Anyone who has even a tiny amount of experience in caring for the elderly will be able to warn you of the pitfalls and hazards of the job as primary caregiver. One of the first things that any one of these individuals will mention to you that relate directly to your role is the constant danger of falls. Senior, as a collective, have an astonishing number of falls every year. This can be due to many different factors but is primarily a direct result feeling and being unstable on their feet. Their bodies are not agile enough in order to avoid falls and repeated episode might lead to more harm than good. As elderly bones tend to be more brittle that those of younger generations they can easily be broken. Dislocated and fractured hips are the bone break of choice for most elderly individuals and will often be extremely painful and debilitating. Consequently, you have to be aware of the hazard and stop it before it happens.

As prevention is superior to cure with regards to elderly falls and resultant hospital trips, it may be a good idea to put preventative measure in place to head off falls before they occur. Maintaining the safety and security of an elderly individual can be very difficult initially because you do not have eyes in the back of your head. Usually it takes some time for being accustomed to their movements, habits and routines. If you watch them closely enough during a period of time then you will soon be able to anticipate their moves before they make them. This can help to prevent falls as you will be able to spot danger a mile off. However, it is not a solution that can be used in the short term, and you also need to have the ability to prevent falls occurring as quickly as possible after you become their primary caregiver.

The first thing that you should do to prevent trips and falls actually has nothing to do with the elderly care individual in general terms. Instead, you ought to concentrate on their immediate environment. You should remove all possible tripping hazards in their home. Everything from rugs and loose carpeting to small objects that happen to be used to decorate a room should be removed. They can all be hazardous in the right situation, or wrong situation as the case may be! You should also explore effective ways of controlling falls. Zimmer frames are extremely effective for those unsteady on their feet and cot sides can be attached to a bed to prevent falls during the night.

When the elderly individual that you look after does experience a fall in the home, then it’s extremely important that you know just how to deal with the situation. Firstly, you have to remove all hazards from around the individual to help you to get closer and assess the damage. You need to then administer first aid if it is appropriate to do so. Do not move the person until you are sure that there is no injury to joints and limbs. If there is or you believe that he or she may have sustained a head injury, then you certainly should immediately call an ambulance. Just keep your relative warm design comfortable as possible until the paramedics arrive.

Falls represent very real hazards in the home and you must always be prepared to deal with them. You will inevitably have to deal with them at some stage, no matter how well prepared you are, but removing the means will decrease the amount of falls and hopefully lower the severity of the injuries.

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