Fall Prevention: The Facts

The Facts About Fall Prevention

Helping to prevent falls is one of the best things a person can do for their loved one. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), in 2007 18,000 older adults died from preventable falls.
It is very disheartening to know that so many people can die from such an easily preventable cause of injury or death. Knowing the facts about fall prevention can help you and your loved one get on the track to a fall-free life.
The CDC states that in the year 2000, the total amount of falls for that year cost $19 billion in medical bills. Falls can cause a lot to trouble down the road for older adults and having to pay higher medical bills will always be in the equation. The CDC writes about direct costs of falls,“Direct costs are what patients and insurance companies pay for treating fall-related injuries. These costs include fees for hospital and nursing home care, doctors and other professional services, rehabilitation, community-based services, use of medical equipment, prescription drugs, changes made to the home, and insurance processing.’
Falling can cause a any number of bones to break which results in surgery and that can lead to an infection from the operation and it can all just snowball from there. The CDC states,”Most fractures among older adults are caused by falls.9 The most common are fractures of the spine, hip, forearm, leg, ankle, pelvis, upper arm, and hand.” With the possibility of fracturing any of the aforementioned body parts older adults should always take extreme precaution when they are walking around in an unsafe area. Along with being in an unsafe area, there are health problems that are associated with falls. Fallprevention.org lists the common health problems associated with falls as:
• 4 or more medications
• foot problems, unsafe footwear
• blood pressure drops too much on standing up/dizzy
• problems with seeing
• tripping hazards in your home
Fallprevention.org also provides a table to use when gauging your liklihood to fall as measured by how many health problems you have:

http://www.fallprevention.org/pages/fallfacts.htm

If you have any concerns about your or your loved one’s likelihood of falling, you can visit CDC.gov or fallprevention.org for more information
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) Falls among Older Adults: An Overview
Retrieved from:
http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/adultfalls.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) Costs of Falls Among Older Adults
Retrieved from:
http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/fallcost.html
Conneticuit Collaboration for Fall Prevention (2010) Facts About Falls
Retrieved from:
http://www.fallprevention.org/pages/fallfacts.htm