Lots of great advice here. Evaluate meds-some cause hypotension (low bp) made worse when a person stands or moves and gets dizzy, then falls. Assisted living has lots of folks watching if someone may fall. Elderly people fall. Assisted living may be a good, practical solution. After a recent surgery and then I’m in a small rehab facility, one exercise I did was to practice falling-on thick mats, supervised and I made sure to repeat it, so hopefully it’ll be muscle memory.
It also is hard to prevent falls that are caused by a person forgetting how to stand, what feet are for, and how to walk. This periodically happens to my mom, who is age 97 1/2. At this point, my siblings and I think it's better for mom to have the occasional "soft fall" or "assisted fall" than to be confined to a bed or a chair 24/7.
This past 2025 my Mom (96) did a slow slide out of her bed onto her butt and broke her pubic bone. She recovered from that, then in November was literally just standing in her kitchen and turned her head and lost her balance and fell, chipping off the end of her elbow. My Mom tools around her house very well inspite of having arthritis in her knees (and lots of other places). She lives in her own house with a set of stairs to her basement that she traverses several times a day.
All this to say that preventing falls is challenging to say the least. I'm assuming their senior's home has been "seniorized" by removing rugs, adding grab bars, making wider/uncluttered walk paths for them, wearing "sensible shoes), etc. Other than that, improving their flexibility and balance are very helpful, too. But if they have medical issues like vertigo, blood pressure drops, Meniere's disease, being on certain medications, etc. this will increase their risks.
An impossible dream for caregivers everywhere! Common sense solutions, like "baby-proofing" your home. There is no perfect solution, or someone would be extremely rich who invented it.
Remove all tripping hazards and clutter, keep areas well lighted, install rails and grab bars. Wear non-slip sox, use walkers, wheelchairs, low edge showers, all the latest methods. They will still fall the second your back is turned.
Why a facility is so much safer...more sets of eyes watching. Yet they will still fall, it only takes a split second. Regardless, many eyes are better than just two.
I have seen demonstrations of suits that inflate when a person falls over. It's not ideal in any way and these are not ready for market kind of things to the best of my knowledge. But it was an interesting concept, to kind of have a type of blow up protection like an air bag but for your whole body.
Now, would you be able to convince someone with dementia to wear this? Would an elderly person without dementia resent having to wear an inflatable contraption? Hard to say. I liked the idea though.
You can use a rollator, you can remove tripping hazards such as rugs, you can have a wheelchair for use, you can stay nearby, you can install grab bars, and I’m sure more ideas. There will still be falls. They are awful and inevitable. My sweet dad fell so many times despite so many precautions. Falls are the curse of the elderly, I’m sorry you’re watching this
When you asked this question on your last post earlier today, several of us told you there is no way to reduce elders from falling. Either place your husband back in Memory Care or hire in home help to assist you. There is no miracle answer here that we're not giving you!
https://www.agingcare.com/questions/my-husband-has-alzheimers-and-has-for-12-years-i-am-his-only-caregiver-right-now-he-is-now-falling-a-497860.htm
All this to say that preventing falls is challenging to say the least. I'm assuming their senior's home has been "seniorized" by removing rugs, adding grab bars, making wider/uncluttered walk paths for them, wearing "sensible shoes), etc. Other than that, improving their flexibility and balance are very helpful, too. But if they have medical issues like vertigo, blood pressure drops, Meniere's disease, being on certain medications, etc. this will increase their risks.
Common sense solutions, like "baby-proofing" your home. There is no perfect solution, or someone would be extremely rich who invented it.
Remove all tripping hazards and clutter, keep areas well lighted, install rails and grab bars. Wear non-slip sox, use walkers, wheelchairs, low edge showers, all the latest methods. They will still fall the second your back is turned.
Why a facility is so much safer...more sets of eyes watching. Yet they will still fall, it only takes a split second. Regardless, many eyes are better than just two.
Now, would you be able to convince someone with dementia to wear this? Would an elderly person without dementia resent having to wear an inflatable contraption? Hard to say. I liked the idea though.