October 11, 2024 • 31 mins
Got a comment or idea? Send us a text.
Can your home be a safe haven as you age? On this episode of the Aging in Place podcast, host Esther Kane, a seasoned occupational therapist and certified Aging in Place specialist, promises to offer you transformative insights into fall prevention strategies for older adults and caregivers. Discover how simple home modifications, starting with decluttering and securing loose rugs, can drastically lower the risk of falls. From the importance of stable furniture to the benefits of motion-activated lighting, Esther shares invaluable tips for creating a living space that supports your independence and safety.
As we continue, Esther sheds light on how thoughtful design choices can make all the difference in a home. Learn why impact-absorbing flooring and clever use of color contrast can prevent falls, as well as why rounded-edge furniture is particularly beneficial as we age. The bathroom and kitchen can pose unique challenges, but Esther discusses practical solutions like grab bars, non-slip mats, and strategic lighting to mitigate risks. With a focus on enhancing both safety and independence, these strategies aim to transform your home into a secure and supportive environment.
But safety isn't just about the physical space. Esther emphasizes the importance of lifestyle habits that keep falls at bay. Properly fitting clothing and shoes can prevent mishaps, while personal emergency response systems offer peace of mind. Esther also highlights the significance of having emergency information readily accessible and using lockboxes for easy entry during urgent situations. Tune in to learn how these proactive measures can help you or your loved ones maintain a safe, independent lifestyle in the comfort of your own home.
Thanks for listening!
Sign up to our Homeowners Newsletter - it's a weekly newsletter filled with expert tips and advice on how to age safely and more comfortably in your own home.
If you provide services for modifying homes for disabled or seniors aging in place, sign up to our directory and expand your business.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello everyone and welcome to the Aging in Place
podcast, episode number 21.
I'm Esther Kane.
I am your host, retired.
I am a retired occupationaltherapist and a certified Aging
in Place specialist.
Today, we're going to betalking about some fall
prevention strategies.
(00:23):
We're going to be talking aboutsome fall prevention strategies
and I'm talking to older adults, anyone who is looking to age
in place in their own home orjust to make it as safe as
possible for themselves, andalso family caregivers of aging
parents or senior loved ones.
These are all strategies andtips.
Some of them you may have heardof already and some, I hope,
(00:47):
are unique and that you may havenot heard of before.
So, before I get started onthis, if you're listening of any
new videos which we put outevery week, and if you're
(01:11):
listening to this on our podcastchannel, you know, please
subscribe as well, so that wecan get this information out to
as many people as possible.
I personally think, with 10,000plus people a day turning 65
until at least another 10 years,then I think this information
(01:32):
is extremely useful andinformative.
So, of course, please feel freeto share it with others.
So I'm going to talk aboutthese fall prevention tips in
like a list format.
So we're going to start offwith some home modifications,
some general home modifications.
One of the first things I thinkthat people don't think about
(01:54):
when it comes to fall preventionis decluttering.
Decluttering the spaces, andthat doesn't just mean getting
rid of excess magazines or, youknow, cords that may be from
floor lamps or anything likethat.
It also means declutteringlarge pieces of furniture that
(02:17):
may be making it difficult tomove from one space to the other
, from one space to the other.
If you have to get up from yourrecliner or from a sofa and
sidestep to get out of the spacebetween where you're sitting
and the coffee table, then thespace, the furniture, is too big
(02:37):
.
You want to downsize thatfurniture as much as possible or
eliminate some of it to make iteasier and safer, because a lot
of trips and falls that I'vetreated in my patients have come
because of that, because theroom, the area itself, is simply
cluttered with either too muchstuff or furniture that just
(03:01):
simply doesn't fit the size.
You want to secure loose rugswith double-sided tape or I
personally recommend to removethem entirely.
If you feel that you want tohave some aesthetics of rugs,
then I strongly recommend usingvinyl rugs, the kind that sit,
(03:22):
you know, right on the on theground.
They're extremely thin, theycome in beautiful patterns and,
of course, get the ones that arenon-slip.
There are some vinyl rugs thatdo not have the non-slip
underneath them.
I don't understand that purpose, but you want to get non-slip
vinyl rugs if you feel you needthat aesthetic design.
(03:44):
They're really quite beautiful.
I have several in my own home.
You want to secure furniture andappliances simply because if
the person is wobbly, if they,you know, lose their balance and
try to grab onto a shelf unitor a dresser or you know
anything at all that isn'tfastened to something, then
(04:08):
that's going to go down withthem and possibly cause even
more injury.
I remember I treated a patientonce that had fallen and all
they had was a slight bruise ontheir hip, but they held on to a
shelf unit that had some heavyitems on it.
Those heavy items fell on thatperson and then ended up causing
(04:30):
a head injury to the pointwhere they were unable to return
home.
If they hadn't, you know, ifthat shelf unit had been
fastened to the wall, itwouldn't have fallen on them and
all they would have sufferedwould have been a bruised hip.
So you want to fasten thosekinds of things on the wall Any
staircases at all, even if it'sjust two steps or one step going
(04:53):
down into the garage.
You want to have handrails onboth sides make it easy to get
in and out.
I've done that on all my stepseverywhere.
You want to make sure that thestair treads have non-slip
treads.
You can get clear adhesives nowthat you can put on the treads.
(05:14):
There's even a paint type ofmaterial that you can paint
right on the wooden step orstone step to make it
non-adhesive.
If you wanted to do carpeting,you could do that.
There's all kinds of ways thatyou can make stair treads
non-slip as much as possible.
If necessary, you want toconsider using installing a
(05:37):
stair lift or a residentialelevator if you have the space
for that.
