Empowering seniors to age with joy
Empowering seniors to age with joy
According to the survey of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, older adults need extra care because they end up hurting themselves more often than we think by falling. This can further lead to signs of potential issues like fractures, medical complications, and injuries. They lack awareness and sometimes just procrastinate in the event of an accident or a fall. While we have so much information around us and it is helping us to stay aware, there is still a lack of the right assessments that we need to take at the time of a fall. Over 14 million senior citizens, 1 out of 4 senior adults, report falling. There are also people who don’t report it, so the actual number may be higher. Once they make an entry into old age, they start dealing with muscle weakness, which can lead to a fall. Nonetheless, it is a part of ageing, whether elderly people are suffering from chronic conditions or not.
It is advised to get regular treatment every month, but not everyone does that. What makes it necessary as you grow older is that the body does not heal as quickly as it used to. A fall risk assessment comes with a whole package to let you know which part of your body is deteriorating or might be harmed when the injury takes place. The risk of falls increases at 65 and above, so it is recommended to take the necessary steps, and one of those includes a fall risk assessment. If your loved one acts nonchalant but you know they fell, don’t wait to get a fall risk assessment. This might end up into something major, and you are not ready for it yet.
Here are a few important tests explained under the fall assessment, and why you need them more than anything else:
Mobility refers to the ability to move freely so there are a few brackets that should be checked when someone falls. Elderly citizens might look okay at that time, but it is possible that they have gone through something major. Under the fall assessment check, the mobility check consists of observing how a person is walking. If they can walk in a straight line even with the help of a stick, it is common. But if there are unsteady steps and limping, then it is something to be concerned about, and you should revisit the doctor to get to know about this concern in depth.
While elders might be aware of their medical history, sometimes diseases and conditions are not diagnosed, and years pass by. A fall risk assessment also consists of this criteria, where you get to know the causes and consequences of past falls and how they were treated at that time. This also gives you clarity on what medications to keep them on, so that they are not allergic to something that could have an adverse effect on them. Chronic conditions and prior surgeries can lead to dizziness and accidents due to falls. If you are aware of these conditions and you get a reasoning in terms of why it is happening, you can navigate better and take care of your loved ones.
When you get older, you deal with cognitive problems, and it is normal to go through all these changes. This includes experiencing memory problems as well. They are more likely to have this if it runs in your family. Early signs of Alzheimer’s might impair life, whereas normal forgetfulness with age is something everyone gets to witness when they are old. It is important to be able to answer basic questions related to time, place, and about yourself, basically, having awareness after the fall. A fall risk assessment gives you a screening for cognitive impairments and helps assess whether you are healthy enough to make decisions independently. If the fall is the reason you have difficulty recalling information, you might have to get more tests done in the future.
As you grow older, you may have noticed that your eyeglasses’ power keeps increasing. When we are young, doctors often say there's a possibility of reducing the power with a balanced diet and eye drops. However, these methods don’t always work over time, especially for senior citizens, so it's important to get vision checked regularly for both near and distance sight. If this hasn’t been done, a nurse will usually conduct the check as part of a fall risk assessment, where they examine your depth perception. Many people also experience peripheral vision loss due to the natural shrinking of the visual field. It tends to shrink by 1–3 degrees after the age of 50, and by the time you’re over 65, it can reduce to as low as 30 degrees.
When an elderly citizen falls for any reason, that alone should not be the only concern. You should get a fall risk assessment test done and then observe their reaction. Normally, when the joints grow weak and senior citizens are unable to walk, you give them a walking stick or medication to help. But these are not the only things you should rely on. A fall risk assessment gives you the reason for the fall, because older citizens are not always sure why it happened. So the answer to how the fall could have been prevented is also something they may not know. You need to understand the reason in order to help them walk confidently and grow stronger, so that you can also live with peace of mind.
