As you get older, your odds of injury from all sorts of things go up. Changes in the body and brain can make something that was “not a big deal” twenty years ago a very big deal today. That includes falls and the potential injuries that come with them, including the increased risk of traumatic brain injury.
While it’s true that everyone falls from time to time, older adults are more likely to suffer falls than younger people are. In fact, the statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are crystal clear: more than one in four seniors falls at least once each year. And though some seniors come away from these events with only bumps, bruises, and wounded pride, others can suffer serious health problems as a result, such as hip fractures and head injuries. In fact, one out of every five falls causes these serious and potentially life-altering issues. Did you know that falls are the leading cause of TBIs among all age groups, not just the elderly?1
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, senior adults over the age of 65 are the most likely to be hospitalized or to die from a traumatic brain injury as the result of a fall.2That’s why it’s incredibly important to have a fall alert at every senior’s fingertips. Falling is an emergency in and of itself; falling down and hitting your head makes the situation even more dangerous. Getting help immediately could mean the difference between life and death. Medical alert systems are an affordable way to get some protection and peace of mind.
Steps to Take if You’ve Fallen and Can’t Get Up
The first advice is also the most difficult to take: don’t panic.
Now is the time to think things through as methodically as you can. Assess the situation. Where do you hurt? If you have fallen and broken a bone, you will likely feel the pain of that immediately, or as soon as you try to put weight on the fracture.
No matter where the pain is or even if you think it’s “not that bad,” it’s time to get help as quickly as possible. An affordable emergency alert system can help you do this. Simply press the button alarm to reach a professional monitoring center that’s ready to assist you.
If you are pretty sure you have a fracture of some kind or you are dizzy or light-headed, don’t try to get up after pressing the panic button for help. Trying to get up could lead to another fall, and that could lead to further injury.
If you don’t think you have a fracture, that’s great! But what if you can’t get up anyway? You might feel shaky and weak from the accident. You might be dealing with internal injuries. Or you might have hit your head. If you can’t get up, and don’t have an in-home or mobile medical alarm button, call 911. Even if you otherwise feel ok, there could be a serious problem.
What to Do if You Fell and Hit Your Head
If you fell and hit your head, things might be a little more difficult to figure out. It’s very important to remember that some traumatic brain injuries don’t feel like much at first. In fact, you might brush it off as a little bump, get up from the floor, and try to go about your day as you normally would.
That’s one of the biggest dangers of hitting your head – you might not feel the severity at first.
This is when medical alert systems for seniors can save your life. Rather than wait it out and see what happens, you should always reach out for help if you hit your head during a fall. Tell the monitoring center what happened. They will immediately begin assessing the situation and send emergency services to your door to get you checked out. When it comes to diagnosing and treating a TBI, time is of the essence. There could be a brain bleed that begins at the moment of impact that gets worse as time goes on.
The Brain Trauma Foundation reports that there are actually two stages of a brain injury: the primary injury and the secondary injury.3The primary injury is what happens during the initial impact. It’s when the brain bounces against the skull and any additional problems occur, such as a laceration. The secondary injury is what happens afterward, when torn vessels begin to allow blood into places it shouldn’t be and the brain begins to swell.
These problems are especially dangerous for the elderly. As we get older, our brains tend to shrink, which allows for more room for the organ to bounce around in the skull. At the same time, our blood vessels stiffen with age, making them more likely to tear. Add in the increased risk of falls among the elderly and the higher odds of being on medications that can lead to bleeding problems and you have a recipe for potential disaster.
Treating the primary injury as soon as possible is the key to success. Emergency service personnel will assess you by looking at the wound, studying your eyes to ensure your pupils dilate at the same rate, asking you several questions to help determine if you are oriented and alert, and performing basic diagnostic tests, such as blood pressure readings, to make sure your vitals are what they should be.
If a trip to the hospital is necessary, the nurses and doctors might do the same things that the emergency personnel did at first, such as asking you plenty of questions and assessing your pupil dilation. But in a hospital, there are more tools at the physician’s disposal. There may be imaging tests, such as x-rays, CT scans, or MRIs.
The doctors and nurses can do all sorts of things to treat you. Treatments might include prescription medications to prevent seizures or blood clots, and diuretics to help alleviate pressure on the brain.
But remember, their success depends upon how long you have been suffering from internal trauma of the fall. Again, that’s why it’s important for seniors and elderly adults to have a medical alert system with fall detection. Not only does this life-saving medical alarm give you the opportunity to reach out for help by simply pressing a button, the fall detection alarm can contact the 24/7 emergency monitoring center on your behalf when it senses a fall, even if you can’t press the button yourself.
Always Get Checked Out After a Fall
You might hesitate to call for help if you fell. This is never a good idea. Especially if you hit your head, it is always prudent to seek medical care as soon as possible.
If you begin to experience any of the following symptoms, use a medical alert button or call 911 right away.
· Weakness in your limbs
· Difficulty with coordination or walking
· Slurred speech
· Numbness in any part of your body
· Agitation or confusion
· A serious headache that is not relieved by medication
· The worst headache you have ever felt in your life
· Blurriness, double vision, or other changes to your eyesight
· Seizures
· Nausea and vomiting
· Feeling faint or losing consciousness
· Behavioral changes
· A change in the size of your pupils that is not related to light
Senior Safety and Protection
According to the CDC, once a senior has suffered a fall, they are twice as likely to suffer another one. If you have suffered a head injury, doctors always caution that a second one could be even more serious or even fatal.
To try to prevent future falls at home, make sure that there are no cluttered walkways, throw rugs in your way, or cords you could trip over. If you don’t have grab bars in the bathroom, now is the time to get them. Install sturdy railings along stairs and even hallways if you have trouble with walking, and make a point of using them every time. Consider using bed rails if you worry about falling out of bed.
Always wear non-skid shoes and opt for non-skid flooring. Never walk on areas where danger lurks, such as a driveway covered in ice. And choose the right personal emergency response system for seniors, so that you always have help at your fingertips if you need it.