That will make it much easierto transport from one floor to
the other.
This is especially important ifyou live in a two or three story
home.
I live here in Georgia wherealmost every home seems to be
two or three stories, so thosetypes of elements in the home
(05:59):
are extremely important.
As you grow older, if you planto age in places like that, you
want to make sure that all areasof the home are well lit,
especially stairways, hallways,especially anywhere where you
get in the bedrooms, on the wayto the bathroom, on the way to
(06:19):
the kitchen, anywhere like thatand I would recommend motion
activated lights to turn on inall of these areas.
Of course, in addition to that,it's important to have night
lights.
They can also be motionactivated throughout the house,
everywhere, especially bathrooms, bedrooms, any place that you
(06:40):
may be wandering at night.
You want to install lightswitches that have lights both
on the top and the bottom, oractually, I think a lot of them
just come with the light on thebottom.
They automatically turn on whenthe room gets dark.
It's just an additional light,and you always want to have
light switches near where youneed them.
(07:02):
You don't want to have to walkthree feet to turn on a light
switch and then walk three feetback to the stairs.
You want to, if possible, havethem moved so that they're right
there where you need them, or,at the very least, use a smart
plug with a smart device likeAlexa or Google Home to use your
(07:24):
voice to turn on those types oflights.
You want to keep electricalcords, of course, away from all
walking paths and away from justabout everything.
Even if they're tucked underthe sofa or under the chair, you
want to make sure that they'renot going to be sticking out.
This can happen often.
If you have a pet.
(07:45):
They'll play with the cord pushit out.
So you want to make sure thatit's secured so that there's no
way that it can come out.
I personally would recommendremoving all kinds of floor
lamps and just install ceilingcanned lights, because those are
bright, they are the easiest tomanage and there's no lights,
(08:08):
no cords, anywhere to trip over.
Anything that is at a lowershelf or a lower place where you
would have to bend down to pickitems up.
Move those items up if you usethem often.
My mom-in-law, when she turned99, she fell three times in her
(08:30):
condo.
Each time she fell was becauseshe was bending over to pick
something up from a lower shelfor on the floor.
So you want to have everythingup as high as possible so that
you can reach it comfortably andeasily.
These are items, of course,that you use all the time and of
course you always want toinstall smoke detectors and
(08:51):
carbon monoxide.
That's just general safety.
But you want to install smokedetectors and carbon monoxide.
That's just general safety.
But you want to make sure thatthey're the kind that you can
see, you can hear, you know toaccommodate whatever it is that
you may be having trouble withvision or hearing you want to
think about if you're redoing ahome or remodeling a home.
(09:15):
If you're building a home, thinkabout installing impact
absorbing flooring materials sothat if you did fall it wouldn't
be such a drastic, a damagingfall.
It won't help a lot, depending.
It just helps a little bit.
It can turn a break into abruise or, you know, keep
(09:38):
something from getting muchworse than what it really is Now
.
I know this can be difficult inareas like South Florida or
Arizona or even Texas where alot of flooring is tiled because
of the heat.
Flooring is tiled because ofthe heat, but you certainly want
to talk to your floor companyif it's something that you're
changing, remodeling or anythinglike that.
(09:59):
You want to use color contrastand textured surfaces to clearly
define edges of steps and levelchanges, because visual
perceptually it's very difficultsometimes to identify the edge
of a step to the next step, soit's very easy to skip that,
miss that and end up falling.
(10:21):
I know I myself am having thatproblem now on my staircase.
So I have colored edges thatI'm installing at the end of
each stair tread so that I canidentify where that edge is.
You want to.
If you're going to change yourfurniture, you want to choose
(10:42):
furniture that has rounded edgesto minimize injuries from bumps
.
As we all get older, our skingets thinner and it's much
easier to bruise, to break, getinfected.
All kinds of things can happenjust from a little tiny bump.
It doesn't happen in your 20s,30s, 40s or even 60s, but
(11:05):
starting in your 70s and 80s,you're going to notice a lot of
much thinner skin.
You want to protect it and youcan do that with rounded edge
furniture.
And then, of course,contrasting colors between the
wall and the floor can also helpto identify where things are,
just visually, perceptually.
(11:26):
If that ends up being a hugeissue for you, you may not even
realize it until you do installthose different colors and
you're like, wow, I didn't evennotice that that was.
You know that that was the endof the floor.
All right, the bathroom.
Well, the bathroom is one ofthe most dangerous places, along
(11:47):
with the kitchen, in a home forany older adults.
So you want to pay specialattention to that.
Of course you probably knowwe're going to be installing
grab bars in the toilets, nearthe bathtub, in the shower stall
.
My mother had a long hallwayinto her bathroom so we
(12:07):
installed grab bars along thatlong hallway to get into her
bathroom so she could use thatwhile going in.
You want to use non-slip mats inthe shower, the bathtub, of
course, outside the shower.
Consider a walk-in shower ortub with a low threshold or zero
(12:27):
threshold would actually beideal, of course.
Raise toilet seat with armrests, anything that can help you to
get up and get down.
It's so easy to fall whenyou're struggling to get up or
down.
If necessary, use a showerchair or bench.
A handheld showerhead is one ofthe best things that anyone can
(12:49):
do, especially if you have thebench you're sitting there.
You can install the handheldshowerhead that has the remote
controls right on the showerheadand you can just mount that
right there next to your seatand, of course, always make sure
that the floor is as non-slipas possible.
So whatever tile you choose,whatever flooring you choose,
(13:13):
try to make sure inside andoutside the tub and the shower
that is as non-slip as possible.
The kitchen, again, is anotherarea where many older adults
fall.
