Preventing Falls In The Elderly

If you have an elderly father, mother, grandfather, grandmother or aunt, you will have come across them losing balance and falling.

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For people who are above age of 65, falls are a common problem which can lead to loss of independence and can also be fatal enough to cause death.

There are many reasons for falls in the elderly.

1. Long standing diabetes. This causes peripheral neuropathy and loss of sensation in legs.

2. Parkinson's disease- in this disease the muscles and nerves are less active leading to loss of balance, tremors and falls.

3. Postural hypotension, that is, the blood pressure falls when a person stand leading to lack of blood supply to the brain when a person gets up suddenly from bed or chair.

4. Poor eyesight or improper glasses.

5. Poor lighting in the house.

6. Slippery floors.

7. Few medications can make them dizzy.

There are many ways to prevent falls. Some of them are self explanatory in the reasons given above.

Also having a caregiver who is there to support the elderly can reduce the incidence of falls by 98%.

Get in touch with us to know how you can better take care of an elderly loved one.

How To Prevent Falls In Elderly

Elderly are very similar to toddlers. Like infants and toddlers, elders keep falling, have difficulty walking, have speech problems but unlike toddlers the consequences of a fall are very bad.


Image Courtesy: Flickr Sodanie Chea

Falls in elderly can be catastrophic. They can lead to hip fracture, femur fracture, brain hemorrhage. This can lead to hospitalisation and deterioration in quality of life.

How big is the problem?

One in 3 adults above the age of 65 years each year has a fall. The risk increases with each decade.

How to prevent falls?

1. Having strong legs is critical for avoiding falls. Simple leg and thigh strengthening exercises can go a long way in helping the elderly.
2. Elderly are prone to postural hypotension, that is there is blood pressure falls when they stand and is not easily adjusted. Postural hypotension can be aggravated by dehydration, some medicines. Some medicines can also cause dizziness and drowsiness. Getting your medication reviewed with doctor can help.
3. Poor lighting can aggravate vision problems. Ensure that proper lighting is there so that the elderly do not have challenges in seeing properly. 
4. Use non-slip mats and rugs. Removing spillage in time. Keeping areas dry.
5. Getting help in doing things which can lead to falls.

You can read more about preventing falls here

1. CDC
2. NHS

Want to know more about taking care of your loved ones, call +91 8892505557 or write to us at care@pranaenablers.com

Making Life Better

Are You Depressed?

A recent research shows that Turmeric (Curcumin) can be used effectively to treat depression. This made us think whether Indians suffer less from depression because we use of lot of turmeric in our food and also because we have strong family support system. Interestingly this research is also from India.

                                                    Photo Credit: Flickr-Ryan Melaugh
We decided to check our assumptions. Few things which can be argued are, we no more have the same family system as 20 years back. Today, it is predominantly nuclear families. The elder stay alone and have empty nest syndrome. The food habits have also changed with emergence of fad for fast and processed foods. But are these leading to increased depression among Indians?

1. A recent Times Of India article quotes research and mentions that one in 5 women and one in 10 men suffer from major depression at some point of time in their life.

2. An  Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry in India (ASSOCHAM ) found that 42.5% of all corporate employees of India are suffering from depression or general anxiety disorder.

The above two articles may indicate that it is an urban problem restricted to young and middle aged. Unfortunately that is not true, depression is very common in rural areas also. The elderly with their own set of problems also have high incidence and prevalence of depression.

The reasons can vary for all these different group of people but they all struggle with the same depression.

The symptoms can be diverse like:

1. Persistent sad, anxious or empty mood

2. Loss of interest in hobbies or pleasure activities

3. Guilt feeling, Thoughts of pessimism and worthlessness

4. Chronic fatigue or loss of energy

5. Irritability and getting angry on others frequently

6. Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions

7. Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping

8. Overeating, or appetite los

9. Thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts

10. Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment

You can also check online whether you are having depression  by taking these online tests

a. Depression Quiz

b. Depression Screening Test

Image Courtesy: kidsmatter.edu.au

Well, knowing and accepting that depression can be a problem among us is a beginning.  The preventive measures need to be put in place depending on rural, urban, corporate, elderly environment.

We will cover prevention, helping others and helping self with regard to depression in another post.

Any questions get in touch with us. We will be happy to help you, now time to consume some Turmeric.

Do You Need An Helping Hand In Taking Care of Your Near One?

Elderly people have diverse requirements. Also the challenges faced by them are multitude. With decreasing muscle mass, loss of balance and other health conditions, it can become difficult for them to manage their daily needs.

It is tough for the near and dear ones to provide constant care as expected by the elderly person on account of various reasons. Under such circumstances having an attender to take care of elderly makes a big difference.

Conditions where an attender can make life easy are:

1. People who are bed ridden

2. People with Parkinson's disease

3. People with Dementia and Alzheimer's.

4. People with Stroke/Paralysis

5. Cancer patients

6. Patients with tracheostomy

7. Patients with colostomy

Require An Attender or Elderly Care Provider? Get In Touch With Us

To know the benefits and how to get an attender to suit your requirement get in touch with us. You can call 09886455344