It is essential to take suitable measures preventing falls as it may be traumatic and may lead to adverse consequences and emergencies. According to statistics over 2 million cases of emergency are attributed to falls related to children while approximately over 420,000 cases injuries attributed to falls related to adults ageing 65 and above have been recorded. Falls are not disease or disorder rather incidents that can be avoided. Anyone can experience fall as it is not age related. However, babies and aged individuals are more prone to fall of different kinds. For example, small children or babies are prone to fall as they are learning to balance or walk or they fall from furniture while playing etc. On the other hand aged individuals may get tripped and fall to meet injuries.
Some common falls facts:
* Falls are considered as one of the most common reason for injuries in children and adults which may require emergency visit to doctor or hospital
* Falls are attributed to more number of open wounds, bone fractures as well as brain injuries as compared to any other factor leading to injuries
* It is believed that in United States, one out of every three aged individuals becomes victim to falls every year. To your information fall is also one of the leading causes that results in death in elder individuals due to injuries. Since, with the process of aging people tend to loose their bone density, they become prone to bone fractures that may result from injuries occurred due to fall.
Preventing fall risks:
With the progression in a person’s age the risk of fall increases due to reduced ocular ability, inappropriate balancing and lesser strength while walking. There are certain safety measures that should be taken in order to avoid fall or reduce the damages that may otherwise result out of the incident. Some of the useful safety measures include.
* In case of elder it is essential to check and treat any ocular disability which would in turn help in preventing falls.
* Know and avoid medication that may cause side effects such as hallucination and dizziness which may cause you to lose balance
* Restrict or at least reduce intake of alcohol as it may cause euphoria that may cause you to fall
* Ensure that you wear comfortable footwear which makes it easy for you to walk and balance. Try getting low heel footwear probably with rubber sole. Wearing loose fitting footwear, especially slippers, may lead to tripping resulting in fall.
* Ensure to walk on safe surface for preventing falls, as icy or water surface may cause you to slip and fall leading to serious injuries
* Performing regular exercises will help in maintaining physical strength and flexibility including good bone health.
Helping elders prevent falls:
It is known that even aged individuals are more prone to falls; hence, it is essential to take safety measure to keep them from falling, even a moderate fall may cause them significant damages.
* Ensure that there are no objects that may cause the elderly to trip and preventing falls.
* Ensure that slippery regions are covered with rug that provides grip and avoid slips.
* Ensure that elderly may not feel dizzy due to medications or room temperature. Any such factors causing dizziness should be avoided.
* Affix handle bar near frequently visited area by the elderly, this would provide support while walking. Such places in the house may include toilet, kitchen, staircase etc.
* Provide your elderly with walking aid such as walking frames, canes etc.
These are some of the measures that should be adopted for preventing falls as well as saving elders from becoming victim to fall and its adverse consequences.
