Watch out for falls at Christmas!
Top tips for reducing falls risk
Now is the time to review medications and check for hazards around the home
The right footwear is crucial
As Christmas approaches, one place you do not want to be is the emergency room at your local hospital. One of the commonest reasons for an older person to have to go to hospital is a slip or trip. Not everyone with dementia is older, but even working-age people with dementia may have problems with vision and proprioception that makes it harder for them to stay upright.
Here is some practical advice for falls prevention… and a Christmas hint!
There are some basic things you can do at home to keep things safe. Removing clutter and frayed carpets and getting rid of scatter rugs is a good start. If there must be rugs, attach them to the floor so that they cannot slip using double sided carpet tape or gripper tape. If the rug is over a fitted carpet, you can use rug pins securing it to the underlying carpet.
Mop up spillages on hard floors. Apply a non-skid treatment to the floor. There are products specifically for wood floors. The transition from one type of floor type to another is a risky threshold because in dementia the person might perceive it as a step. An example might be where the hall carpet ends and the bathroom floor starts.
No matter what the floors are like well-fitting shoes are important to prevent falls. It is a bad idea to walk about in your socks. Floppy slippers are even worse.
One Christmas the Brownies held a slipper amnesty where all the old people were able to bring in a used pair of slippers and they were confiscated so that the person could be issued with a brand-new pair of properly fitted slippers. This was part of a campaign to reduce falls in older people. (Elizabeth, Brownie leader)
Ask for a medication review to see if anything is being taken that would increase the fall risk.
Some sedatives and antidepressants have that effect. Any medications that affect your brain, your blood pressure or your blood sugar can cause dizziness. Give the doctor details of any previous falls, or near misses. It is worth keeping a diary of those. The doctor will ask the patient about any joint pain, shortness of breath, or numbness in the feet and legs when they walk.
After a fall people sometimes lose confidence and take less exercise, which is a bad idea because decreasing exercise can increase the risk of a fall. You want to do things that will improve your balance, flexibility, muscle strength, and gait. Walking is a very good exercise for this, and it helps your health in so many other ways including your mental health. As a carer you may find it useful to recruit a buddy who will take your loved one out for a walk regularly. That gives you some respite while making them less likely to fall over.
And this Christmas, take a hint from the Brownies. A nice pair of slippers is a very acceptable gift, and if you can get rid of the old ones, that can make a significant contribution to preventing slips and trips.
There will be more about this in my new book coming out in Spring 2022 called Carers and Caring.
Three hints
1. An exercise programme improves strength and balance
2. Review medicines and glasses
3. Safety check the home
If you would like more information, you can buy my book Dementia, the One Stop Guide or Care Homes: When, Why and How to Choose a Care Home. I am available for consultancy for families or organisations. And if you have any further queries or questions, or suggestions for something you’d like to see me write on, please contact me via the Contact Page
See my new course on Dementia the One Stop Guide on Policy Hub here
Find out about Carers and Caring: the One-Stop Guide here and preorder NOW