My great friend of mine, hermom, just passed away a few
weeks ago and what started herdownhill slide was a fall in the
(13:38):
kitchen as she was reaching forsomething that was just a
little bit too far out of herreach.
Instead of scooting closer toget to it, she just tried to
reach over and fell and ended upat the hospital and was never
able to return home again.
So just a simple little thingthat takes a second that we all
(13:58):
do every day, as we, as we're,you know, in our daily lives, as
we get older, we have to stopand think about what's the
safest way to do this.
I know it takes a little bit oftime to get used to it, but
some of the tips I have for youin the kitchen are to rearrange
the frequently used items tolower shelves or to any place
(14:22):
that you can access it quicklyand easily.
I just rearranged my pantry sothat I have pull-out drawers now
and the items that I use mostfrequently are right there at my
height level.
Nice and simple.
The items I don't use thatfrequently are in the lower
shelf or up high.
(14:42):
Of course, I don't use themoften, so I don't have to access
them often.
If you have to use a step stool,I recommend strongly recommend
a sturdy stepool with a handrailso that you can hold on to the
handrail while you are on thestepstool.
I would ask a physicaloccupational therapist to assess
(15:06):
if you're safe for a stepstool.
Some of you may be cringing atthat thought, but it is
important because step stoolsare not always the safest for
everyone, so you want todefinitely, if you have to use
one, at least use one with ahandrail.
Pull-out shelves and lazySusans are ideal, especially any
(15:28):
place where you have to reachin to get anything, even in
refrigerators, of course, alwayslike the bathroom.
Non-slip mats by the sink, bythe stove, wherever you stand
quite a bit Ensure, of course,there's good lighting.
Again, canned lighting is oneof the best types of lighting
for any room, especially thekitchen, even adding more
(15:52):
under-the under the counter typeof lighting.
And instead of having amicrowave most of us have a
microwave that's up high orhigher, maybe at our face level,
or even higher than that.
It's always safer to havesomething like something where
you're pulling out somethingwarm at your like neck or chest
(16:15):
level.
So if you can considerinstalling a wall-mounted
microwave at that level, or evenon the counter.
That would be much, much saferfor you.
You wouldn't have to let go ofanything in order to pull
something out of the microwaveyou want to.
(16:35):
In the bedroom, you want toplace a lamp or a phone, of
course near the bed, within easyreach of the bed, while you're
laying in bed, and I wouldrecommend a touch lamp so you
don't have to mess.
You know reaching for theswitch to turn it on or off.
A touch lamp where you can justtouch it.
Or, better yet, use a smartplug and use a voice activated
(16:58):
device like Alexa to turn on andoff the light.
You want to consider a bed railfor support.
You can just install one thatsits between the mattress and
the box spring.
They're very inexpensive, veryeasy to install and they're a
wonderful support.
My mom-in-law used it for many,many, many years, and you want
(17:21):
to make sure that the bed is nottoo high or not too low for you
, so that you can get in and outof it easily.
If you're trying to get out ofthe bed and it's just a little
too high, you could put yourfeet on the ground and slide
right down.
I've seen that happen a fewtimes.
So you want to make sure thatyou've got a bed, that you, when
(17:44):
you sit on it, that your legsare at 90, your hips are at 90,
and your knees are at 90 degrees, so that you can, you know,
touch the ground safely and pullyour push yourself up safely.
If you are caring for an olderadult and they have a risk of
falling out of bed or they tendto get up in the middle of the
(18:06):
night, I would recommend a bedalarm.
They have some that are on thefloor so once their feet touch
that mat then it sets off analarm on your phone or a device.
They also have some where youput it underneath the mattress.
Again, if the person goes toget up, then it sets off the
alarm and it alerts you thatthat person is up and about or
(18:29):
trying to get up and about.
You also might want to consideran adjustable bed where the
head and the foot sides go up ordown.
That may make it easier to getup out of the bed and also to
get back into bed for someone.
And if someone does have a fallrisk of, you know, falling out
(18:51):
of bed at night, you cancertainly use bed rails, but you
can also, if they're a verysmall person or light person,
you know, you can modify it withlarge pool noodles or large
pillows that you can stuffunderneath the fitted sheet and
create basically like a bed boatkind of thing where they're
(19:12):
tucked in there.
Now, if this is the, if thisperson tends to get up in the
middle of the night, that maymake it difficult for them.
They may end up struggling totry to get out of that and that
may end up causing a fall.
So, again, you want to speakwith an occupational therapist
about assessing how this persongets in and out of bed and what
(19:32):
the safest, best way is for thisperson to.
You know work, you know how towork around their situation.
All right, we can't forgetabout outdoor safety, but you
want to always make sure thatthe walkways, the steps are even
, that there aren't any majorcracks or there aren't any you
(19:56):
know loose stones where theycould walk, especially if
they're using a cane or a walkerto get anywhere.
You want to make sure thatthere's handrails on all outdoor
steps, of course, that there'slighting it could be solar
lighting, led lighting.
You always want to make surethat there's enough lighting,
use non-slip strips on alloutdoor steps and you want to,
(20:21):
of course, at the same, keepevery patio, porch, driveway and
yards free of clutter, so thatit's easy to walk around.
And also, if someone were tofall and fall onto something
like you know, maybe a child'sbicycle or a lawn chair, you
(20:41):
know they may end up causingmore damage to themselves than
if they just fell on the grass.
So you want to make sure thatthere's at least amount of
clutter as possible and, ifneeded, you may need to install
a ramp.
Now, nowadays they have thesebeautiful designed ramps.
You can call a landscapearchitect, a landscape designer,
(21:03):
and they can create thesebeautiful ramps that are just,
you know, that blend into theaesthetic of your home.
