5 Ways to Prevent Falling in Your Loved Ones Home

When you think of falling it all seems trivial. We have all fallen in our lifetimes and most of the time we just get back up, dust off the dirt and try not to be embarrassed if a lot of people saw. However, for your loved ones aged 65 and older, falling can be very detrimental.

According to the CDC, over 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of a fall injury, most often because of a head injury or hip fracture. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is very common and may even lead to death. Being with your loved one everyday can be hard, especially with you having to work and provide for your own family; so today, with your loved ones in my mind, we’re going to discuss 5 ways to prevent falling in your loved one’s home.

1. Clear away any clutter that may be littered around on their floors. This includes shoes, towels, paper, etc.

2. Remove tripping hazards such as rugs from their homes if they are not flush with the floor. If the carpet, floorboards or rugs are damaged and can be easily tripped over when walking, have them removed, repaired or replaced to prevent future falls.

3. Lighting is essential in seeing where you are going. If the light bulbs in your loved one’s home are too dim or dark, replace them with fresher ones. If the lighting still yields to dark in the room, have extra light fixtures added to brighten up the space such as lamps, night lights, etc.

4. Add grab bars and rails to your loved one’s home in areas where they need them most, such as in the shower, beside the toilet, along stairs, etc.

5. Have your loved one wear slip resistant shoes around their home and when they leave their home. Slip resistant shoes will help your loved one keep their balance and not slip on things they cannot see such as water on the floor. Likewise, their home may have hardwood or shiny coated floors and those can be easy to slip on without the added hazard of anything spilled on them.

Want to learn more about PC Home Health’s services? Contact us at (214) 991-5619.