Elderly people over 75 years old are very prone to fall fractures, and the chances of dying within a year after a fall exceed 50%. According to a 2014 epidemiological survey by the Shenzhen Chronic Disease Control Center, the incidence of falls among the elderly in Shenzhen was 13.7%, with about 67,130 elderly people falling each year. Nearly 60% of the older adults who fell suffered more serious injuries that required medical treatment. Falls are the fourth leading cause of injury death in China, and the incidence of serious injuries in falls among the elderly is 6 percent, including hip fractures, other fractures, subdural hemorrhages, soft tissue injuries or head trauma.
”Many older adults often take calcium supplements, but this does not solve the fracture situation in older adults; fall prevention is the key. But the problem is often ignored by patients and their families.” The expert said.
For this reason, some experts have put forward the key points of fall prevention for the elderly, in addition to the regular fall prevention points such as shining every place, removing obstacles from the walkway, the floor needs to be non-slip, the handrail needs to be stable, etc., the clothing needs to fit well, regular exercise, keep the body soft and endurance is also helpful for fall prevention. In the winter, the elderly should slow down the pace of life, get out of bed or get up slowly, and do not suddenly squat or stand up.
Avoid the regret of “one mistake”.
Numerous scientific studies and practices have proven that comprehensive fall interventions can effectively prevent the occurrence of falls in the elderly, and every change in detail can reduce the risk by one point. In response to the causes of falls in the elderly, experts have proposed ten fall prevention measures.
The first move is to light up every place.
The elderly will have the need to toilet at night, if the brightness is not enough or the light source is too far away, are prone to cause falls. After going to sleep at night, you should leave a night light in the corridor, bathroom, and keep the stairs and walkways lighted at all times. Light switches need to have reflective stickers to avoid the situation of not being able to find the light switch.
The second trick is to remove obstacles in the walkway.
Understand the daily life of the elderly, the simpler the home environment, the better, and the furniture should be fixed. If there are obstacles, you should remove them and keep the staircase clear, such as wires, thresholds, debris, etc., to avoid the elderly being tripped.
The third trick, the floor needs to be non-slip.
In the bathroom kitchen and other easily slippery environment, the floor should be kept dry, do not wet or smooth. At the same time to strengthen the anti-slip function of the floor, such as the use of rough surface anti-slip floor tiles, or paste anti-slip mats; if the use of assembled anti-slip plastic mats, it should be spread throughout the ground as far as possible, if scattered not fixed, but more likely to fall.
Fourth trick, handrails need to be stable.
Stairs and bathrooms should be installed with handrails, so that the elderly in between squatting and standing, there are handrails to support. And as far as possible, the bedroom of the elderly and the main activity space in the same floor, in order to reduce the chances of the elderly climbing the stairs.
The fifth trick, furniture selection.
Families with older people should pay attention to the height and softness of the furniture, not too low, too soft, because the elderly are more difficult to stand up and sit down, these furniture is best also have armrests.
The sixth move, clothing needs to fit.
Avoid clothes that are too long and too wide, wear shoes or slippers that fit your feet, with non-slip soles, and do not have too thick insoles in your shoes to avoid affecting the feeling of the soles of your feet, and regularly inspect the wear and tear of your shoes.
The seventh trick, the use of drugs need to be careful.
Drugs should be taken under the guidance of a professional and make sure that they do not affect the smoothness of walking, such as sedatives, painkillers, hypoglycemic drugs, antihypertensive drugs, anti-cold drugs, are prone to cause an increased risk of falls in the elderly. When the doctor prescribes medication, he or she should inform the current medication to avoid too much medication taking and aggravating the side effects. If it is impossible to avoid medication taking, the elderly should be allowed to rest after taking it.
Eighth trick, regular exercise.
Research has confirmed that practicing tai chi can effectively prevent falls and reduce complications after a fall. Therefore, simple exercises should be accompanied by the elderly appropriately.
Ninth tip, slow down the pace of life.
Get out of bed or get up slowly, do not squat or stand up suddenly. Do “three 30 seconds”, that is, lie down for 30 seconds after waking up, sit for 30 seconds after getting up, and set for 30 seconds after standing up. These three “30 seconds” is mainly to allow the muscle to blood pressure, the ability to regulate the heart rate has a gradual process of adaptation.
The tenth trick, after the fall to deal with.
If you fall down without being found, it is easy to make a second fall if you can barely act on your own. The first thing is to move the body after a fall, check whether there is sensation in the limbs, then move flat with the strength of the legs and back, bow the legs and turn over, kneel on the side with hands, and then find a support to stand up, the whole process needs to be careful and slow, the second is to try to call for help, so the appropriate call bell should be set in the home.