Falling Leaves are Beautiful in the Fall. But Falling? Is Not!

​This article shared with permission from Premier Therapy.

First, be sure your home is as safe as possible.

Here are some tips:

• Wear shoes with nonskid soles. Avoid slippers and please don't wear flip flops (ever).

• Be sure your home is well lit so that you can see things which could cause you to trip.

• Use night lights in your bedroom, bathroom, hallways, and stairways.

• Remove throw rugs or fasten them to the floor with carpet tape. Tack down carpet edges.

• Don't put electrical cords across pathways.

• Install grab bars in your bathtub, shower, and toilet area.

• Install handrails on both sides of all stairways (inside and outside.)

• Don't climb on stools. Have someone else help with jobs that require climbing.

• Don't wax your floors at all, or use a non-skid wax.

• Repair sidewalks and walkways so that surfaces are smooth and even.

Next, get regular check-ups from your doctor, and take good care of yourself:

• Have your eyes checked every year for cataracts and other eye problems.

• Have your hearing checked every two years or any time you or others think that you can't hear well.

• See your doctor if you have foot pain or corns, or if you can't trim your toenails well. Sore feet could make you fall.

• See your doctor right away if you feel dizzy, weak, unsteady or confused, or especially if you fall.

• Let your doctor know if a medicine is making you feel dizzy or making you lose your balance.

• If your doctor wants you to use a cane or a walker, learn how to use it—and then use it all the time.

• When you get up from bed, sit on the side of the bed for a minute or two before you stand up. This will give your blood pressure time to adjust, and you will feel less dizzy.

• If you need to go to the bathroom often at night, consider using a bedside commode.

Keep your body in good shape:

• Get regular exercise, especially walking.

• Do exercises to strengthen the muscles you use for walking and lifting.

• Don't smoke.

• Limit your alcohol intake to two drinks or less a day. 

• Your family can help you check your home for dangers that might make you trip or fall. They can help make your home safer for you.

• Someone in your family can take a walk with you to see how stable you are. Your family can also watch for changes in your strength or balance.

• Your family can respond to any worries you might have about feeling dizzy, weak or unsteady, and they can see that you get help. 

• Falls are the number one accident in people over the age of 65 and are responsible for many serious injuries and accidental deaths in older people.

• Even older people who appear to be strong and well can fall. Falling is a real threat to your ability to live on your own. 

• The normal changes of aging, like poor eyesight or poor hearing, can make you more likely to fall. Illnesses and physical conditions can affect your strength and balance. Poor lighting or throw rugs in your home can make you more likely to trip or slip or even worse, fall.

• The side affects of some medicines can upset your balance and cause you to fall. Medicines for depression, sleep problems, and high blood pressure often cause falls. Some medicines for diabetes and heart conditions can also make you unsteady on your feet.

• You may be more likely to fall if you are taking four or more medicines. You are also likely to fall if you have changed your medicine within the past two weeks. 

These tips are presented by Premier Therapy. Premier is the therapy group operating out of the DuBois Nursing Home, offering physical, occupational and speech therapies along with specializing in treatment plans for Parkinson's, Lung and Breathing and Lymphedema. For more information on the services and therapies provided by Premier Therapy call 814-375-9100.