Caring for a loved one at home is incredibly rewarding and allows your loved one to keep his or her independence.
However, you must be on the lookout for dangerous falls. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that most fractures among older adults are caused by falls and that more than a third of older people aged 65 or older fall each year.
To ensure your loved one always finds solid ground, here is how to prevent senior falls while caring for your senior age patient in the comfort of home.
Falls Prevention Strategies for Elderly – Infinite Love Home Care
Increase the Patient’s Strength
The expert home care team at Infinite Love Home Care recommends that you practice daily strengthening exercises with your loved one to prevent future falls. These exercises can also be used to improve balance and coordination, boosting mobility while keeping your loved one upright at all times.
The most effective exercises can be integrated into your loved one’s usual routine. For instance, your senior aged loved one can:
- Hold the sink and stand on one leg while brushing his or her teeth.
- Grip the wall and lean to one side, then the other, when talking on the phone.
- Bend the knees and then straighten the legs to build muscle and strength.
By incorporating these and other exercises into your day-to-day home care schedule, your loved one will find a better quality of life while also avoiding falling down.
Make Home Safety Modifications
To help protect your seniors from falling, you are encouraged to find ways to make the home “fall-proof.” Minor changes can be implemented, such as placing rugs on slick floors, ensuring each light fixture has the highest watt bulb possible, and that things are in easy reach of your loved one at all times.
You might also want to fit your home care patient with non-slip footwear instead of always walking around in stocking feet. When your senior patient can grip the floor better, falling down is a less likely occurrence.
Take a Closer Look at All Medications
Examine all your loved one’s medications. Ensure they are being taken at the right times and be on the lookout for any that increase the odds of falling. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications have been known to cause dizziness and other symptoms that can present fall hazards. You are also encouraged to call your loved one’s doctor to ask about any side effects you’re unsure about to keep falling risks to an absolute minimum.
Beware of Common Fall Risks
Be sure to pick up the floor as often as possible so that your loved one doesn’t trip. Keep cords to electronics tucked away, and make sure that your loved one doesn’t get the wrong perspective wearing bifocals. These tiny details may pass you by unless you remain cognizant of them in your home caregiver role.
In addition, watch for unruly pets. Even otherwise docile dogs and cats can trip your senior when going in for a leg rub. Keep an eye out for all of these fall hazards and more and your senior loved one is sure to remain protected from falls for the duration of your care.
Get Quality Home Care You Can Trust
While caring for a loved one at home is incredibly rewarding, sometimes you would rather allow the professionals to take over. Infinite Love Home Care offers a professional home care team, where we will prevent your loved one from falling and so much more. Get medical care, speech therapy, physical therapy, respite care, and companionship care that will keep your loved one’s spirits and health at optimal levels.
Call today to ask about your loved one’s home health care, and we can prevent all falls while making sure your loved one gets the best care possible in Orange County, California.