Fall Prevention Tips for Seniors in Marietta, GA Assisted Living
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According to the CDC, a senior who falls once is much more likely to have subsequent falls. Injuries from falling cause weak legs and poorer balance, so preventing an initial incident could prevent countless future doctor's visits.
This can be achieved through mobility support, which has two main components: encouraging good strength and balance through good health, and removing hazards from the environment. Seniors here in Marietta, GA, are at risk, so local caregivers, family members, and community staff need to work together to provide reliable mobility support for aging adults.
This article will give you fall prevention tips to help the seniors in your life.
Why Fall Prevention Tips Matter
Sure, falling hurts, but the risk of later complications is where the real problem lies. Seniors who fall often hit their head, which then requires a trip to the emergency room. Assisted living fall protection is a crucial part of memory care safety because it's difficult to evaluate a head injury in someone with memory impairment.
In the event of a suspected head injury, seniors should always play it safe and visit the doctor. Falls could also cause broken bones, resulting in mobility problems. Getting around the house with your leg in a cast is hard enough for anyone, but it's particularly difficult for older people.
Seniors who live alone are most in need of effective fall prevention tips. If they fall without access to a phone or a life alert system, they might have to wait for help.
Helping Seniors Prevent Falls
Getting rid of clutter is a straightforward approach to creating a safer environment and reducing the risk of falling. It is possible to lower the falls by clearing out doorways and walkways of anything that could get in the way.
Caregivers need to do regular walkthroughs of senior spaces, ensuring they're free of obstacles. They should do things like:
- See if shoes are being left in the walkways
- Look for flooring that could be slippery when wet
- Check for any loose floorboards
- Look out for loose cables on the floors
Don't Forget Lighting
Be careful not to forget about lighting. It's an easy mistake to make for caregivers who do their walkthrough during the day. Furniture placement that seems perfectly safe in the light of day could turn into an invisible hazard at once.
Seniors should have their living space 100% covered by motion-activated lights. Areas like landings and porches can be dangerous in the dark, but they're much safer with sufficient lighting.
Bathroom Safety
According to UCLA Health, most slips and falls happen in the bathroom. If a senior home doesn't have a bathroom adapted for older adults, it is definitely a health risk.
Grab bars are crucial in a bathroom frequently used by a senior. Grab bars look quite simple; they're just a bar fixed to a wall. But, there's precise engineering at play.
You can't just hang a bar on the wall and call it a day. You need certified senior safety products installed by someone who knows how to correctly install a grab bar by drilling into the wall stud.
Healthcare Considerations
Fixing things in the environment that could cause someone to trip lowers the risk of falling, but building up good health and reducing medical risks is also important.
Seniors should do frequent balance exercises to build up strength and mobility. Consider exercises like:
- Chair stands
- Heel raises
- Side-steps
- Single-leg balance
If available, tai chi or gentle yoga classes provide guided workouts and communal support.
Medication Risks
Medications are a major, modifiable fall risk. Start by making a full list of all your medications, including over-the-counter medicines and supplements. Then, whenever your dose changes, ask a doctor or pharmacist to check it again.
Highest risk classes include drugs like:
- Benzodiazepines
- Z-drugs
- Strong anticholinergics
- Opioids
- Antipsychotics
- Blood pressure medications
Seniors taking any of these drugs for the first time should proceed with caution. If they start to feel uneasy on their feet, they should get help to declutter their environment and remove any potential hazards.
If the problems are persistent, seniors should talk to their healthcare provider.
Safety in Aging in Place Strategies
According to the National Institute on Aging, many seniors now favor aging in place. This is when seniors retire but stay in their own home in their retirement. They'll install useful safety features like:
- Grab bars
- Curbless showers
- Powerful lighting
Seniors opting for aging in place might compensate for mobility issues by relying on services like meal delivery. They might also take advantage of medication management options at their local pharmacy.
For seniors without significant mobility problems, this approach can work. But, for those with more complicated needs, a specialized environment might be more suitable.
Senior Living Communities
So, senior safety in Marietta, GA, depends on these homes measuring up to safety standards. The older you are, the more modifications and additions you'll need to make to your home. That can get quite expensive, and some properties would require a complete overhaul to make them safe.
That's why many local seniors choose senior living communities instead of making expensive renovations. The truth is that no matter how much you invest, you won't be able to match the standards of a senior living community.
Senior living communities are specially designed to offer both safety and excitement in equal measure. Plus, the professional staff are always on standby to help with a fall.
Find Safety and Security in Our Senior Living Community
Now you have some excellent fall prevention tips you can refer to. Effective fall prevention involves a holistic approach that involves everything from making changes to your living space to strengthening your body and making modifications to your medications.
But, there's an easier solution: moving into a senior living community. We have apartments that are specifically made for your safety and caring staff members who will help you around.
Greenwood Place Assisted Living & Memory Care is here to support our seniors with personalized care plans and round-the-clock professional care. To schedule a tour of our senior living community, get in touch with us today.