Tips To Keep Elderly Loved Ones Safe

Many adults are caregivers for elderly relatives.  Dr. Cesar Torres discusses common problems these caregivers face and his best tips to keep elderly loved ones safe.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: MedStar Washington Hospital Center presents Medical Intel where our healthcare team shares health and wellness insights and gives you the inside story on advances in medicine.

Host: We’re speaking with Dr. Cesar Torres, a geriatric and house-call doctor at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Thank you for joining us, Dr. Torres.

Dr. Torres: My pleasure.

Host: Today we’re discussing advice for adults caring for older relatives. Dr. Torres, in terms of safety, what are some of the key areas of concern that caregivers often worry about?

Dr. Torres: I think the number one area would be falling. Falls can lead to very life altering fractures, specifically fractures of the hip. And, study after study has shown that a hip fracture will have significant effect on mortality rates. Your odds of dying within the first year of a hip fracture are, unfortunately, quite high. Falls, household accidents - the ability to communicate with loved ones in case of a household accident is something that a lot of caregivers worry about. But if I had to rank it, I would put the risk of a fall as the number one thing that really keeps up everybody at night.

Host: Is this concern just for seniors with medical conditions such as dementia or heart disease?

Dr. Torres: No. All seniors are at risk for it. There are a lot of different reasons for this. There are sensory inputs into increasing the fall risk, such as loss of vision or impaired vision. There’s a loss of proprioception - by that I mean balance. There’s a loss of muscle strengths, so the elder will literally not be able to lift their feet high enough to clear very simple obstacles in their path and so they end up falling or tripping. There’s also the problem with improper medication or over-medication, which we, unfortunately, as physicians, sometimes contribute to and then we have to be mindful of, to try to avoid and mitigate the risk.  

Host: What would be the risks involved with over-medication?

Dr. Torres: Well, some medications, and there are over-the-counter medications also that are guilty of this, predispose elderly patients to sedation, dizziness, and these increase the fall risk. By that, medications like over-the-counter sleep aids, Benadryl, antihistamines - they can impair the elderly patient’s ability to manage their household environment.

Host: What can seniors and their caregivers do to reduce the risk of falls at home?

Dr. Torres: I think the biggest thing I see, in doing house calls, is reducing the amount of clutter in the house - throw rugs, items just left on the floor. All of these are potential obstacles and they can lead to a very bad fall that can result in a fracture. Lighting - improving the lighting for seniors is also a great help. Making sure that they’re wearing their glasses. Some folks really do not like wearing glasses. Having handrails. Trying to minimize the need for an elder to go up and down stairs - moving them onto a single floor may also prevent a fall.

Host: They seem like really common sense type things that anybody should follow.

Dr. Torres: But, they get overlooked because they are so common. Sometimes you need that person who comes in to your home and is taking care of your mother or father and she has to point it out and that little bit of added emphasis leads to a change.

Host: How do the geriatrics and house-call experts at MedStar Washington Hospital