Falls prevention: practical ideas

[LesserSouthernFroglet]

Seshat, I made up the name. If there is a real LSF I don't know!

Glad to help. I've been a nurse, and a patient, and a carer. Most of these things are just common sense, but things you may not even think about at the time.

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

[pitmonkey]

We got something like this for my stepdad to put by the bed.
http://www.rehabmart.com/product/gua...ole-26027.html
It helped a lot for getting in and out of bed.

[Seshat]

We think we figured out how I fell out of bed.

Bast came in a couple of days ago, and found that I was sleeping almost off the bed. If I woke up while sleeping that unbalanced-ly (it's a word now), it's easy to imagine how I could have fallen.
So a rail is looking like a distinct possibility.


We have an occupational therapist coming not this week, but next week. We definitely intend to replace a towel rail with a grab rail, and we'll talk to her about my fall.

[Mikkel]

When I want to prevent myself or others to fall out of bed, I find that a rolled blanket under the edge of the mattress will make me roll back if I get to close to the edge.
Not as good as a rail, but perhaps a solution until you get the rail?
It will, of course, make it uphill to get out of bed.

[greek_jester]

I second the suggestion to get up in stages; I have an birth defect in my ear which screwed up my hearing and my balance, so changing planes tends to leave me reeling like a drunkard.

As a stop-gap measure for staying away from the edge of the bed, I've found a wall of heavy pillows (real feathers or memory foam) works quite well, or several folded-up wool blankets (not folded too small or they don't have enough grip to avoid sliding off the edge themselves!)

Avoid loose rugs, and if possible make sure your slippers, as well as having decent grip, come up the back of your heels rather than being slip-on. You can get long shoe-horns if putting them on is a problem, and you're less likely to have them slip half-off and tangle your foot up.

Also, think about corners on furniture; is there any way to blunt them, whether it's filing them down (on unvarnished wood) or padding them (cotton wool and electrical or duct tape)? I hit the corner of a coffee table on the way down at a mate's house once and it took a very long time for the bone-deep bruise to fade. I was lucky it wasn't my face; I could have lost an eye.

Finally, is your walker a lift-and-move frame or one with wheels? Either way you can often get bags that attach to the frame so that you can carry things rather than try to juggle a walker and a drink (for instance). If you pack as much as you can in the bag (a thermos for drinks is best, plus one of the food containers that have proper clips to hold them closed for your lunch) then you can minimise trips and decrease the chance of a fall.

[MoonCat]

I would just like to emphasize the bit about lighting. Being frugal is a good thing but don't be like my grandparents used to be. They would leave the lights off until it got literally too dark to see, to "save electricity (money)". We told them a bill for a broken bone was more expensive than the light bill but they didn't think so!

Night lights can be a good thing in case you need to get up during the night. We have one in each bathroom, also one in the kitchen and one in the living room. They make enough light to see where we're going until we can get to the light switch to turn on the main light.

Oh, and remember that cats don't know that our eyesight is not as good as theirs! I honestly think that is why they looked so shocked when we trip over them in the dark! "I'm right here, human! Can't you see me?"

[Seshat]

Avoid loose rugs, and if possible make sure your slippers, as well as having decent grip, come up the back of your heels rather than being slip-on.

I no longer wear heel-less anything. Not even thongs (flip-flops, in US language). I found that my toes curl and try to grip the shoe, and it just makes me ache.

So even my sandals have heel straps.

Also, think about corners on furniture; is there any way to blunt them, whether it's filing them down (on unvarnished wood) or padding them (cotton wool and electrical or duct tape)?

The baby section of many shops have 'bumpers' to stick to furnishings. I'll find out what they cost.

Finally, is your walker a lift-and-move frame or one with wheels?

Wheels - and a basket. So I don't have to carry things while using it.

I would just like to emphasize the bit about lighting.

Toth sees almost as well as a cat - he even sees colours in the dark. But he's learned that I'm pretty much night-blind. In the long term, we want to install night-lights at each light switch - basically a 'here's the light switch' led bulb (or two. or ten.)

We're converting gradually to led bulbs, so leaving the lights on will do nothing other than make it a bit harder for Toth to sleep: we leave the lights off in the hall to the bedrooms, for his sake. The light leaking from my room is enough for me to see the switch for the computer room, which is the next room past the hall.

