October 15, 2019 —By Frances Kolarek —
Overnight, Ebola has vanished from headlines to be replaced by falls as the hazard to be avoided at all costs. Indeed, as the years pass, falls are more likely to overtake us than are exotic viruses. Experts say we should protect ourselves against falls as diligently as we do against heart disease or viral infections.
And just being careful isn’t the answer, either. A Yale geriatrician who studies falls, warns that “people who are more cautious cut down on their activity, which makes their balance worse, their strength worse and reflexes that prevent falls worse.”
The Mayo Clinic offers six commonsense suggestions:
- Since many medications can cause dizziness, take your pills to your doctor and discuss which ones you might cut back on to help prevent falls.
- Exercise. Tai chi is highly regarded as a help in fall prevention. A gentle exercise that involves slow and graceful dance-like movements, it improves strength, balance, coordination, and flexibility. Collington offers a Tai chi class.
- Wear sensible shoes.
- Keep walkways in your home clear of obstacles like telephone wires, discarded magazines and newspapers — any object you could trip over. And avoid throw rugs.
- Lighting is of primary importance. Be sure stairs are well lit. Keep an easily accessible lamp beside your bed and turn it on before you get up at night. Keep night lights burning in the bathroom.
- Have things to hang on to:
—Handrails on both sides of stairs. Nonslip treads are suggested for bare wood steps.
—A raised toilet seat or one with arm rests. Grab bars in the bathroom in and near shower or tub.
—A sturdy plastic seat for shower or tub. A hand-held shower for bathing is convenient whether you are seated or standing.
This set of suggestions applies to your “comfort zone,” your home. But there’s another world out there, waiting to trip you up. There your best defense is exercise that improves your balance and increases muscle strength.
Think of the host of people over 60 who ran in the recent New York Marathon. Were they falling down? Tripping up? I don’t think so. Exercise. You’ll be safer. You’ll look better, too.