Falling may seem like a small mistake we get sometimes. When we see it, it’s not a big deal, but an innocent fall may cause a life, especially in our elderly.
While tripping and stumbling over is something that we often laugh about in ourselves from time to time, this could also have a significant health concern. To learn more about the risks of falls, read this now to save a life.
This misconception about the risk of falls and their side effect should be considered especially to those at risk and vulnerable to it, the elderly.
Who is at risk for falls?
Patients who are commonly at risk of falls are the elderly, people over the age of 60. Unfortunately, these people often suffer fatal falls that may require hospitalization, or worse, even death. In addition, the WHO stated that there are about 684,000 falls each year where people have died because of it.
Our elderly loved ones are typically at risk of falling because of their declining physical capabilities as well as the effects of the aging process.
When older people fall, these often result in hospitalization because of hip fractures, which show bone fragility. This usually happens without any notice.
Common causes of falls from loss of muscle strength and balance, high blood pressure leading to fainting, and lack of grab bars in commonly used areas by elders like comfort rooms and stairs.
According to recent studies, there are about 37.3 million falls each year that requires medical treatment.
Knowing who is at risk of falls is the first step to limit this common cause of injury at home.
What causes a fall?
Fall is a type of incident where an individual unintendedly drops direct on the ground. These are usually caused by muscle weakness, vision loss, chronic illnesses that leads to dizziness and fainting, side effects of some medications, poor lighting, and some home hazards.
Muscle weakness, vision loss, chronic illness, and side effects of some medications are also other reasons experienced by older people.
These health conditions are usually caused by certain genetic traits, personal lifestyle, effects of accidents, and many more.
Poor lighting and some home hazards can also cause unintended falls.
LED light bulbs may last up to 5 years, so make sure to check if they are still working properly. Meanwhile, other home hazards like stairs pointed corners of cabinets, tables, and chairs, slippery floors, and other home accessories should be noted if you have some elderly at home.
Fortunately, these things can be managed by house maintenance. The first thing you need to do is identify which area at home needs repair and maintenance.
It’s also important to note whenever you rearrange things for your elderly loved ones, to always ask if they’re comfortable or if they can move at. In this way, it’ll lessen the risk of falling.
If in case they’re unable to help you with that because of whatever reason, try checking it yourself by putting yourself in their shoes. Empathy can go a long way.
What are the major causes of fall?
Significant causes of falls may be internal or external. Internal if the fall happens because of patient’s loss of balance because of muscle weakness, poor vision, dizziness, and fainting. External if the fall happens because of outside factors like poor lighting conditions and home hazards.
One of the significant risk factors for falling is aging. With aging, declining physical strength is the primary concern.
Physical strength needs solid muscles and bones to have a correct balance. Also, a clear vision should go together to see where you’re going.
All these physical attributes would diminish as we age. It’s a normal way of life that we cannot reverse, but we can do other things to slow it down or prevent the chance of it happening.
How can we prevent falls?
Fall prevention can be done by having yourself see a doctor for check-ups, exercise, use appropriate footwear, minimising home hazards, improving light conditions, and use assistive devices. With these preventive measures, severe consequences of falling may be lessened abruptly.
As we age, we need to communicate with our doctors more often. This will help us know things to improve in our health.
Exercise is another way to prevent falls. This can strengthen your bones and muscles and prolong the effects of aging. Low intense exercise like slow walking is excellent for older people.
Home repair and regular maintenance are essential to limit home hazards in our elderly’s home.
In addition to regular home repair and maintenance to prevent falls, we can also use assistive devices.
Assistive devices are your tools to help you whenever you fall. It can send help, GPS tracking, heart monitoring, and it can even be used as a smartphone to connect with people you trust.
One of the most highly recommended product that your loved one can use is CPR Guardian III.
CPR Guardian III is a modern personal alarm watch with a fall detector that you can easily carry on every day. You and your family can use this for safety and protection.
With its compact design and easy-to-use feature, all people of all ages can use it.
Its small and stylish design won’t make your elderly embarrassed to wear it. Instead, they’ll surely be proud of it and show it off to their peers.
Conclusion
Fall is a common cause of physical injury affecting older people.
Loss of bones and muscle strength, poor vision, long-term disease, side effects of medications and some home hazards are common reasons for fall that leads to injury to our elderly.
These types of accidents can be prevented one way or the other. Having regular doctor’s visits and home repair maintenance would greatly help minimize the risks of falls. It only takes proper awareness of the needs that your elderly might require.
The CPR Guardian Personal Alarm Watch with Fall Detection is an easy-to-use standalone mobile phone watch with an integrated SIM card. It’s a personal alarm that contacts family. They can view the location and well-being of the wearer remotely by using the Guardian mobile APP for Android and iOS. Carers can call the fall detection watch just like a mobile phone. Please contact us if you need assistance.
