A fall is one of the top avoidable medical situations seniors may have. Falls that don't kill you can change your life forever. They are the leading cause of deaths related to injury for people age 65 and older.  With these numbers, senior fall prevention should be a priority for both seniors and for those with seniors in their lives.

In this episode I have a conversation with Sara of Alert Sentry. We discuss what their products can do to help senior stay active and how they can improve their independence.  She also has had a family member with Alzheimer's so our conversation touched on that as well.  The founder of Alert Sentry, Glenn Maxwell, based the idea for their products upon an actual real life experience.  In 1991 his grandmother suffered a fall in her driveway — she lay there for 6 hours, until the mail carrier arrived and provided aid.

We don't want something like this happening to us or our loved ones so it seemed necessary to have a conversation about how security devices.

Falling isn’t normal, so we should take every precaution to avoid them.
Senior Fall Prevention
Seniors can take a number of precautions to prevent falls.

Exercise regularly. Do exercises that will increase leg strength, improve balance and increase flexibility. Consider Tai Chi, yoga, and bicycling.
Review your medications with your doctor or pharmacist. You’ll want to reduce or eliminate those that cause dizziness or drowsiness.
Get your eyes checked by an optometrist at least once a year.
Lower your hip fracture risk by getting daily-recommended levels of calcium and vitamin D. and get screened and treated for osteoporosis.
Floors: move furniture that’s in your way. Use double-sided tape so throw rugs won’t slip. Pick up items that are on the floor. Coil telephone and electrical wires next to the wall. Keep items off the stairs. Fix loose or uneven steps. Make sure your stairway is lighted and have switches at the top and bottom of the stairs. Ensure stair carpeting is secure. Install secure stair handrails and that have them on both sides the entire length of the stairs.

Kitchen: Keep often used items in lower, easy-to-reach shelves or cabinets. If you have a stepstool, make sure it’s solid.
Bathroom: Put a non-slip mat or self-stick strips on your shower or tub floor. If you need it, install grab bars near the toilet and in the shower. Consider a walk in tub to ensure easy entrance and exit.
Bedroom: Make sure the path to your bed is clutter free. Install a night-light in your room.
When using a ladder, make sure both feet and at least one hand are on the ladder.
Wear shoes inside for better support and grip. Avoid slippers.
Get up slowly after lying or sitting down.
Consider buying an alarm you can activate in the event of a fall.

Summary
Senior fall prevention should be a serious topic for seniors and those with seniors in their lives. The statistics show that the problem is real and it can be serious. Fortunately, you can mitigate the risks with some preventative measures at home and exercise to strengthen your balance.

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This is a special episode of Fading Memories. It's actually the first one I ever recorded. There is a lot of audio of various interactions I had with Mom.  I started Fading Memories because I was desperate to find ways to make my visits with her more meaningful.  Hours of visits where she asks me the same question over and over and over are not how I want to remember the last few years of her life.

The other motivating factor in starting Fading Memories was the realization that finding the information I needed was hard, time consuming and many times frustrating. I like to listen to podcasts while I work editing photographs, or while doing chores so I searched for a supportive podcast that would change my life.

What I found were technical, preachy, cathartic for the producer but impossible to listen to options. I didn't need to hear uplifting music for 3 minutes or a 2 minute recitation on all the recognition a podcaster has gotten. That's for your advertising not your audience.  Then one day while I wasn't even thinking about Alzheimer's or how to connect with my Mom it hit me. (Figuratively thank goodness since I was at the gym using weights!)  Why not start the type of podcast I needed. Surely there were others out there looking for the same help that I was looking for.
That's when Fading Memories Podcast was born.
It's been 4 months so far and it's been a crazy ride already.  I've helped, informed and learned from every interview, conversation and deep internet research dive I've taken.  I hope to help and inform many, many others over the course of this journey.

I hope you enjoy this episode. It was a HUGE labor of love to edit into what I hope is a useful episode for you to listen to.  It's different, that's why I released it now.

 

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