Every year, there are millions of old people who are aged 65 or older tend to fall. It is a fact that over one out of four elder people fall every year, however, lesser than half of these will inform their physicians. When a person falls once, it will double one’s chances of falling again. So it is essential to take these injuries seriously in order to get the best treatment. a normal life.

Falls form one of the foremost leading reasons for injury-related patient visits in emergency departments. These constitute the main reason for accident-related death in individuals who are more than 65 years of age. There is an increase in the rate of mortality related to falls that increases dramatically with age in both sexes and all racial and ethnic groups, with falls accounting for 70 percent of trauma-related deaths in elders over 75 years of age. Over 90 percent of cases of hip fractures take place due to falls and most of these fractures occur in persons over 70 years of age. One-third of community-dwelling elderly persons and 60 percent of nursing home residents fall each year.

Falls are one of the leading causes of death in older people. Approximately 36 million people aged 50-75 tend to fall every year, resulting in over 32,000 deaths. Meanwhile, around 3 million older adults receive treatment for injuries through emergency care each year. One out of every five falls will result in some type of injury, such as a broken bone or head injury. Every year approximately 300,000 old people become hospitalized due to fractures of the hip. It has been noticed that women tend to fall in higher numbers when compared to men and they account for around three-fourths of all fractures related to the hip.

Most of the time, these may result in grievous types of injuries to the head. These can be serious if an individual has been prescribed a few medicines or received a blow to the head. Most of the people who have fallen even though they have not received any injury are afraid of getting a fall again. This feeling of fall in a person may result in diminished day-to-day activities. As a result, whenever a subject becomes lesser active, they tend to become weak that causing an increase in their frequency of falls.

Risk factors associated with falls in older adults

Various researchers have identified a variety of conditions that may contribute to falls in elders. These are termed “risk factors”. Most of these risk factors may be altered and can be modified which may help towards the prevention of falls. People with certain health conditions may be at a greater risk for falls. One of the most common of these conditions is a weakness affecting the lower parts of the body, resulting in difficulty walking and/or balancing. These include any over-the-counter available medicines. For example, tranquilizers, sedatives, and anti-depressants can also affect someone’s balance and steadiness on their feet. A person might also complain of pain in the foot or badly fitted footwear or hazardous items like throw rugs and cluttered items which can result in one tumbling down stairs or stumbling over objects.

Many of these falls are the result of various combinations of numerous risk factors. The greater the number of risk factors any person possesses, the higher their chances to fall. Various other reasons for falls among elderly people are accidents, falling from bed, environmental risks, disturbances in gait, arthritis, vertigo, and consumption of alcohol. Various medicines can lead to falls among elderly people so pay attention to any acute symptoms.

Complications of Falls in elders

Most falls may result in any type of injury. These types of injuries may make it difficult for any person to recover, perform day-to-day activities and lead a self-dependent life. Most of the time these may cause fractures of bones such as wrists, arms, ankles, and hips. Such injuries can be fatal at times.

How to prevent Falls in elders?

Falls prevention programs are necessary for the event that an elder person has fallen and their reasons are undetermined. Recently few studies have demonstrated that these programs may significantly cause a reduction in the rate of falls among elders.

As a preventive measure, one must speak to his doctor or healthcare giver for evaluating his or her risk of falling and discuss specific measures one can take against falling. It can be a complicated issue, especially for seniors and people with chronic illnesses. One should consult their doctor or pharmacist for review if regularly taking medication that causes dizziness or sleepiness. Thus, making modifications to existing prescriptions can aid in improving this issue in a bigger manner. One can take vitamin D supplements after getting prescriptions. One can regularly do exercises for improving strength and balance.

You should take steps to make your home safe by adopting some simple protocols. Just by making these changes at home, you’ll be able to prevent falls from happening. Use of non-pharmacological methods to treat any sleep-related issues, and improvement of gait using balancing exercises. One must utilize all available opportunities for socializing and encourage individuals in this age group to participate in them. One should utilize the family and peer group support system to help improvement of their mental, physical and emotional well-being.

How Centric Healthcare Can Help?

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References https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/falls/adultfalls.html#:~:text=Each%20year%2C%20millions%20of%20older,than%20half%20tell%20their%20doctor.&text=Falling%20once%20doubles%20your%20chances%20of%20falling%20again https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/older-adult-falls/index.html https://www.aafp.org/afp/2000/0401/p2159.html#:~:text=Risk%20factors%20for%20falls%20in,cognitive%20impairment%20and%20sensory%20deficits https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/falls/adultfalls.html