Five Physical Risks for Aging Adults and Falls
As a caregiver, you might find yourself looking for ways to help your elderly family member to avoid falling. Some of the physical risks for falling are ones that you and your senior can manage, often with the help of her medical team and home care providers.
Senior Care in Gulf Shores AL: Risks for Aging Adults
Poor Nutrition
You probably already realize that your elderly family member needs to get the best nutrition possible. If she isn’t, that affects her entire body. Cutting back too far on protein, for example, can cause her to lose muscle mass and have less energy than she needs. Eating foods that are high in empty calories leaves your senior at a deficit. Foods that are rich in nutrients give her body the fuel she needs to be able to move her body well.
Medications and Side Effects
Every medication has side effects, of course, and your senior may find herself taking multiple medications. Those side effects can start to add up and have a pretty big impact on your aging adult’s balance and her ability to avoid a fall. Talk with your elderly family member’s doctor about whether some of her medications need adjusting in order to reduce her fall risk.
Eyesight
Your elderly family member can’t avoid obstacles or problems that she can’t see. If she’s having trouble with her vision, an eye exam is a place to start. From there, you may find that corrective lenses help or there may be other solutions that are applicable. Many aging adults find that they’re dealing with some degree of low vision, in which case improved lighting can seriously help.
Loss of Muscle Tone
As she ages, your senior is likely to lose at least a little bit of muscle tone. But if she’s not exercising regularly, she can lose muscle tone even faster. Worse still, her muscles might even start to atrophy. Talk to your senior’s doctor about what she can do in order to keep the muscle tone she’s got and increase those muscles if possible.
Previous Falls
If your elderly family member has already experienced a fall, she’s more likely to experience another. Part of the problem is that your senior can fear that next fall and that’s something that can make her less active. Reducing her activity and being afraid of falling can work together to make that next fall inevitable.
Being aware of all of these different risks and how they can affect your aging adult gives you a leg up in helping your elderly family member avoid a fall. Home care providers can help you to understand how you can compensate for these issues during your senior’s daily activities.
If you or someone you know needs Senior care in Gulf Shores, AL, please contact the friendly caregivers at Hughes Home Care.
We provide quality and affordable care for your elderly loved ones in our community. Call Us Today 251-517-9901. Serving Mobile & Baldwin County.
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