Theres so much involved in keeping your senior from experiencing a fall at some point. The more that you include in your prevention plan, the closer youll get to succeeding.
Clutter Is Sneaky
Clutter is a broader topic than you might think at first. When most people think about clutter, they think about the stuff that collects on the kitchen counter during a week or the magazines and mail that pile up on the coffee table. But for a senior with mobility issues, just about anything could be clutter, especially if its in her way or could ever trip her. Staying on top of clutter, even becoming ruthless about it, is vital for helping your senior to avoid falling.
Stairs Need Extra Attention
If your seniors home has stairs, even just one or two steps, they need some special attention. Make sure that the steps themselves are safe and that the treads are securely attached. If there isnt a handrail, install one and make sure that you use wall anchors so that the handrail can hold your seniors weight. Something else to consider is whether your elderly family member uses assistive devices, like canes or walkers. Using these devices may require some additional skill on her part.
Transitional Areas or Darker Areas Can Be a Problem
Depending on whether or not your senior has vision issues, darker areas or transitional areas can cause issues for her that might lead to a fall. Vision sometimes works in complicated ways and while you can see the patterns that mean that theres a shadow marking the edge of the living room, your seniors brain may interpret those shadows and patterns differently. Its important to make sure that shadows are removed with effective lighting and that you somehow are able to distinguish those transitional areas. Using contrasting colors is the easiest way to do that.
Your Senior Could Use Some Help
Something else to consider is that your elderly family member may need some help with managing her mobility. This might be due to physical ailments, vision problems, or even just because shes a little more conscious that she might fall. Having elderly care providers available to help with those issues can help far more than you might realize. They can also help with tasks that are becoming more difficult for her and therefore more dangerous.
Theres a lot to keep up with when it comes to helping your senior to avoid potential falls in her own home. If you can spread out those tasks amongst yourself and other people you can rely on, thats going to make the task feel a little easier.
If you or an aging loved one is considering elderly care in Eagan, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.
