Fall-proofing yourself and your home.
By Myra Williams, Vice President, Health Services Division, HMSA
I enjoy the trips in my life. The journey to new places adds excitement and offers new experiences. What I don’t enjoy are unexpected trips, especially in my own home. Recently, while getting out of my hot tub, I slipped and fell.
The worst of my injuries was a huge bruise that was tender and sore. I could have broken a bone or seriously injured myself, but I was lucky this time.
Serving as a member on the Injury Prevention Advisory Committee for the Hawaii Department of Health Injury Prevention and Control Program (IPCP), I am aware of the dangers of tripping or falling, especially as I get older. In Hawaii every five hours, a senior suffers a fall injury so serious they must be hospitalized. These falls are the leading cause of injury, disability and death for seniors. According to Eric Tash, IPCP program manager, “Most people think of seniors falling and breaking their hips, but falls cause 80 percent of traumatic brain injury among seniors.”
According to Robin Argue, grant coordinator for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “People don’t need to necessarily know all of the injury statistics, but we want them to understand that injuries are preventable.”
To spread the message, IPCP has started the “No Get Hurt Hawaii” campaign with funding from the CDC. Injuries from falls, drownings, car crashes and poisonings can be predicted and prevented. But it starts with each person becoming aware of what they can do. “If people stop for a second and think about it, they can minimize their risk of injury,” says Argue.
To prevent falls from happening, Tash offers four tips.
- Begin a regular exercise program. Regular exercise builds strength, flexibility and balance.
- Ask your health provider or pharmacist to review your medications. Some medications cause dizziness.
- Check your vision on a regular basis.
- Make your home safe.
The alarming fact is that most falls happen at home. It wasn’t until I slipped that I realized the potential risks within my own house. I did a quick inventory. I didn’t have a nonslip bath mat in my hot tub. In my bedroom, I had rugs that easily moved around.
These are the things that I needed to change. I also knew that as time goes by, I will have to adjust more things around me. “People need to keep in mind that as they age, their homes may need to be modified to reduce the risk of falling,” Tash says. How is the lighting in your home? Is the path from your bed to the bathroom dark? Is your light near the bed hard to reach? Hazards around the home are easily overlooked, but they are easy to fix.
We also must remember to fall-proof ourselves as well. Shoes that fit your feet well with low heels and nonslip soles are essential in preventing slips.
I realize after my trip in the hot tub that by fall-proofing myself and my home, it can save me a lot of time, pain and money. So when I do happen to take a trip, it’s to a planned destination like the south of France.