Of course, I know it depends onthe size of your yard and your
community, but it's certainlyworth looking into to make it
safer and easier, because, atthe end of the day, all of this
is really about keeping yourindependence at home as long as
(21:27):
possible.
That's the bottom line for anyaging in place tip.
All right, physical health.
We can't forget the fact thatif you are immobile if you are,
you know you don't exercise, youdon't strengthen your muscles,
you don't take in the rightnutrition or hydration, you're
(21:48):
going to get weaker, and as youget weaker, it's much easier and
quicker to fall for anyanything, no matter how much you
modify the environment.
So you want to make sure toexercise to you know, improve
your strength as much aspossible, participate in balance
(22:08):
exercises especially.
You want to make sure that yourvision and your hearing,
because that does affect yourbalance you want to review
medications that they, you know,make sure that they don't make
you dizzy.
If you have low blood pressure,like I do, it's often, you know
, you get up from a seating andI have to, like you know, stand
for a second or two just to letthe dizziness, let the fog go
(22:33):
away, let my blood pressurenormalize, while I stand in the
act of getting up.
So you want to take it easy,take it slow and make sure that
you are adhering to what yourbody is telling you.
And, of course, speak to yourdoctor about all of this.
Staying hydrated is one of theeasiest ways to prevent, you
(22:55):
know, getting dizzy or gettingweak.
And, of course, vitamins,anything like that that you know
.
Speak with your physician aboutit.
I'm not a physician.
I'm just giving you the generalinformation of what I've been
told by my physician on how tokeep myself from falling and,
you know, preventing an injury.
(23:17):
Another issue that's personal isyour footwear and your clothing
.
If you tend to wear clothingwith loose arms or you know that
tends to be baggy, that can getcaught on doorknobs or, you
know, kitchen cabinet knobs oranything like that, that can
also cause you to trip and fall.
(23:39):
If you get caught and you, youknow, you lose your balance a
little bit.
So you always want to wearproperly fitting clothing,
properly fitting shoes that havea back, that support you.
I know I have several friendswho are in their 70s and 80s who
insist on walking barefoot orjust wearing socks in their
(24:01):
homes and that I do notrecommend that.
If you have to just wear socks,at least wear the socks with
the grips on the bottom.
But just make sure that youhave something to support you
and that can keep you, you know,balanced, especially as you get
older.
You know we tend to haveproblems with our feet and you
(24:22):
want to support them and not, um, you know, because if one foot
hurts, you're going to raise itto try to get that pain out and
then you're standing on one legand that doesn't always bode
very well.
All right, lifestyle habits.
As I said before, don't rush.
If the phone is ringing, let itring.
(24:45):
Take your time to get to it.
Of course nowadays it's so easywith wireless and cell phones,
so, but still don't rush.
Take your time.
Keep pets supervised.
If you're taking something outof the microwave or the oven, or
just turning, you know, to geta bowl of cereal or whatever,
(25:06):
make sure the cat or the dog arenot behind you so you don't
trip over them.
You want to be extra cautiouswhenever you do anything.
You want to take a second plan,it out and before you know it
it'll turn into a habit.
But initially it does take timeand it is a little difficult at
(25:27):
first.
I admit it took me quite awhile and I still at times times
forget to do that myself,especially going up and down the
stairs.
You want to consider if you feelyou're at risk.
You want to consider some typeof personal emergency response
system.
It can be having an Alexadevice in every room so you can
(25:49):
call out for 911 or help fromneighbors, friends, whoever.
It could be a medical alertdevice, anything.
It could be an Apple Watch.
You know that has falldetection, whatever it is.
Don't rely just on your cellphone, because a lot of people
will have the cell phone intheir hand and if you're going
(26:09):
to carry a cell phone, at leasthave an apron or something where
you put the cell phone in theirhand.
And if you're going to carry acell phone, at least have an
apron or something where you putthe cell phone in a pocket.
But even so, if you fall, thatcell phone could fly out of your
pocket and then you wouldn't beable to access it.
So you want something that ison you, or something that you
can use your voice to get to it.
So consider that, that you canuse your voice to get to it.
(26:33):
So consider that you want to.
We talked about the smart homedevices.
I think there's a lot ofwonderful ways that you can use
the smart plugs to turn on yourlights, to even your dishwasher,
your washing machine, your ovenAlmost everything can be
attached to a smart plug and youcan control it with your phone.
(26:53):
Having the camera outside, youknow, by your door alarm door
bell, your doorbell outside iswonderful.
You can then talk to whomeveris out there, so you don't have
to hurry up to get up out ofyour chair, which you shouldn't
(27:14):
hurry up anyway to get to thedoor.
So you want to speak, you canspeak to them that way and you
know you may not even have toget up, especially if you get a
lot of solicitors in your area,in your area.
(27:37):
But that type of technology cangreatly keep you from rushing
and falling and injuringyourself for something that just
takes simply one second tooccur and may completely alter
your life, like it did with myfriend.
Think about the Vile program,where you have an item on your
refrigerator it's a piece ofpaper actually with your medical
(28:00):
history, so that if emergencyresponders were to come to your
home, they have that informationthere.
They have that informationthere and consider a lockbox on
your entrance, either front orback, so that when emergency
does come, they have the code toget into your home without
(28:20):
having to break into your hometo help you.
This is especially true if youlive alone.
It's a great way, it's a greatservice to have both of those so
that they can help you asquickly as possible if you need
it, if you were to happen tofall.
Well, I hope some of these tipswere new to you.
(28:43):
I hope that they can help youand or your loved one.
I think falling that was one ofthe treatments.
That was one of the diagnosesthat I got most often working in
elder care.
