Fall Risks for the Aging

Just this past weekend we had two risky events. I stumbled in the parking lot of the local big box store and my husband slipped in the bathroom. Of the two, the bathroom slip was the more dangerous. The stumble was only potentially embarrassing.
As we age the risk of serious injury from falls increases. Bones become more brittle and the risk of a break secondary to a fall increases. Our loss of muscle mass leads to greater challenges as we try to catch ourselves to stop a fall or weakness that may lead to a fall. We are also more likely to have challenges to our sense of balance.
These are only the reasons that we may fall, where we fall also effects the outcome. In the parking lot I had visions of scrapes on hands and knees from the blacktop while I moved forward to regain my balance. The risk of a break is there as it is with any fall but scrapes and bruises are more likely.
The concerns in the bathroom were greater for a couple of reasons, the first being the hard surfaces in most bathrooms and the fact that my husband uses a blood thinner per his doctor's orders. We have grab bars well placed around the toilet and the shower which came in handy to help my husband to guide himself to a sitting position and a softer landing. We have added slip resistant tape to the bottom of the shower rug (it slipped to cause the incident) and will be adding another grab bar in the shower to accommodate his increasing difficulties with balance.
When there are changes in status, always move to change the responses as quickly as possible. The changes we have made and will make in the bathroom will allow us to continue in our home with safety.