According to the NIH Senior Health website, over one in three senior citizens falls each year. That’s more than 33 percent of everyone age 65 and over, and many of these people will fall more than once per year. And as people get older, their risk of falling goes up significantly. Not only this, but the damage that can be done when someone falls can potentially get worse and worse as they age, too. This is why it is so important that you have safety measures in place to protect your loved one, even if they have never shown signs of being at risk of falling before.
A fall can be predictable at times, but usually it’s not. But preventative measure can be effective either way. Seniors fall for a number of reasons. They might get dizzy upon standing up and fall down because they have lost their balance. They might slip on a wet floor within the bathroom or the kitchen. Or, they might trip over something that they didn’t see on the floor in front of them. There are countless other reasons that they might fall, too. You can’t completely avoid every single instance of danger, but you can avoid many, and this has the potential to help prevent the pain that follows a fall.
When an elderly person falls, they are at a higher risk of fracture than a younger adult is. The elderly are more likely to suffer from bone density loss or osteoporosis, and they are more likely to have age related muscular atrophy, so their bones are more vulnerable either way. Getting frequent exercise can help to minimize the impact that a fall would have, and stronger muscles will help improve balance, making a fall less likely in the first place. However, the vast majority of seniors get little to no exercise. One easy step that you and your loved one’s in-home care provider can do is to help encourage them to get at least some strength building exercise into their routine. They might only be able to do a little bit of this, but something is far better than nothing.
With some elderly folk, the fear of falling is just as detrimental as a fall can be. These people may have never even suffered from a fall before, but they are convinced that if they do fall, it will be catastrophic. In some cases, fear is healthy because it keeps us safer. In other cases, fear can become paralyzing. In these cases, the need for senior care doesn’t disappear because it is a mental need, but it is just as important. Rather than dismissing your loved one’s fears as some families might, confront them by ensuring that they have safer conditions and the supervision of a trained in-home care professional to help them get around the house with more ease. Not only will this help them to put their fears away, but it will keep them safe if something does happen. This kind of peace of mind is one of the many benefits of in-home care.
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