Trauma program manager gives tips to avoid falls

<i>Health Matters</i> column

By TRISTA BROWNLOW, R.N.

According to the Trauma Registry at Palestine Regional Medical Center in 2008, 86 percent of all admissions or transfers of patients 60 years old and older were caused by falls.

In patients 75 years and older that percentage increases to 91 percent! The causes for all of these falls range from slipping or tripping on an item to losing their balance. Even older people who appear to be strong and well can fall. Whatever the cause may be, most of them are preventable!

What causes me or my loved one to fall?

There are many causes of falling. The most common causes, according to the Trauma Registry data collected by Palestine Regional Medical Center, are poor lighting or throw rugs in your homes. Other causes are due to poor eyesight or poor hearing. Illnesses and physical conditions can affect your strength and balance.

A lot of the side effects of the medications that the elderly have to take cause falls. Some of the medications for diabetes, congestive heart failure, depression, high blood pressure and even some of the vitamins or herbs taken can increase the risk of falling.

What can I do to prevent me or my loved one from falling?

Follow these tips to help prevent falls:

• Remove throw rugs. Tack down carpet edges.

• Wear shoes with nonskid soles (not house slippers).

• Be sure your home is well lit so that you can see things you might trip over.

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

• Don't put electrical cords across pathways.

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

• Have handrails put on both sides of stairways.

• Don't climb on stools and stepladders. Get someone else to help with jobs that call for climbing.

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

• Have sidewalks and walkways repaired so that surfaces are smooth and even.

• Clean eye glasses often to improve visibility.

• Have your eyes checked every year for vision changes, cataracts, glaucoma and other eye problems.

• Have your hearing checked every two years, or anytime 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 or unsteady on your feet, if you feel confused, or 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 during the night or in the morning, 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.

• Get regular exercise, especially walking. Walking for just 30 minutes 3 times per week will decrease your risk for falling. It will help build muscle tone, increase balance, bone mass, flexibility, and strength.

• Don't smoke.

• Eat or drink sufficient calcium. Postmenopausal women need 1,500 mg of calcium daily. Calcium-rich foods include milk, yogurt, cheese, fish and shellfish, selected vegetables such as broccoli, soybeans, collards and turnip greens, tofu and almonds.

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Trista Brownlow, RN, is the Trauma Program Manager at Palestine Regional Medical Center, 903-731-1255.