I worked specifically in headinjury type of situations and it
(29:07):
was almost always due to a falland, like I said, it was just
something.
Some of them were silly theyjust tripped over you know
something they didn't see, orthey slipped on something, or
they were rushing to the door orthe phone, or they were
(29:27):
carrying too many things.
It was just something so inaneand it ended up just altering
their lives for the rest oftheir lives.
So it only takes a second.
So you want to avoid that onesecond as much as possible and
live as independently aspossible for as long as possible
in your home, and that's whatwe're all about here on this
(29:50):
podcast.
That's my goal to help you todo that and to help your loved
ones to do that.
So I want to thank you so muchfor listening, for watching
Again, subscribe, whether it'son the podcast or on YouTube,
and I will see you next time onthe next episode of the Aging in
Place Directory podcast.
(30:11):
Thank you, bye.
Hello everyone and welcome to the Aging in Place
podcast, episode number 21.
I'm Esther Kane.
I am your host, retired.
I am a retired occupationaltherapist and a certified Aging
in Place specialist.
Today, we're going to betalking about some fall
prevention strategies.
(00:23):
We're going to be talking aboutsome fall prevention strategies
and I'm talking to older adults, anyone who is looking to age
in place in their own home orjust to make it as safe as
possible for themselves, andalso family caregivers of aging
parents or senior loved ones.
These are all strategies andtips.
Some of them you may have heardof already and some, I hope,
(00:47):
are unique and that you may havenot heard of before.
So, before I get started onthis, if you're listening of any
new videos which we put outevery week, and if you're
(01:11):
listening to this on our podcastchannel, you know, please
subscribe as well, so that wecan get this information out to
as many people as possible.
I personally think, with 10,000plus people a day turning 65
until at least another 10 years,then I think this information
(01:32):
is extremely useful andinformative.
So, of course, please feel freeto share it with others.
So I'm going to talk aboutthese fall prevention tips in
like a list format.
So we're going to start offwith some home modifications,
some general home modifications.
One of the first things I thinkthat people don't think about
(01:54):
when it comes to fall preventionis decluttering.
Decluttering the spaces, andthat doesn't just mean getting
rid of excess magazines or, youknow, cords that may be from
floor lamps or anything likethat.
It also means declutteringlarge pieces of furniture that
(02:17):
may be making it difficult tomove from one space to the other
, from one space to the other.
If you have to get up from yourrecliner or from a sofa and
sidestep to get out of the spacebetween where you're sitting
and the coffee table, then thespace, the furniture, is too big
(02:37):
.
You want to downsize thatfurniture as much as possible or
eliminate some of it to make iteasier and safer, because a lot
of trips and falls that I'vetreated in my patients have come
because of that, because theroom, the area itself, is simply
cluttered with either too muchstuff or furniture that just
(03:01):
simply doesn't fit the size.
You want to secure loose rugswith double-sided tape or I
personally recommend to removethem entirely.
If you feel that you want tohave some aesthetics of rugs,
then I strongly recommend usingvinyl rugs, the kind that sit,
(03:22):
you know, right on the on theground.
They're extremely thin, theycome in beautiful patterns and,
of course, get the ones that arenon-slip.
There are some vinyl rugs thatdo not have the non-slip
underneath them.
I don't understand that purpose, but you want to get non-slip
vinyl rugs if you feel you needthat aesthetic design.
(03:44):
They're really quite beautiful.
I have several in my own home.
You want to secure furniture andappliances simply because if
the person is wobbly, if they,you know, lose their balance and
try to grab onto a shelf unitor a dresser or you know
anything at all that isn'tfastened to something, then
(04:08):
that's going to go down withthem and possibly cause even
more injury.
I remember I treated a patientonce that had fallen and all
they had was a slight bruise ontheir hip, but they held on to a
shelf unit that had some heavyitems on it.
Those heavy items fell on thatperson and then ended up causing
(04:30):
a head injury to the pointwhere they were unable to return
home.
If they hadn't, you know, ifthat shelf unit had been
fastened to the wall, itwouldn't have fallen on them and
all they would have sufferedwould have been a bruised hip.
So you want to fasten thosekinds of things on the wall Any
staircases at all, even if it'sjust two steps or one step going
(04:53):
down into the garage.
You want to have handrails onboth sides make it easy to get
in and out.
I've done that on all my stepseverywhere.
You want to make sure that thestair treads have non-slip
treads.
You can get clear adhesives nowthat you can put on the treads.
(05:14):
There's even a paint type ofmaterial that you can paint
right on the wooden step orstone step to make it
non-adhesive.
If you wanted to do carpeting,you could do that.
There's all kinds of ways thatyou can make stair treads
non-slip as much as possible.
If necessary, you want toconsider using installing a
(05:37):
stair lift or a residentialelevator if you have the space
for that.
That will make it much easierto transport from one floor to
the other.
This is especially important ifyou live in a two or three story
home.
I live here in Georgia wherealmost every home seems to be
two or three stories, so thosetypes of elements in the home
(05:59):
are extremely important.
As you grow older, if you planto age in places like that, you
want to make sure that all areasof the home are well lit,
especially stairways, hallways,especially anywhere where you
get in the bedrooms, on the wayto the bathroom, on the way to
(06:19):
the kitchen, anywhere like thatand I would recommend motion
activated lights to turn on inall of these areas.
Of course, in addition to that,it's important to have night
lights.
They can also be motionactivated throughout the house,
everywhere, especially bathrooms, bedrooms, any place that you
(06:40):
may be wandering at night.
You want to install lightswitches that have lights both
on the top and the bottom, oractually, I think a lot of them
just come with the light on thebottom.
