What does a fall really mean for Seniors?
When a senior slips and falls in the home, it can be a minor event from which he/she quickly recovers, or it can be a serious accident, especially if no help is immediately available. In a worst-case scenario, a senior might fall and be unable to get back up again, and they might not be able to alert anyone to their predicament.
In this situation, an elderly person could be injured and just laying on the floor for hours before anyone comes by and discovers them. If the accident involved any kind of injuries or broken bones, there would also be some serious recovery issues involved, perhaps a long period of healing and physical therapy. So what does a fall really mean for seniors?
What to do after a fall
There might be no cause for alarm with aging people falling, but then again, if this is a new occurrence it could be a sign that their bones have become weaker, or they might be dehydrated. For the elderly at risk of falling, it’s best to have reliable senior home care so movements can be monitored, and assistance can be provided when it’s necessary to move about the home. During COVID-19, elderly care had to be cut back so as to reduce the level of exposure to all parties, but with the pandemic on the wane, senior living home care is picking up again and more elderly falls can be prevented.
If your senior loved one experiences any kind of fall, it’s best to contact the family doctor right away so they can be examined for injuries which may not be obvious. It is known that any senior who experiences one fall is at greater risk for going through additional subsequent falls, and any one of those has the potential to be extremely injurious. Elderly injury situations are usually more serious than when young people experience the same kind of accident, simply because an older person is more frail and their bones are a bit more brittle.
What a fall means
When your senior loved one undergoes any kind of fall with injury, your doctor should check a number of things about their health. Here are some of the health aspects your doctor will probably evaluate:
- potential for some new underlying illness
- blood pressure and pulse reading
- blood test
- review of all medications
- senior balance capability
- level of vitamin D
- heart conditions, neurological conditions
- vision accuracy.
In addition to the evaluations described above, a doctor may ask about safety conditions in the home, to make sure that a senior isn’t exposed to undue risk. What all this means is that it’s best to be proactive and contact your family doctor, so that the best elderly in-home care can be provided, and your loved one can stay protected.
