Family Doctor 2007 - (Page 220) seniors PREVENTING FALLS Staying on your feet Although you are more likely to fall as you age, you can take steps to avoid slips and trips. By Amy Ronek Exercising regularly keeps your bones and muscles strong, making you less likely to fall. Managing your health Managing your health helps you avoid falling and heal as quickly as possible if you do fall. Get enough calcium in HEALTH your diet. By doing so, you will strengthen your bones and ward off osteoporosis, a condition which causes bones to become brittle and more likely to break. After menopause, many women need 1,000 to 1,200 mg of supplemental calcium and 400 to 800 IU of vitamin D per day for bone health. Discuss this with your family doctor. Exercise. Exercising regularly keeps your bones and muscles strong, which means you are less likely to fall. Exercises that improve balance and coordination, such as tai chi, can increase your stability. Even a little exercise — 15 minutes every other day — can help. Talk to your family doctor about beginning an exercise program or making the most of the exercise you already do. tip Calcium-rich foods include: ■ Milk. ■ Cheese. ■ Yogurt. ■ Fish. ■ Almonds. ■ Vegetables such as broccoli or turnip greens. F alls are the leading cause of death from injury in Americans older than 65. While this statistic is scary, many falls are preventable. There are a number of easy steps that you can Check your vision. Poor vision increases your chances of falling, so have your eyes checked every year. Keep vision problems, such as glaucoma, under control. Also, good lighting at home is another way to improve your vision. Brightly lit rooms will allow you to see objects in your way and avoid them. Review your medications. Make sure your doctor is aware of all the medications you take, even if you bought them without a prescription (cold medicine, for example). Also, be sure to tell your doctor about any vitamins or supplements that you take. Interactions between drugs and/or supplements can affect your likelihood of falling. If any of your medications make you feel dizzy, be sure to tell your doctor. While not all falls are preventable, taking the steps listed here will help you increase your chances of staying on your feet — and out of the doctor’s office! Amy Ronek is an editor living in Dubuque, Iowa. take today to avoid falls tomorrow — or at least make recovering from your falls easier. Make your home safer About 75% of falls happen at home, so it’s a good idea to make sure that your home is as safe as possible. Falls in the home are commonly caused by tripping over things on the floor. Be on the lookout for items like books or electrical cords in the areas where you walk, including hallways and stairs. If you have throw rugs, use double-stick tape or nonskid pads to prevent them from slipping. To make your bathroom safer, add handrails or bars next to the toilet and in the shower or bathtub — you can hold on to these bars to keep your balance. You can also use nonslip mats in your showers and bathtubs, or even add a chair in your shower so that you don’t have to stand. You should have handrails on your stairs as well. Keeping items that you use frequently within reach will prevent you from having to use a stepstool or stepladder to reach them. Think about your kitchen, bathroom and closets, and move things to places you can easily reach. 220 familydoctor 2007 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION American Academy of Family Physicians http://familydoctor.org/245.xml National Institute on Aging http://www.niapublications.org/agepages/falls.asp Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fall-prevention/HQ00657 http://familydoctor.org/245.xml http://www.niapublications.org/agepages/falls.asp http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fall-prevention/HQ00657
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