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Be Careful!
Avoiding Falls As You Age

Falling down among older adults is an enormous health problem. Due to the natural aging process, a slight loss of balance is common and due to the loss of bone density as you age, the injuries sustained in falling are much more serious than when you were younger. Fifty percent of all older people who fall and break a hip will have a permanent disability such as pain or reliance on assistance from others with daily living.

But don’t worry, you don’t have to buy pillows and duct tape them to every inch of your home. There are some precautions you can take in your everyday life to avoid serious injury. Some are common sense, some require you to install simple devices in your home and some require you to give up some of your vanity (which may be hardest of all) but every one of these suggestions will help you maintain your health and independence as you age.

Light and Sight
It will definitely help if you can see where you’re going. Check the lighting levels in your house. Are your light bulbs bright enough? Do you have nightlights in hallways and bathrooms? Turn an overhead light on when you enter a room in the evening or on cloudy days even if you’ve lived in the same house for 30 years and know it by heart.

Make sure you have yearly vision check ups and that your glasses are the correct prescription. Most importantly, wear them! They don’t do any good on the bedside table while you’re tripping on the stairs.

Rugs and Railings
Throw rugs are pretty but did you know they could be dangerous to your health? You don’t have to get rid of them but make sure that you use non-slip rug pads underneath them. This keeps them from moving around and slipping out from under you when you step on them. Also make sure that the corners of the rugs are flat and not curling up for you to trip over.

Stairs are the most obvious place for a fall and railings are your best friends for avoiding accidents. Modern homes are required to have stair railings but older homes may not be up to current standards. Have some installed if your home doesn’t already have them. Also make sure you use railings in places other than your home, such as the stairs of your church that may be wet or icy.

When you have the handyman there to install the stair railings, have him install a rail in the bathroom as well. (Maybe you can get a discount!) A handy grip rail in the bathroom will allow you to dry your feet and not fall off them. If you’re using the towel bar for keeping your balance, stop it. Towel bars aren’t designed or installed to handle the weight of a human being and if you rely on it, it will most likely fail you.

Mess, Mutts and Medicine
Take a look around your home. Is the newspaper spread out everywhere? Do you have extension cords run awkwardly in your home? Are there shoes in the middle of the living room floor? Clean up the clutter. You can’t trip over things that aren’t there.

If your dog or cat is like most, she has this wonderful habit of being wherever you are. This includes sleeping at your feet or lying in the middle of the floor of whatever room you’re in. Make an effort to look around before getting up or turning around if you’ve been standing in the same place for a long time such as the kitchen sink. While falling over Fluffy will make a funny story to tell your friends, it’s not worth it. Learn a new joke and keep your health.

Last but not least, if you feel your balance has become markedly decreased lately, have your doctor review your medications. Many medications or combinations of medications including some for blood pressure or even a cold can cause you to become light-headed.

All accidents and falls in retrospect seem foolish so do what you can before they happen. A simple review of your home and habits can help you avoid major injury that could threaten your health and independence.

For more information, visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website at the following link. http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/falls/default.htm