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Tag: Falls

  • How to prevent falls and their sometimes horrific consequences

    How to prevent falls and their sometimes horrific consequences

    According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), more than one in four people over 65 fall each year, and around three million end up in the emergency room or as a hospital inpatient. Falls are increasing, even though they are preventable. Falls are also costly. In the period between 2016 and 2018, the average annual cost of falls among older adults was $80 billion.

    For older adults, the consequences of a fall can be particularly horrific, restricting people’s activities, if not robbing them of their independence. According to the CDC, falls are the leading cause of injury and injury death among people 65 and older.

    How to prevent falls?

    1. Talk to your doctor about the side effects of the medications you’re taking, both prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Some medicines can make you dizzy and more prone to falls.
    2. Make your home safer. Remove any loose rugs or tack them to the floor. Install grab bars in the bathroom. Use night lights.
    3. Stand up slowly after sitting to avoid light-headedness.
    4. Have your eyesight and hearing checked each year.
    5. Use a cane or walker for stability.
    6. Do balance and strength exercises.
     Here are five exercises to improve balance that the NIH recommends: (more…)
  • Falls are primary cause of harm and death for people over 65

    Falls are primary cause of harm and death for people over 65

    Unintentional falls are the primary cause of harm and death for people over 65 reports the Centers for Disease Control in a new report. You might have thought it was car accidents or cancer. Fortunately, many falls are preventable.

    Nearly one in four older adults (14 million) reported falling in 2021. Fall rates, or at least reporting of fall rates, are higher in some states than in others.  In Alaska, nearly four in ten older adults reported falling in 2020. In Illinois, just under two in ten reported falling. In 2o21, overall, 100 older adults died each day from falling.

    While women fall more than men, men are more likely to die as a result of a fall than women. Just over 91 men out of 100,000 died of a fall in 2020, while 68 women out of 100,000 died of a fall.

    Death rates from unintentionally falling also varied dramatically from state to state. In Alabama, 31 out of every 100,000 people died as a result of falling. In Wisconsin, 177 out of every 100,000 died as a result of falling.

    Here’s what you can do to minimize your risk of falling:

    • Have your primary care doctor assess you for the risk of falling.
    • If your risk is high, determine whether there are any specific causes that can be treated and ask your doctor to check your medications.
    • Get physical therapy–Medicare should cover it in full with a prescription from your doctor.
    • Modify your home to reduce trip hazards such as loose rugs and bedding.

    The National Council on Aging offers a free check-up that you can do yourself to determine if you are at risk of falling. To take the check-up, click here.

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  • Five exercises to improve balance for safety and health

    Five exercises to improve balance for safety and health

    As we age, it becomes more likely that we will fall and break a hip or a shoulder. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that falls are the top cause of injury and death from injury for older adults. Exercise can improve your balance, reducing your risk of falls and promoting your safety and your health.
    According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one in three people over 65 fall each year, and more than two million end up in the emergency room. In 2014, older adults experienced 29 million falls, resulting in seven million injuries and costing Medicare about $31 billion.
    The consequences of a fall can be horrific, restricting your activities if not robbing you of your independence. So, it’s important to do balance and strength exercises to help prevent falls. Here are five exercises to improve balance that the NIH recommends: (more…)
  • How to avoid unintentional injuries

    How to avoid unintentional injuries

    As we age, the risk of unintentional injuries rises. A new Centers for Disease Control study looks specifically at unintentional injuries among older adults. Older people can and should take precautions to help prevent avoidable injuries.

    Each year, about 60,000 older adults die from unintentional injuries. In 2019, the majority of them, 34,000, died from falls. About 8,000, 13 percent, died from motor vehicle accidents. A tiny fraction, 3,000, died from accidental drug overdose or poisoning.

    On top of that, an even larger number of older adults experience unintentional non-deadly injuries, with grave health consequences.  They might experience severe brain injury and inability to care for themselves.

    In 2018, 2.4 million older adults visited the emergency room. More than 700,000 of them ended up hospitalized. More than 90 percent of those visits were caused by falls.

    Women are more prone than men to experience an unintentional injury. They are more likely to end up in the emergency department and to be hospitalized for a fall than men. But, men are more likely to die from an unintentional fall.

    The likelihood of falling increases with age, with one in four older adults falling each year. But, the likelihood of being in a motor-vehicle crash declines. The researchers posit that people tend to drive less as they age.

    You can prevent these unintentional injuries. Falls do not have to be part of aging. Talk to your doctor.

    Sometimes, exercise to improve balance and strengthen muscles can make all the difference between suffering from an unintentional injury and not. Physical therapy visits can also help; Medicare covers medically necessary physical therapy. Eye exams, which Medicare generally does not cover, can detect and correct poor vision. Good vision can help in preventing avoidable injuries.

    Your doctor should also check your feet at least once a year to ensure you have the right footwear to minimize your risk of falling. Medication reductions can also help, particularly reducing use of  benzodiazepines, opioids and anti-depressants.

    Visit this Just Care post to learn how to make your home safer.

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  • Don’t let the hospital keep you in bed if you’re able to walk

    Don’t let the hospital keep you in bed if you’re able to walk

    Don’t let the hospital keep you in bed if you’re able to walk. Even if you’re only in the hospital a few days, it’s critical to move around. If you remain bed-bound, you could end up so weak that you’re worse off when you leave the hospital than you were when you were admitted.

