Since january 1st of this year, people over 65 years old had a fall in Europe, sometimes with serious consequences.
Since january 1st of this year, people over 65 years old had a fall in Europe, sometimes with serious consequences.
 | This website conforms to the HONcode principles. Check here. |
There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to find the handset of your telephone, your pair of glasses, an important letter, the television remote, etc. Avoid crowding your home with too many objects because, as you age, your visual perception decreases and finding your things becomes more difficult.
Make sure that the storing units in your home can be easily seen, accessed and used.
>> Create new room for storage so as to make your daily life easier and save your patience, energy and unnecessary movements.
When the way from your bed to the toilet or from the sofa to the entrance door becomes long and sinuous because there are too many obstacles to avoid, you had better not be in a hurry if you do not want to bump yourself or trip!
>> Think about how you could arrange your furniture in a way that makes moving about easier, so as to walk shorter distances and not to have to go round the furniture.
It is important to maintain your floor covering in good condition: for tiling, the tiles should hold perfectly in place. You must ensure that your carpet is evenly placed. Wooden floors, even more so when they are waxed, are conducive to slipping.
>> Replace your floor covering if it is in bad condition
>> Do not wax your wooden floors
>> Put anti-skid tiling in humid rooms
>> Properly place a sill nosing where two floor coverings meet
Carpets and bedside rugs are well known to be responsible for numerous falls. There is less talk about electric wires, from the telephone, the television, the computer, etc. Yet they prove to be as dangerous when they go across a room, a corridor, or stick out from behind the night table.
>> Remove all unnecessary rugs or else move them to an area where there is less coming and going (under a piece of furniture), sticking them to the ground (double-sided adhesive tape).
>> Bring all electric wires together and fix them along the wall in a raceway or on the ground under a sill nosing for instance.
Whether our eyesight is good or bad, shadowy areas are spaces we do not correctly perceive and to which we do not pay attention, which can increase the fall risk. Shadowy areas can be found in areas where there is much coming and going such as the entrance hall or corridors. They also include dark corners and the space behind doors, along and under pieces of furniture.
These areas are responsible for falls when they are cluttered because they are used to store objects in between uses or which we seldom need (an old frame that has fallen off its hook, a tricky umbrella, a pair of shoes that needs mending, cardboard boxes to be thrown away, etc.).
>> Prefer having many sources of light (wall lamps) rather than only one (ceiling light) to reduce shadowy areas, indirect lighting being better. A better lit interior is less prone to being cluttered, which reduces fall risks.
>> Change the power of your light bulbs; prefer 75 or 100-Watts models.>> Make sure that light switches can be easily accessed, used and seen: their location can be made better visible with fluorescent stickers.
>> Remember to always turn the lights on when you are walking through your home at night. If you frequently forget to do so, install night lights: they make it easier to locate objects when you are walking at night. You may also install automatic lighting systems (movement detection) for when you need to go to the toilet during the night.
Support points enable you to move about safely: they prevent you from possibly being thrown off balance or make it possible to regain stability. They also prevent you from getting too tired.
>> Check the stability and height of all support points, made up of grab bars, handrails and the entire furniture.
Be careful: some support points are unstable!
>> Make arrangements for the repair or removal of those liable to collapse, move or topple. Particularly check suspended sinks and wash basins, some towel warmers, light tables, chair backrests or any piece of furniture on wheels.
>> Have the knobs of your doors and furniture replaced by more solid and ergonomic equipment, especially if your hands are sore or deformed (arthrosis, polyarthritis, carpal tunnel).
>> Do not forget that the corners of walls and pieces of furniture can be protected (rounded off) with resilient protective devices (do-it-yourself stores specialised in infancy).
