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.

Diabetes-How It Affects Your Foot

You must have heard that diabetes is a silent killer!

Know about what it does to different body parts. Today we talk about the foot.

As it advances, it can affect several internal organs, including the kidneys, blood vessels supplying the heart and heart muscle, and peripheral nerves. When these organs are compromised, renal failure, heart attacks and nerve pain in the feet and hands can be seen.

Foot problems come in all shapes and sizes and cause symptoms from tingling and pain to weakness in the foot or loss of feeling in the foot. Complications include neuropathy (nerve damage), skin changes, calluses, foot ulcers and poor circulation.

What’s tricky is that neuropathy, or nerve damage, can make it harder for you to feel pain, heat or cold. For example, you could have a stone in your shoe all day and not know it, or have a blister and not realize it. These instances can break down skin and cause it to become infected

Besides keeping your diabetes under control there are other things you can do to avoid foot problems. No. 1, don’t smoke, as smoking makes arteries harden faster, limiting blood flow. Next, exercise daily as it stimulates blood flow. Finally, keep your blood pressure and cholesterol in check. Remember, the best treatment for diabetic foot problems is prevention.