They automatically turn on whenthe room gets dark.
It's just an additional light,and you always want to have
light switches near where youneed them.
(07:02):
You don't want to have to walkthree feet to turn on a light
switch and then walk three feetback to the stairs.
You want to, if possible, havethem moved so that they're right
there where you need them, or,at the very least, use a smart
plug with a smart device likeAlexa or Google Home to use your
(07:24):
voice to turn on those types oflights.
You want to keep electricalcords, of course, away from all
walking paths and away from justabout everything.
Even if they're tucked underthe sofa or under the chair, you
want to make sure that they'renot going to be sticking out.
This can happen often.
If you have a pet.
(07:45):
They'll play with the cord pushit out.
So you want to make sure thatit's secured so that there's no
way that it can come out.
I personally would recommendremoving all kinds of floor
lamps and just install ceilingcanned lights, because those are
bright, they are the easiest tomanage and there's no lights,
(08:08):
no cords, anywhere to trip over.
Anything that is at a lowershelf or a lower place where you
would have to bend down to pickitems up.
Move those items up if you usethem often.
My mom-in-law, when she turned99, she fell three times in her
(08:30):
condo.
Each time she fell was becauseshe was bending over to pick
something up from a lower shelfor on the floor.
So you want to have everythingup as high as possible so that
you can reach it comfortably andeasily.
These are items, of course,that you use all the time and of
course you always want toinstall smoke detectors and
(08:51):
carbon monoxide.
That's just general safety.
But you want to install smokedetectors and carbon monoxide.
That's just general safety.
But you want to make sure thatthey're the kind that you can
see, you can hear, you know toaccommodate whatever it is that
you may be having trouble withvision or hearing you want to
think about if you're redoing ahome or remodeling a home.
(09:15):
If you're building a home, thinkabout installing impact
absorbing flooring materials sothat if you did fall it wouldn't
be such a drastic, a damagingfall.
It won't help a lot, depending.
It just helps a little bit.
It can turn a break into abruise or, you know, keep
(09:38):
something from getting muchworse than what it really is Now
.
I know this can be difficult inareas like South Florida or
Arizona or even Texas where alot of flooring is tiled because
of the heat.
Flooring is tiled because ofthe heat, but you certainly want
to talk to your floor companyif it's something that you're
changing, remodeling or anythinglike that.
(09:59):
You want to use color contrastand textured surfaces to clearly
define edges of steps and levelchanges, because visual
perceptually it's very difficultsometimes to identify the edge
of a step to the next step, soit's very easy to skip that,
miss that and end up falling.
(10:21):
I know I myself am having thatproblem now on my staircase.
So I have colored edges thatI'm installing at the end of
each stair tread so that I canidentify where that edge is.
You want to.
If you're going to change yourfurniture, you want to choose
(10:42):
furniture that has rounded edgesto minimize injuries from bumps
.
As we all get older, our skingets thinner and it's much
easier to bruise, to break, getinfected.
All kinds of things can happenjust from a little tiny bump.
It doesn't happen in your 20s,30s, 40s or even 60s, but
(11:05):
starting in your 70s and 80s,you're going to notice a lot of
much thinner skin.
You want to protect it and youcan do that with rounded edge
furniture.
And then, of course,contrasting colors between the
wall and the floor can also helpto identify where things are,
just visually, perceptually.
(11:26):
If that ends up being a hugeissue for you, you may not even
realize it until you do installthose different colors and
you're like, wow, I didn't evennotice that that was.
You know that that was the endof the floor.
All right, the bathroom.
Well, the bathroom is one ofthe most dangerous places, along
(11:47):
with the kitchen, in a home forany older adults.
So you want to pay specialattention to that.
Of course you probably knowwe're going to be installing
grab bars in the toilets, nearthe bathtub, in the shower stall
.
My mother had a long hallwayinto her bathroom so we
(12:07):
installed grab bars along thatlong hallway to get into her
bathroom so she could use thatwhile going in.
You want to use non-slip mats inthe shower, the bathtub, of
course, outside the shower.
Consider a walk-in shower ortub with a low threshold or zero
(12:27):
threshold would actually beideal, of course.
Raise toilet seat with armrests, anything that can help you to
get up and get down.
It's so easy to fall whenyou're struggling to get up or
down.
If necessary, use a showerchair or bench.
A handheld showerhead is one ofthe best things that anyone can
(12:49):
do, especially if you have thebench you're sitting there.
You can install the handheldshowerhead that has the remote
controls right on the showerheadand you can just mount that
right there next to your seatand, of course, always make sure
that the floor is as non-slipas possible.
So whatever tile you choose,whatever flooring you choose,
(13:13):
try to make sure inside andoutside the tub and the shower
that is as non-slip as possible.
The kitchen, again, is anotherarea where many older adults
fall.
My great friend of mine, hermom, just passed away a few
weeks ago and what started herdownhill slide was a fall in the
(13:38):
kitchen as she was reaching forsomething that was just a
little bit too far out of herreach.
Instead of scooting closer toget to it, she just tried to
reach over and fell and ended upat the hospital and was never
able to return home again.
So just a simple little thingthat takes a second that we all
(13:58):
do every day, as we, as we're,you know, in our daily lives, as
we get older, we have to stopand think about what's the
safest way to do this.
I know it takes a little bit oftime to get used to it, but
some of the tips I have for youin the kitchen are to rearrange
the frequently used items tolower shelves or to any place
(14:22):
that you can access it quicklyand easily.
I just rearranged my pantry sothat I have pull-out drawers now
and the items that I use mostfrequently are right there at my
height level.
Nice and simple.
The items I don't use thatfrequently are in the lower
shelf or up high.
