Preventing Elderly Falls

Preventing elderly falls at home starts with a commitment to learning what things you should be doing to limit potential hazards. Certain things such as poor lighting, things that can cause trip and falls, or medication all play a roll in elderly falling. Some initial steps should be taken to ensure the safest environment possible. Ask yourself if you or your loved one is capable of making a trip to the bathroom at night. Schedule an appointment with your doctor to see whether any prescriptions that have been prescribed could be causing balancing issues. Sedative medication can be a problem as well as certain antidepressants. Even seemingly smaller things such as not getting enough sleep can play a part in balancing issues. Make sure to get a full checkup so that you will know what could be potentially causing a problem.

Lighting is often over looked when it comes to fall prevention. Without proper lighting falls can easily occur during the night. Many elderly individuals will attempt to go to the bathroom at night even if there is no one there to assist them. Of course you cannot always be there, especially at all hours of the night. Even nurses in nursing home settings will not be able to always respond right away to patients middle of the night bathroom needs. Consider adding more bulbs in places that can be the most dangerous such as hallways or areas that are obstructed with a dinning table or other furniture.

In addition to changes to lighting you should also consider purchasing assisted devices such as bed rails, or a similar mobility device. Bed rails are important because they can help elderly individuals get up and use the bathroom at night. Many falls happen when users attempt to get up and they have nothing to grab onto. Also bed rails will allow individuals the ability to grab a hold of a solid support while they get into a wheel chair, bedside toilet, or adjust their clothing. During many of these seemingly simple transfers many of the falls recorded each year happen to occur.

So what are some other devices that can be used to make your home ready to prevent falls? Many people recommend that for those with stairs consider strongly the decision to install hand rails there. Hand rails are especially important for those individuals that have to use the stairs frequently because of the way their house was designed. For those that are unable to walk a stair incline can be installed on your stairwell. Do keep in mind that stair inclines can be very expensive so make sure you have the savings for it. Check also with your health insurance to see if a stair incline is covered by your plan.

Again bed rails are a fantastic way to improve safety in your bedroom area. Bed rails will help you stand up or sit up in bed when need be. Also there are benefits when it comes to the people taking care of someone. If an individuals has bed rails in there room they will be easier to care for because they will, in most cases, be more independent.