Fall Prevention is NOT a Balancing Act - How Staying Healthy Prevents Falls

We recently talked a little bit about making home a little safer for seniors. Making sure your loved ones are navigating an obstacle course at home every day can go a long way towards preventing a bad fall, but overall health and strength are really important, too.

The older we get, the more we have a tendency to just take it easy when we have some down time - I know I do! But sitting around, or being fearful of getting active can actually make mom & dad more prone to falling. Let’s look at some healthy lifestyle tips that can help prevent falls:

Regular exercise. An exercise program builds strength and stamina – from heart and lungs to muscle strength. Exercise also boosts energy and helps with depression. Whether it’s physical therapy, a few steps a day, light weight training or just stretching, exercise helps sharpen our natural balancing skills and improves our reflexes – at any age!

Diet. A healthy diet, supplemented with vitamins, can still help keep bones and muscles in good condition, even when we get older. Eating right isn’t just for kids! Don’t let dad have ice cream for dinner – make sure he gets some broccoli before he hits the Blue Bell. Vitamin D and extra Calcium can help as well.

Eye exams. Take mom and dad to get their eyes checked at least once a year – and more often if there is a noticeable change or problem with their vision. Wearing the wrong glasses can result in tripping over objects, misjudging distance or becoming a little disoriented – and all can lead to a fall.

Medications. Many meds have subtle side effects – including blurred vision or dizziness. Many older people also take multiple medications – both prescription and over the counter – that can interact to produce side effects as well. Make sure your loved ones’ primary physician knows ALL the medicines mom and dad are using on a regular basis and how they can affect them.

Medical conditions. Chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and COPD can cause dizziness and shortness of breath – which make us unsteady on our feet. Being aware of these conditions and taking extra precautions can help prevent an unnecessary fall.

In addition keeping a close eye on the overall health and well-being of the seniors in your care, you may want to think about an alarm system for a little peace of mind in case there is a fall. Alert Response offers the Personal Emergency Response Service (PERS), giving emergency help 24 hours a day. Staying as active as possible, eating right and seeing a doctor regularly can make a big difference, but it’s nice to know that extra help is there when we need it most.

Fun with fall detection

I can get longwinded so I am going to try and keep this brief and educational. My office is getting more and more calls asking about fall sensors so I decided to use this forum to help people to understand the technology

First of all, fall detection is not and never will be perfect. I would say that of all the fall sensors I have seen the best ones predict falls somewhere in the 90-95% range. 90-95% is great unless you are part of the 5-10% then it's not so great.

Fall sensors come in two types of technology, the first and most basic is a tilt switch. A tilt switch is best worn on the belt and will send a signal for help if the pendant tilts past a certain degree. This unit is good because 100% of the time it will send a signal when it tilts past that degree mark, bad if for some reason a fall occurs and the client doesn't fall to that degree i.e. passing out and falling against a wall or into a chair. The second technology is more advanced as it will detect a change in altitude as well as the speed of that change. A quality fall sensor will be able to tell the difference between somebody passing out and subsequently falling to the floor and somebody bending over to tie their shoes. With this technology there are more false positives along with a higher chance of a slow fall failing to register and send a signal.

Any fall sensor should have a panic button with it as well so that the client can summon help in the event they are still conscious. Most fall sensors will allow a 30 second to 4 minute window to allow the client to get up and start moving around. Some will even send two signals, one that says the client has fallen, and one that says the client is not moving.

The technology is getting better every year and I get excited to see where it will be in 5-10 years, I know, I know, I'm a dork. Contact me or any of your local providers to see the latest systems, they might just save a life.



We recently received a new fall sensor that I had the pleasure of testing. The results were impressive and the girls thought it was funny to watch me fall repeatedly (see photo). Another good thing that came from my practice fall was a discovery of the dirty carpet. I had the carpet steamed cleaned the next day.

Dealer Conference

I just returned from the annual dealer conference in Ohio and I feel excited and rejuvinated. It's always great to meet with other leaders in the medical alarm industry and visit with them about the positives and negatives of our always changing industry. I came away with great ideas on how to better serve our current clients and ways to offer our services to a broader range of users.
This year was especially beneficial due to the addition of the trade show. Home technology dealers from all over the country were brought in to show off the latest and greatest technologies. A few that impressed me were-
1. SimplyHome which is a comprehensive home monitoring system that along with basic personal emergency response it also can monitor doors, windows, oven/stoves, medicine cabinets as well as many other things. www.simply-home.com.
2. LogicMark which is pioneering the way for voice to voice pendant services. We currently offer this and have had good success with it.
3. The Care Watch or the LF500 which is a all in one two way voice watch or pendant that has GPS so a client can be located anywhere in the country. Alert Response will have this available hopefully within the next 1-3 months.