(14:42):
Of course, I don't use themoften, so I don't have to access
them often.
If you have to use a step stool,I recommend strongly recommend
a sturdy stepool with a handrailso that you can hold on to the
handrail while you are on thestepstool.
I would ask a physicaloccupational therapist to assess
(15:06):
if you're safe for a stepstool.
Some of you may be cringing atthat thought, but it is
important because step stoolsare not always the safest for
everyone, so you want todefinitely, if you have to use
one, at least use one with ahandrail.
Pull-out shelves and lazySusans are ideal, especially any
(15:28):
place where you have to reachin to get anything, even in
refrigerators, of course, alwayslike the bathroom.
Non-slip mats by the sink, bythe stove, wherever you stand
quite a bit Ensure, of course,there's good lighting.
Again, canned lighting is oneof the best types of lighting
for any room, especially thekitchen, even adding more
(15:52):
under-the under the counter typeof lighting.
And instead of having amicrowave most of us have a
microwave that's up high orhigher, maybe at our face level,
or even higher than that.
It's always safer to havesomething like something where
you're pulling out somethingwarm at your like neck or chest
(16:15):
level.
So if you can considerinstalling a wall-mounted
microwave at that level, or evenon the counter.
That would be much, much saferfor you.
You wouldn't have to let go ofanything in order to pull
something out of the microwaveyou want to.
(16:35):
In the bedroom, you want toplace a lamp or a phone, of
course near the bed, within easyreach of the bed, while you're
laying in bed, and I wouldrecommend a touch lamp so you
don't have to mess.
You know reaching for theswitch to turn it on or off.
A touch lamp where you can justtouch it.
Or, better yet, use a smartplug and use a voice activated
(16:58):
device like Alexa to turn on andoff the light.
You want to consider a bed railfor support.
You can just install one thatsits between the mattress and
the box spring.
They're very inexpensive, veryeasy to install and they're a
wonderful support.
My mom-in-law used it for many,many, many years, and you want
(17:21):
to make sure that the bed is nottoo high or not too low for you
, so that you can get in and outof it easily.
If you're trying to get out ofthe bed and it's just a little
too high, you could put yourfeet on the ground and slide
right down.
I've seen that happen a fewtimes.
So you want to make sure thatyou've got a bed, that you, when
(17:44):
you sit on it, that your legsare at 90, your hips are at 90,
and your knees are at 90 degrees, so that you can, you know,
touch the ground safely and pullyour push yourself up safely.
If you are caring for an olderadult and they have a risk of
falling out of bed or they tendto get up in the middle of the
(18:06):
night, I would recommend a bedalarm.
They have some that are on thefloor so once their feet touch
that mat then it sets off analarm on your phone or a device.
They also have some where youput it underneath the mattress.
Again, if the person goes toget up, then it sets off the
alarm and it alerts you thatthat person is up and about or
(18:29):
trying to get up and about.
You also might want to consideran adjustable bed where the
head and the foot sides go up ordown.
That may make it easier to getup out of the bed and also to
get back into bed for someone.
And if someone does have a fallrisk of, you know, falling out
(18:51):
of bed at night, you cancertainly use bed rails, but you
can also, if they're a verysmall person or light person,
you know, you can modify it withlarge pool noodles or large
pillows that you can stuffunderneath the fitted sheet and
create basically like a bed boatkind of thing where they're
(19:12):
tucked in there.
Now, if this is the, if thisperson tends to get up in the
middle of the night, that maymake it difficult for them.
They may end up struggling totry to get out of that and that
may end up causing a fall.
So, again, you want to speakwith an occupational therapist
about assessing how this persongets in and out of bed and what
(19:32):
the safest, best way is for thisperson to.
You know work, you know how towork around their situation.
All right, we can't forgetabout outdoor safety, but you
want to always make sure thatthe walkways, the steps are even
, that there aren't any majorcracks or there aren't any you
(19:56):
know loose stones where theycould walk, especially if
they're using a cane or a walkerto get anywhere.
You want to make sure thatthere's handrails on all outdoor
steps, of course, that there'slighting it could be solar
lighting, led lighting.
You always want to make surethat there's enough lighting,
use non-slip strips on alloutdoor steps and you want to,
(20:21):
of course, at the same, keepevery patio, porch, driveway and
yards free of clutter, so thatit's easy to walk around.
And also, if someone were tofall and fall onto something
like you know, maybe a child'sbicycle or a lawn chair, you
(20:41):
know they may end up causingmore damage to themselves than
if they just fell on the grass.
So you want to make sure thatthere's at least amount of
clutter as possible and, ifneeded, you may need to install
a ramp.
Now, nowadays they have thesebeautiful designed ramps.
You can call a landscapearchitect, a landscape designer,
(21:03):
and they can create thesebeautiful ramps that are just,
you know, that blend into theaesthetic of your home.
Of course, I know it depends onthe size of your yard and your
community, but it's certainlyworth looking into to make it
safer and easier, because, atthe end of the day, all of this
is really about keeping yourindependence at home as long as
(21:27):
possible.
That's the bottom line for anyaging in place tip.
All right, physical health.
We can't forget the fact thatif you are immobile if you are,
you know you don't exercise, youdon't strengthen your muscles,
you don't take in the rightnutrition or hydration, you're
(21:48):
going to get weaker, and as youget weaker, it's much easier and
quicker to fall for anyanything, no matter how much you
modify the environment.
So you want to make sure toexercise to you know, improve
your strength as much aspossible, participate in balance
(22:08):
exercises especially.
You want to make sure that yourvision and your hearing,
because that does affect yourbalance you want to review
medications that they, you know,make sure that they don't make
you dizzy.
