Helen hadn’t felt well for several days. She’d been to her doctor, who told her she had a mild flu. She’d had her flu shot, and that’s why it was mild. He told her the normal things to do to recover, and she started to feel better, although still weak. On the fifth night, she got up to use the bathroom and was hit by a wave of dizziness. She woke on her back, part-way between her bathroom and bed. The stabbing pain in her arm and her twisted ankle made the excruciating crawl to her nightstand to get her phone unforgettable. She called her neighbour, who had a key to her house, and then 911.
It turned into a long night. A broken arm, a sprained ankle, a slight concussion and dehydration were diagnosed, and the doctor gave her intravenous fluids. He said the dehydration probably caused her dizziness.
We’ve talked about causes of falls, but you may not have considered some of the sneakier ones.
Dehydration: Although Helen’s problems were a result of illness, it’s common among the elderly to not drink enough. Because of fears of incontinence, some don’t drink much in the evening or when going out. Many elders don’t feel thirst until they are actually dehydrated, and need to develop the practice of drinking regularly.
Illness: Even a minor illness can be debilitating in an elder who is already frail and dealing with other chronic and serious problems.
Medication: You may be aware of the side effects of the medications you take normally, but do you know how they interact? And what if you add a cold medicine or cough syrup to the mix? Pharmacists are great resources, and you can consult with them for free.
Elders who have fallen find it affects their quality of life. Loss of independence is one of the greatest (and scariest) results, even if only temporarily.
So how do we prevent falls? We will look at this over the next two weeks.
Environment
- Check all handrails on stairs to make sure they are secure. Always use them! Never let something you are carrying obstruct your vision when using stairs.
- Make sure every area of your home has excellent lighting.
- Ensure electrical or extension chords are tacked to the wall or hidden behind furniture.
- Arrange furniture for easy walking in each area of your home.
- Secure all rugs or get rid of them entirely.
- Add handrails to the bathroom around the tub and toilet.
- Keep it tidy. Make sure there is nothing on the floor which could be tripped over.
- Put a nightlight in the bathroom.
- Prepare food while sitting down to prevent fatigue, or take breaks.
- Have non-slip material added to outdoor stairways.
- Hire someone to remove debris (leaves, branches) and snow in winter. Have them put down salt on icy areas.
- Keep the porch light on, or install a motion-sensitive one.
Remember when your kids (or grandchildren) were beginning to crawl and you looked at every potential hazard before they found it? Look at your house and outdoor areas with new eyes, searching for fall hazards. The fall you prevent will give you safety, independence and quality of life for tomorrow.
Hi Ann!
I can so relate. I was in excellent health, babysitting my 5yr old grandson. I walked regularly on a river path. It was bedtime at his house and I had forgotten the “goldfish crackers”, the essential bedtime snack that went with bedtime story x2. So I went down the 10 steps from second floor…or not! As I went down to the kitchen I looked toward the kitchen, missed the bottom 2 steps and landed on ceramic tile! I did everything but break my hip. They said a deep tissue injury. I spent a month in a rehab hospital, came home with a walker at the end of last May. Well things progressed really well to a point. By Oct. I didn’t really need a walker or a cane. But a month ago I wasn’t happy with how it felt. I became a squeaky wheel and finally got an x-ray and ultra sound done and found a 3cm tendon tear residual from my fall that I had been doing wrong exercises for. Not only that, my mild arthritis in my right hip had changed to “moderately severe”. My left hip was still the same as it was. All of a sudden I’m a candidate for a hip replacement….all because of 2 seconds on a staircase! I do use my walker at the mall for stability and a chair wherever I want….now I’m paranoid! What was a little neat…a couple of the care aides that I used to supervise as an RN, now were helping me at the hospital!
Oh, my, Linda. This is EXACTLY what I am talking about. I had a deep tissue injury last year, and it hurt so much, I thought I had done something to my replaced hip. I’m so glad you advocated for yourself and got the correct kind of help.