Overall it was a very informative trip and although I had to leave my new born and 22 month old boys with my wife for 3 days I think it was well worth it.

Signs that your loved one might need help

Next time you are visting a friend or relative, spend some time checking for signs that they might need help. Often times older adults in an effort to remain independent try to hide things that might cause concern for loved ones. Use the list below to help spot issues that might raise a red flag.

a. Daily housework not being performed
i. Tired
ii. Overwhelmed
iii. Forgetting

b. Mail piling up
i. Overwhelmed with amount of mail
ii. Constant letters from people asking for donations

c. Bills not being paid
i. Checking account not balanced
ii. Services being shut off

d. Weight loss
i. Shopping and food preparation not being done
ii. Eating habits changing

e. No food in refrigerator or spoiled food

f. Kitchen in disarray
i. Dishes piling up
ii. Pots with burned bottoms
iii. Water and mildew stains where water was left on
iv. Food left out

g. Poor hygiene
i. Wearing same clothing
ii. Not bathing regularly

h. Inappropriate clothing
i. Unseasonal clothes worn i.e. bathing suit in winter or sweater in the summer
ii. Clothes left off

i. Missing scheduled events
i. Church
ii. Doctors appointments
iii. Medications

j. Acting strange
i. Unusual conversations
ii. Phone calls at odd times
iii. Strange anxiety or nervousness

k. Depression
i. Sleep disturbances (difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, oversleeping, or daytime sleepiness)
ii. Sadness
iii. Fatigue
iv. Abandoning or losing interest in hobbies or other pleasurable pastimes
v. Social withdrawal and isolation (reluctance to be with friends, engage in activities, or leave home)
vi. Weight loss; loss of appetite
vii. Loss of self-worth (worries about being a burden, feelings of worthlessness, self-loathing)
viii. Increased use of alcohol or other drugs
ix. Fixation on death; suicidal thoughts or attempts

If you have concerns feel free to contact our office, 972.318.0161, or visit us online at www.alertresponse.com.

Staying on your feet

As we grow older falling becomes a part of a lot of peoples lives and the aftermath of a fall can be very traumatic and costly. People who have fallen often spend weeks and sometimes months in the hospital trying to recover physically and mentally. Rehab centers are full of people spending hours upon hours in physical therapy to regain strength and confidence. I have heard horror stories of healthy older people falling and spending 12 or 15 hours laying on a bathroom floor or out on the back patio with no way to get help.

So what can we do? Well the best way to combat a fall is to try and prevent a fall. There a minor things we can do order to make our home safer and easier to ambulate around. Some of them might seem like common sense but they are still things people might not think about. Below is a list that might help you or a loved one prevent a fall sometime in the future.

1. In the mornings make sure you take your time getting up. All too often people wake up and immediately stand and begin to walk to the kitchen or bathroom. This can cause dizziness and sometimes blackouts. Give yourself time to sit up in bed and move your feet to the floor. Spend a couple minutes sitting in the upright position and then stand. If you are not feeling normal then sit down and wait a few more minutes and try again. Have a cane, walker, or some sort of aid to help in case you do not feel 100%.

2. Eliminate potential hazards. Below is a list of items that you may not have thought about but could potentially cause a fall.
-Wet floors
-Loose mats on slippery floors
-Dusty floors
-Sloped floors and uneven surfaces
-Loose or worn carpet and flooring
-Cables or wiring crossing a walking path
-Clutter in hallways and walkways

3. Medication management. Medication mismanagement is a big problem in the aging community and is the cause of a countless number of falls. Check with doctors and make sure the prescribed medications you are taking are not going to affect balance. Make sure the correct dosages are being taken and at the right times.

4. Understand limitations and don't be afraid to ask for help. If a light bulb needs to be changed or something heavy needs to be moved then ask for help. I can't tell you the amount of light bulbs I changed in the 5 years of installing emergency response units for the elderly.

5. Embrace technology. Because of the speed at which technology advances people become intimidated by new products. A lot of the products in the gerontological industry are meant to assist clients in being safe. Consult a caregiver or nurse and find out what products might be helpful. An emergency response button might not prevent a fall but it can build peace of mind and confidence knowing that if there is a fall then help is just a touch of a button away.

If you have any questions please visit us at http://www.alertresponse.com/ or call our office.

"Young men think old men are fools; but old men know young men are fools."
-George Chapman

Thanks for reading,
Matt