A few safety tips to prevent falls at home

Published 1:30 am Saturday, March 30, 2019

By Mark Harvey

I’m still in shock! I’ve heard from several different people in several different places who are actually planning ahead.

Specifically, they plan to “age in place” — which really is just jargon for “I want to stay right where I am for a good, long time, so how do I plan to do that?”

Even more specifically, these folks were inquiring about falls — well, OK, fall prevention — which is just scary-smart, because falls will put more of us in the hospitals, in nursing homes and in morgues than all the major diseases put together. (Yeah. Really.)

I absolutely detest that “I’ve fallen an I can’t get up” commercial — maybe because I’ve seen it really happen too often. So, for your reference, here are the “usual suspects” and what to do about them:

Floors

Keep objects off the floor — meaning don’t scatter crap along your major routes, where you might space out and go down.

Remove throw rugs or tape them down.

Coil or tape cords and wires next to the wall or under the furniture, outside your traffic lanes.

Shoes/slippers that fit well and have a firm heel and textured soles will help to keep you upright (as opposed to those 30-year-old pull-ons that are as smooth as glass).

Kitchen

Put the stuff you use the most within easy reach, generally about waist level.

If you have to stand on something to get something, use a step stool. Chairs can be lethal!

Bathroom

If you thought the kitchen was fun, try the bathrooms:

Put non-slip rubber mats or self-stick strips or something on the floor of the tub or shower. (No, they do not have to depict rubber duckies, but to each their own.)

Consider installing grab-bars for support getting in or out of the tub or shower, and up from the toilet. Towel racks are lousy substitutes! And if you’re actually going to do this, get somebody who knows what they’re doing to do the installation, because grab-bars that come out of the wall just invite a 9-1-1 call.

Bedroom

Use bright light bulbs. Seeing where you’re going helps, especially in the middle of the night.

Place lamps close to the bed.

Night-lights are pretty darned handy for seeing a path in the dark. No electrical outlet? Battery operated ones work just fine.

Stairs

If a step is loose or uneven, it’s out to get you. Get it repaired.

If there’s carpet, make sure it’s firmly attached. (If not, remove it and substitute non-slip rubber treads.)

Loose or broken handrails? They don’t help. Either fix them or replace them — and consider installing handrails on both sides of the stairs.

Bright overhead lighting at the top and bottom of the stairs, with light switches at both ends, will help a lot.

Other notes

Here’s a trick I learned a long time ago: Many of us don’t see the “threats” in our homes, because we live there. Get somebody else to come over and have a look around, and assure them that you won’t be offended — what they see is often very different from what we see.

Now, I know many of you are thinking: These ideas are all about “old people,” so if I’m not “old,” I probably don’t need to care, because I have a big red “S” on my chest!

Oh, yeah? Read this list again and tell me where it says anything about “old.” Then, tell me which ones wouldn’t be a good idea for anyone. Right.

One last thought: If you take medications that make you unsteady (maybe in combination, maybe with alcohol, whatever), you are going to be unsteady — so just think about that.

Mark Harvey is the director of information and assistance for the Olympic Area Agency on Aging. He can be reached by email at harvemb@dshs.wa.gov; by phone at 360-532-0520 in Aberdeen, 360-942-2177 in Raymond, or 360-642-3634; or through Facebook at Olympic Area Agency on Aging-Information & Assistance.