[iradney]

You could try a pool noodle under a fitted sheet on your side of the bed until you can get the rails in? Apparently some parents do that for kiddos that roll out of bed...

Also, why not pimp out your walker? Harley Davidson tassels! A truck horn! Fluffy dice! If you're gonna use it, make it look as cool as you are

[dalesys]

... Fluffy dice! ...

Fuzzy dice
Bongos in the back
My ship of love
Is ready to attack! - F. Zappa

[Kittish]

Also, why not pimp out your walker? Harley Davidson tassels! A truck horn! Fluffy dice! If you're gonna use it, make it look as cool as you are

Flames painted up the legs! If you're gonna pimp it, do it right.

[bhskittykatt]

Wheels - and a basket. So I don't have to carry things while using it.

They make cupholders for those. One of the four wheeled walkers at the clinic I was recently at had a cupholder attached.

Flames painted up the legs! If you're gonna pimp it, do it right.

Have seen this. Have also seen people deck them out with tassles, bike bells, etc.

[Sapphire Silk]

Flames painted up the legs! If you're gonna pimp it, do it right.

That's what Evil Empryss did with her walker.

Seshat, have you considered a service dog for mobility? You can train your own, though it's more time consuming, or see if a charity can help you get one already trained.

Also, have you considered a hospital bed or a bed with a head that raises? That can make it simpler for you to sit upright and stand using the walker properly.

Starting thinking about the clothing you wear. Anything that could tangle in your legs should probably go. Also think about fire safety if you cook; anything that could brush up against a burner or anything hot should also go.

[crazylegs]

As someone who regularly picks people off the floor, I can come up with no more suggestions to prevent falls.

That said, if you're unlucky enough to have it happen again, I would ask that the following is done to make picking you up easier:

Nothing on the stairs, and preferably nothing on the hallway/landing (if you're in a bungalow, as I suspect, keep the hallway as clear as possible). Try to limit furniture to what you need, rather than what you want. This gives you the space to use your walker, prevents the temptation to furniture surf and makes picking you up a lot easier as there's space to use the ELC etc.

Have you the option for a lifeline alarm? Normally linked to your phone line and costs (in the UK at least) a couple of quid a week. Consideration should be given to a key safe - allows Emergency Services to gain damage free access to your house. While those you live with helped you this time, there may be times you're on your own, I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that extended periods on the floor isn't good for your health.

Oh, and one last thing, please for the love of every deity known to man, please make sure your house number is visible from the road.

[Seshat]

Big white numbers on mission brown fence, crazylegs. Along with smaller, but reflective numbers near the letterbox. And confirming numbers beside the front door.
I used to deliver pizzas. Toth has driven taxis.
We've had the assistance of a professional organizer to de-clutter the house, and we've been continuing the de-cluttering and re-organising. I'm now in the largest bedroom, to give my carers better access to me and enough room to really work.

We can't personally afford a fancy bed, but I am on an OT's case list now. We have some things we're working on, but maybe next year I'll have the combination of "money" and medical need for such a bed. In the meantime, we've cleared the area beside my bed (both sides) of hazards, and I'll talk to Bast and Toth about pool noodles or rolled up towels.
I'll talk with Lois (the OT) about service dogs, alarms and key safes.

I think that's responded to everyone's ideas (good ideas!).

Update: Bast dug around and found her old four-point walking cane. I'm using that around the house in preference to furniture surfing.
Lois is going to be getting me a replacement walker. (That's one of the things we're working on.)
Toth and Bast will use my old walker at need, depending on whether or not one of them has their arthritis flaring up. It will also be available to me if something happens to my new walker. It needs some minor repairs, but I'm sure we can find the pieces at Bunnings (big-box hardware store).


Edit: Dug around on an online hardware store's site. Less than $2 for the parts to fix the old walker. But since it's more than 7 years old, the rules Lois operates by say don't repair it and service it (some of the cables could use tightening up), instead supply patient with a new one.
We'll pimp out the new one. I'll paint a fantasy vine with multiple colours of flowers along the legs. I'm not a flames kind of gal!