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As you get older, make your home safer

Posted on Jan 18th 2007 6:13PM by Rigel Celeste

Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness

Growing older is inevitable, but moving out of your home someday because you just can't get around safely anymore doesn't have to be. The statistics are scary: falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for people over age 65, one in three people over 65 will fall each year, and the majority of hip fractures are causes by falls at home.

But as disconcerting as those figures may be, the good news is that there are many things you can do to minimize your risk of falling or getting hurt in your own place. This article goes over several of the topics from two books on fall prevention, including simple things to do like having your stair railings extended, taking a close look at the kind of carpeting you have, and even the effects fear and other mental factors can have.

Most falls are preventable, despite aging and it's difficulties. But unfortunately for me, the article doesn't mention anything about falls from plain clumsiness.

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Tags: bones, brittle, brittle bones, BrittleBones, broken, broken bones, BrokenBones, falls, fracture, fractures, fx, hip, joints, knee, osteoporosis, prevent, prevention

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Tim UF 1-19-2007 @ 11:00AM

Many homebuilders allow you to consult with them as they go through the construction process. My grandmother was very active in participating in the design/construction of her new home. She had them raise her garage floor so there was no step up into the home from the garage. She had them lower all of her kitchen cabinetry so sshe could reach the higher shelves without needing to get onto a wobbly stool. She had sliding kitchen shelves installed, so, instead of opening the door and digging way in the back for that jar of jam, she opens the door, slides the cabinet shelve out, and gets the jar! that also allows for deeper shelves and a better use of the space (instead of just crowding all the items in the front). She had a shower stall installed in the master bathroom to go with the bathtub, which she can't get in and out of. All this was taken care of as the home was being built (and therefore at a lower cost, as opposed to renovating the new home just after it was built).