Simple Changes You Can Make to Your Care to Help Prevent Falls

Elder Care in South Plainfield NJ

Each year millions of adults over the age of 64 suffer serious falls, accounting for around 30 percent of the population of senior adults. Approximately 800,000 of them will end up having to undergo hospitalization to treat their injuries, and nearly 30,000 of them will die. Those who survive are at high risk of suffering from serious effects that will impact their mobility, health, and quality of life throughout their later years. Protecting your elderly loved one from these serious injuries is an important part of helping them to live the happiest, safest, and most comfortable quality of life possible as they age in place.

Try these simple changes that you can make to your parent’s care routine to help them to prevent falls and stay safer:

• Encourage more exercise. Physical fitness is one of the greatest protectors against falls and against the serious injuries that can come from these falls. When your parent stays active they keep their muscles and joints strong, and promote better flexibility, range of motion, and balance. All of these help to keep your parent on their feet and to protect their body against serious damage if they happen to fall.
• Provide reliable assistance. If you know that there are certain movements or tasks that are particularly challenging for your aging parent, make sure that any assistance offered is safe and secure. For example, avoid encouraging your parent to reach out for a rolling chair or unstable piece of furniture to help with mobility needs. These can roll away or tip over, increasing the risk of serious falls and injury. Likewise, be sure that any physical assistance that you offer is secure. If you are not strong enough or have balance issues of your own, do not attempt to offer this help as it could result in both of you suffering injuries.
• Consider side effects. Certain medications and treatments can cause dizziness, drowsiness, and other issues that increase fall risk. If you notice that your parent seems off balance or has fallen recently, discuss this possibility with their doctor. They can help you determine if there is an alternative treatment available or if there are other ways you can help prevent injury.

One truly exceptional way that you can help to reduce the risk that your elderly loved one will suffer a serious fall is to begin elder care for them. Having an elderly home care services provider with them allows your parent to rely on their physical assistance to handle tasks such as transferring, going up and down stairs, or even getting into and out of the shower according to their specific needs. This care provider can also modify activities and tasks for your loved one to allow them to manage their daily needs and do what they want to do while reducing the risk that they will fall. This will give them greater confidence engaging in more activities and give you peace of mind knowing that your parent is safe, comfortable, and healthy even when you are not able to be with them.

Source
https://www.ncoa.org/news/resources-for-reporters/get-the-facts/falls-prevention-facts/

If you or an aging loved one are considering elder care in South Plainfield, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Care Street Home Care of New Brunswick today. Call (732) 607-8870.