Wear shoes and slippers that have non-slip soles. Avoid wearing socks only – they might cause you to slip.
- Be extra careful if your bathroom floor becomes wet. If your bathroom has handrails, hold onto them when getting up or down. Make sure non-slip strips are in your bathtub.
- If you wear a bathrobe or nightgown, be sure it is short enough to avoid tripping on.
- Don’t leave any clothes, magazines, bags, or other objects lying around on the floor – you might trip over them.
- Place loose electrical cords or telephone wires out of walking areas.
- Before you go to sleep, place your glasses within easy reach. Get out of your bed or chair slowly. Sit up before you stand.
- Sit in higher chairs or chairs with armrests – they’re easier to get in and out of.
- Remove or secure any loose rugs or mats.
- Be sure hallways and staircases are well-lighted. (If the hallway or staircase in your building is not well-lighted, call the superintendent.) When walking up or down stairs, hold onto a handrail or use a cane.
- Wipe up any kitchen spills as soon as they happen.
- Place lamps in dark areas. If you walk into a dark area let your eyes first adjust to the dark.
- If you do fall, DON’T PANIC! Try using a stable chair or some other piece of furniture to help you get up. If you cannot get up, try calling out for help. If you can, slide or crawl to the telephone or front door and call for help.
While falling at home can be a catastrophic event, you can improve your chances of getting medical help as quickly as possible by adding the fall detection option to your medical alert system. Fall detection will recognize when you’ve fallen and contact the Emergency Response Center immediately so they can dispatch help as quickly as possible.
To reach one of our SafetyWatch team members for questions about choices of our In-Home Medical Alert System or our MobileAlert system that’s designed for mobile activities, Contact Us Here or call 727-330-7767. We’re here to help you.
Tips Information provided by Visiting Nurse Service of New York