Fire fighters are answering more and more calls for people who have fallen or need a lift assist. Many mobility impaired people are now living in there homes longer with minimal assistance, and those homes aren’t always set up for their safety. There are things that you can do to help assure your loved one, or even yourself, is protected from serious falls as long as possible.
Here is a home safety checklist for falls prevention:
- Instruct your family member to always get up slowly from a siting position. This is especially important if they’ve started or changed medications recently.
- Keep clutter to a minimum and keep the floor clear of debris, especially on the stairs. Ensuring a clear passage way to avoid falls
- Remove extension cords or other wires that may obstruct your loved ones way or ones he/she could get entangled in. Extension cords are also a fire danger, especially if they run under a rug. Never put an electrical cord in situation where the outside housing could be damaged.
- If you must use a throw rug, secure it to the floor. A loose rug is recipe for disaster
- If your loved one is in a wheelchair, walker, remove any thick carpeting which can hamper his/her way.A hard flat surface, is safer and easier for them to move around on. Provide stockings or slippers with traction on the bottom to assure their safety.
- Install handrails in the bathroom, stairways and outside paths. Anywhere a little stabilization is required
- The bathroom is a place where many falls happen.If the family member has been straining on the toilet, it can start the body’s natural vasovagal reaction which can result in dizziness or fainting. That leads to a fall. Instruct him/her to always get up slowly from a seated position and use the handrail to avoid this very common fall which can leave the person trapped beside the toilet until help arrives. NEVER be embarrassed to ask for help lifting a person. Emergency services are there to help you and your loved ones.
- Whenever possible widen doorways for the wheelchair bound and provide a ramp if necessary. If you can’t build a ramp, portable and temporary ramps can be purchased, which fold or roll away can be stored away when not needed.