“Between 60 and 70 years the leading cause of death falls originate it,” said Juan Carlos Molina, geriatric physician at the Clinical Hospital of the University of Chile. Even states that in older than70 years, falls are the cause of accidental death.
What causes a fall
For Molina between 30% and 50% are due to accidents and environmental factors such as poor lighting, lack of handrails in the bathroom, stairs in disrepair, loose rugs, poorly fitting shoes and pets, among others.
To these must be added factors that may be a risk to the person as sedation, inability ectremidades in the lower, foot problems and balance disorders, and so on.
Measures to prevent this, help that there is no Post Fall Syndrome, ie that the person is afraid of falling again. The frequency of this amounts to 25%. Among risk factors are the inability to rise after a fall, having spent more than an hour in the soil and which has had more than three strikes in a year.
How to prevent falls
Indoors
- Use plastic mats in the bathtub
- Install grab bars in the tub and beside the toilet seat
- Remove the floor mats when not in use
- Adjust the height of toilet seat
- Save toys and furniture to eliminate low
- Determine the carpets
- Place light switches at both ends of the ladder, ie up and down.
- Remove the cables in the ground
- Put the phone in an accessible place, to be achieved from the ground.
- Have a whistle or hand carry it
Outside
- Adequate lighting
- Repair damaged sidewalks
- Install handrails on stairs
- Keep shrubs and tree branches away from the entrances.
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