There’s More to Trip on Than Area Rugs
Fall Prevention Solutions for Your Home
More than one in four adults over age 65 will fall in the next year, but older adults aren’t the only ones at risk. You may have an increased risk for falling for a variety of reasons, including:
- Balance and gait difficulties
- Lower body weakness or pain
- Certain medications
- Vitamin D deficiency
- Poor vision
- Environmental hazards
Not sure if you’re at risk for a fall? Take this brief self-assessment to find out.
Thousands of these falls occur in the home each year. Here are some quick and easy ways to modify your home to reduce your risk for falling:
- Arrange your furniture to form a clear and wide path around your home.
- Remove clutter from the floor, including shoes, books, magazines, newspapers, pet food dishes, small pieces of furniture, blankets, towels, boxes, or other objects.
- Tape down or cover cords and wires, or coil them near the wall to avoid tripping on them.
- Remove area rugs, or make sure rugs are non-slip or secured to the floor with double-sided tape.
- Apply non-slip strips to floor and stairs inside and outside your home, as well as in the shower.
- Increase lighting in each room, stairway, at entrances, and outside your home. Install switches at both the bottom and top of stairs, and make sure lighting is readily available when getting up in the middle of the night.
- Ensure two secure handrails are installed on both sides of stairs.
- Have grab bars securely attached to the wall in tubs and showers, and next to the toilet. For greater safety consider using a shower chair and hand-held shower.
- Rearrange things you use often so they’re easily accessible without having to use a step stool. If you must use a one, invest in a sturdy step stool with a bar to hold on to.
Check out the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Home Fall Prevention Checklist for an even more in depth look at your home.
And don’t forget! At PATF, we can help you find funding to modify your home and make it more accessible. Contact us to learn about what may already be covered by public or private funding, or to learn about our loan programs.