What Can Cause Falls for Your Elderly Loved One?
Falls are one of the biggest problems that your elderly loved one can face. Keeping your loved one from experiencing a bad fall can be as simple as paying attention to one of these factors. Talk to your loved one’s doctor about other factors that might affect her specifically.
Elderly Care Havertown PA – What Can Cause Falls for Your Elderly Loved One?
Poor Physical Strength
It’s easy to forget this, but muscles do a lot for you and for your elderly loved one, even if you don’t notice them. And as your loved one loses muscle tone gradually, she starts to lose strength overall. That means that keeping her balance may become more difficult and activities that used to be no problem, such as standing upright for a few minutes, can become more hazardous.
Balance and Coordination Issues
Your loved one might become dizzy more easily now or her brain might have difficulty matching up what she sees with how she’s trying to move. Both balance and coordination work together to help your loved one stay on her feet on a daily basis. When those functions aren’t working properly any longer, your loved one finds it difficult to avoid taking a tumble.
Poor Vision
If your elderly loved one can’t see an obstacle, it’s that much more difficult for her to avoid it. Take your loved one in to her eye doctor regularly to have her vision checked. If your loved one wears glasses, it’s important to make sure that the prescription still works well for her. Eye issues such as glaucoma and cataracts can dramatically affect how well your loved one can avoid anything that might be in her way.
Inadequate Footwear
Shoes may be something that you or your elderly loved one don’t think much about, but they can make a tremendous difference in your loved one’s ability to avoid falling. Make sure that your loved one’s shoes fit her feet well and that the sole is sturdy with a non-skid surface. If you’re not sure what size shoe your loved one should be wearing, head to a local shoe store to have her feet measured.
Your elderly loved one might have other contributing factors, but these are some of the bigger ones. Work with your loved one’s doctor to determine the right course of action for her.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Elderly Care Services in Havertown PA, please contact the caring staff at True Direct Home Health Care today.
Doc, as he is called by everyone - staff, patients and clients - first experienced home health care and hospice care while as a colleg student at King's College as he cared for his mother every day while she first battled COPD and then lung cancer. It was during this time that he came to understand that caring for a patient was more than just clinical expertise.
"Admittedly, my strongest attribute is my communication skills and the simple fact that I love to help people. Even the smallest thing you can do for someone really can mean so much to them long term. In fact, it could change them forever. That's what providing quality personal home health care should be all about."
In his spare time, he cooks for homeless shelters and children's music and arts events. He also is highly involved in his local youth sports soccer academy as a coach and Board member.
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