If you have low blood pressure,like I do, it's often, you know
, you get up from a seating andI have to, like you know, stand
for a second or two just to letthe dizziness, let the fog go
(22:33):
away, let my blood pressurenormalize, while I stand in the
act of getting up.
So you want to take it easy,take it slow and make sure that
you are adhering to what yourbody is telling you.
And, of course, speak to yourdoctor about all of this.
Staying hydrated is one of theeasiest ways to prevent, you
(22:55):
know, getting dizzy or gettingweak.
And, of course, vitamins,anything like that that you know
.
Speak with your physician aboutit.
I'm not a physician.
I'm just giving you the generalinformation of what I've been
told by my physician on how tokeep myself from falling and,
you know, preventing an injury.
(23:17):
Another issue that's personal isyour footwear and your clothing
.
If you tend to wear clothingwith loose arms or you know that
tends to be baggy, that can getcaught on doorknobs or, you
know, kitchen cabinet knobs oranything like that, that can
also cause you to trip and fall.
(23:39):
If you get caught and you, youknow, you lose your balance a
little bit.
So you always want to wearproperly fitting clothing,
properly fitting shoes that havea back, that support you.
I know I have several friendswho are in their 70s and 80s who
insist on walking barefoot orjust wearing socks in their
(24:01):
homes and that I do notrecommend that.
If you have to just wear socks,at least wear the socks with
the grips on the bottom.
But just make sure that youhave something to support you
and that can keep you, you know,balanced, especially as you get
older.
You know we tend to haveproblems with our feet and you
(24:22):
want to support them and not, um, you know, because if one foot
hurts, you're going to raise itto try to get that pain out and
then you're standing on one legand that doesn't always bode
very well.
All right, lifestyle habits.
As I said before, don't rush.
If the phone is ringing, let itring.
(24:45):
Take your time to get to it.
Of course nowadays it's so easywith wireless and cell phones,
so, but still don't rush.
Take your time.
Keep pets supervised.
If you're taking something outof the microwave or the oven, or
just turning, you know, to geta bowl of cereal or whatever,
(25:06):
make sure the cat or the dog arenot behind you so you don't
trip over them.
You want to be extra cautiouswhenever you do anything.
You want to take a second plan,it out and before you know it
it'll turn into a habit.
But initially it does take timeand it is a little difficult at
(25:27):
first.
I admit it took me quite awhile and I still at times times
forget to do that myself,especially going up and down the
stairs.
You want to consider if you feelyou're at risk.
You want to consider some typeof personal emergency response
system.
It can be having an Alexadevice in every room so you can
(25:49):
call out for 911 or help fromneighbors, friends, whoever.
It could be a medical alertdevice, anything.
It could be an Apple Watch.
You know that has falldetection, whatever it is.
Don't rely just on your cellphone, because a lot of people
will have the cell phone intheir hand and if you're going
(26:09):
to carry a cell phone, at leasthave an apron or something where
you put the cell phone in theirhand.
And if you're going to carry acell phone, at least have an
apron or something where you putthe cell phone in a pocket.
But even so, if you fall, thatcell phone could fly out of your
pocket and then you wouldn't beable to access it.
So you want something that ison you, or something that you
can use your voice to get to it.
So consider that, that you canuse your voice to get to it.
(26:33):
So consider that you want to.
We talked about the smart homedevices.
I think there's a lot ofwonderful ways that you can use
the smart plugs to turn on yourlights, to even your dishwasher,
your washing machine, your ovenAlmost everything can be
attached to a smart plug and youcan control it with your phone.
(26:53):
Having the camera outside, youknow, by your door alarm door
bell, your doorbell outside iswonderful.
You can then talk to whomeveris out there, so you don't have
to hurry up to get up out ofyour chair, which you shouldn't
(27:14):
hurry up anyway to get to thedoor.
So you want to speak, you canspeak to them that way and you
know you may not even have toget up, especially if you get a
lot of solicitors in your area,in your area.
(27:37):
But that type of technology cangreatly keep you from rushing
and falling and injuringyourself for something that just
takes simply one second tooccur and may completely alter
your life, like it did with myfriend.
Think about the Vile program,where you have an item on your
refrigerator it's a piece ofpaper actually with your medical
(28:00):
history, so that if emergencyresponders were to come to your
home, they have that informationthere.
They have that informationthere and consider a lockbox on
your entrance, either front orback, so that when emergency
does come, they have the code toget into your home without
(28:20):
having to break into your hometo help you.
This is especially true if youlive alone.
It's a great way, it's a greatservice to have both of those so
that they can help you asquickly as possible if you need
it, if you were to happen tofall.
Well, I hope some of these tipswere new to you.
(28:43):
I hope that they can help youand or your loved one.
I think falling that was one ofthe treatments.
That was one of the diagnosesthat I got most often working in
elder care.
I worked specifically in headinjury type of situations and it
(29:07):
was almost always due to a falland, like I said, it was just
something.
Some of them were silly theyjust tripped over you know
something they didn't see, orthey slipped on something, or
they were rushing to the door orthe phone, or they were
(29:27):
carrying too many things.
It was just something so inaneand it ended up just altering
their lives for the rest oftheir lives.
So it only takes a second.
So you want to avoid that onesecond as much as possible and
live as independently aspossible for as long as possible
in your home, and that's whatwe're all about here on this
(29:50):
podcast.
That's my goal to help you todo that and to help your loved
ones to do that.
So I want to thank you so muchfor listening, for watching
Again, subscribe, whether it'son the podcast or on YouTube,
and I will see you next time onthe next episode of the Aging in
Place Directory podcast.
(30:11):
Thank you, bye.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!