    According to the American Academy of Nursing, as many as two thirds of all older adults who are hospitalized leave the hospital unable to walk independently even though they walked independently when they were admitted to the hospital.

    Kaiser Health News reports that hospitals sometimes keep older patients in bed and do not let them move around in order to ensure they do not fall. Hospitals put side rails on the beds and install motion sensor alarms to prevent their older patients from getting out of bed. Many hospitals do not have enough staff to support patients who want to walk. As a result, patients lose their strength.

    Many older patients who are not allowed to walk while in hospital leave the hospital far less independent than they were when they were admitted. Their lack of independence can be long-term and serious. It easily can take three months of rehab therapy for older adults to regain the ability to walk and their independence. Hospitals do not usually track the frequency with which hospitalized patients get out of bed.

    One study found that one in three hospitalized patients over 70 years old are more disabled when they leave the hospital than when they were admitted.

    Here’s the problem: Hospitals have far greater incentives to prevent falls than to ensure their patients’ independence upon discharge. If a patient falls, a hospital may face financial penalties. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will not pay the hospital to treat injuries of a patient who has fallen under its watch. And, hospitals with the highest fall rates receive lower federal payments. The penalties were put in place because falls can be fatal for older adults; falls are the primary cause of fatalities as well as nonfatal injuries.

    What to do? Walk as much as possible in hospital. Older adults who walk as little as 275 steps a day have lower readmission rates after 30 days.

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  • How to avoid harm from prescription drug overload

    How to avoid harm from prescription drug overload

    Medications can treat symptoms, prevent disease, and even extend our lives. But can taking too many drugs be harmful? A new report from the Lown Institute finds that millions of older Americans are at risk of harm from the side effects of multiple prescription drugs, an epidemic experts are calling “Medication Overload.”

    Over the past few decades, the number of medications Americans are taking has skyrocketed. Currently, 42 percent of Americans age 65 and over take five or more drugs compared to just 13 percent in the mid-1990s. Nearly 20 percent of older Americans take ten or more medications.

    Taking five or more medications should be seen as a red flag for potential harm. Each additional prescription drug increases the risk of serious side effects, such as delirium, falls, and bleeding. Last year, five million older Americans – one in ten – sought medical treatment for an adverse drug event. More than a quarter million were hospitalized. It’s very likely that you or someone you know has experienced harm from too many medications, whether it is physical harm from drug side effects or mental exhaustion from managing a laundry list of medications.

    Fortunately, patients, families, and caregivers can take steps to reduce medication overload.

    While our culture reinforces the idea that there’s “a pill for every ill,” patients, families, and caregivers can and should question that assumption. The best way to prevent harm from medication overload is to avoid taking unnecessary medications in the first place.

    Before adding another medication to your regimen, ask your doctor these questions:

    • What is this medication for?
    • How will we know when the medication is working or not working?
    • When should I stop taking this medication?
    • Can I start on a lower dose and see if that works?
    • Are there side effects I should watch out for if I take this medication?

    If you believe that you, or a family member, are experiencing harmful side effects from medication overload, or are having trouble managing too many pills, ask your primary care provider for a “prescription checkup.” This checkup is an opportunity to discuss any side effects you’re concerned about, and identify any unnecessary or potentially harmful medications you can stop or taper. If possible, bring a full list of the medications you (or your family member) are taking to the visit.

    Engaging in conversations about medications with your doctor is an essential part of reducing medication overload, but it is by no means the only solution. (For a full list of recommendations for addressing medication overload, see the Lown Institute report.) Health professionals, policymakers, and patients must come together to tackle this problem, for the sake of the health and well-being of millions of Americans.

    This post was co-written by Judith Garber, a health care policy and communications fellow at the Lown Institute and co-author with Brownlee of “Medication Overload: America’s Other Drug Problem.”

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  • Home-delivered meals, more than good nutrition

    Home-delivered meals, more than good nutrition

    As we and the people we love age, it’s important to keep in mind the importance of both good nutrition and social interactions. Eating alone often leads to poor nutrition and can be particularly depressing. A study by Kali S. Thomas, Brown University, shows the value of home-delivered meals for people’s physical and emotional health.
    Thomas’ research shows increased levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness, and poorer quality of life for people who are on waitlists for Meals on Wheels or who receive weekly shipments of frozen meals, as compared with people who get daily meal deliveries. People who get daily meal deliveries get to socialize with the people delivering those meals.
    Home-delivered meals not only help older adults remain in their homes longer, but they have mental and physical health benefits. Based on answers to survey questions, Thomas’ study found that older adults receiving daily meals showed improved mental health and fewer falls and hospitalizations. They felt less isolated and safer, perhaps because of the sense they were being checked on by the people delivering their home-delivered meals.
    Many older adults lack any social interactions. which are critical to quality of life. They live alone and have no family or friends to help them over an extended period of time.  Thomas’ study found that those on waiting lists for home-delivered meals rated their health less well than others living in the community. And, they worried about their ability to continue to live in their homes.
    If you’re interested in learning more about home-delivered meals for yourself or someone you love, contact your local area agency on agency at 1-800-677-1116. Area Agencies on Aging are located in communities across the US and provide free assistance and resources for older adults. You can learn more about them and the services they offer here. For additional information from Just Care about free and low-cost resources for older adults, including friendly visiting programs, click here.
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