly clients we serve live in older homes that weren’t designed with this sensibility.
Remember this rule: if you can’t see it, you can’t avoid it.
Inadequate lighting, combined with the deteriorating eyesight that many seniors experience, can lead to some unfortunate mishaps. The good news is, this factor is often easily fixed with a higher wattage bulb. (And sometimes, it’s just a matter of replacing the hallway light bulb that went out a few months ago.)
Accomplice #4: Poor footwear
Look, we get it. We all have our favorite pair of slippers that fit your feet like a glove.
But slippers and flip flops are a bad choice for someone who wants to prevent a fall. Same goes for that favorite pair of shoes that last had tread on them during the second Obama administration.
Shoes that won’t grip the floor, as well as shoes your feet can easily slide in and out of, are shoes that will one day contribute to a fall.
Instead, wear a shoe with slip-resistant soles, a firm heel counter (something that nestles your foot in the shoe), and secure fastening like laces or velcro.
Accomplice #5: Fear of falling
Okay, this one may seem counterintuitive. After all, what could be a better way to prevent oneself from falling than to be afraid of falling?
Here’s the problem. If you are TOO afraid of falling, you’ll start to change your habits.
You sit around all day. Maybe you skip a meal or two because you don’t want to risk standing up in the kitchen that long. Perhaps you decide that you don’t need to take a shower this week. After all, didn’t I hear the majority of falls happen in the bathroom?
Each of these decisions puts a person at MORE risk of having a fall.
The chair-sitter thinks, There’s no chance of falling if I’m just sitting in my recliner, right?
Wrong. You’ll have to get up eventually, whether it’s to use the restroom or go to bed. When you become more sedentary, you become weaker.
Skipping meals? That’s skipping the nutrition your body needs to maintain muscle mass and strength.
Forgoing your bath or shower? Poor hygiene can lead to UTIs (urinary tract infections) which lead to confusion and poor decisions, which can lead to…you guessed it: falls.
How Ovation Home Care Private Duty Care Can Help
I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
We have a Fall Prevention Program. As mentioned above, we cannot and do not guarantee that someone won’t ever have a fall under our care. But the thing about our program is, it’s our standard operating procedure. We know that falls are public enemy number one for seniors. So for every client we serve, we are thinking about how we can eliminate the risk factors that lead to so many falls.
We help keep homes picked up and clutter free, doing the laundry for our clients and helping them get through piles of mail that rightly belong in the trash.
When we see uneven surfaces, we make recommendations about which area rugs should come up. Often, our caregivers are tasked with being “standby assist” when the client is transiting a threshold. (That means right by their side, ready to assist if needed.)
We can make sure the lights are turned on when needed. And we can connect clients with handymen to address any lighting issues that we can’t handle.
We remind clients of which shoes will be safest. And if they struggle with lower-body dressing, we can help them get those lace up sneakers on and off.
We can also prep meals so that our clients get the nutrition they need. They don’t have to be as afraid of getting a shower several times a week when our CNA or Home Health Aide is there to help them get in and out of the shower safely.
These are just a few ways we help seniors stay safe. We know falls aren’t the only thing that challenge a senior’s wish to live right where they are as long as possible. But together, we help many seniors achieve their dream of aging in place.
If you’d like to know more about how we can help you or the senior in your life, give us a call at 352-309-1656.
