Spotlight on falls

While ageing brings its own challenges, one issue that is huge for the over-65 population is falling. One in three elderly people in Ireland experience a fall every year and many times these falls can result in serious injury.

To help give elderly people a sense of confidence and security, Boots have just launched Home Assist – a service that provides around the clock monitoring for the elderly and, using the unique Motech Careclip, detects falls inside and outside the home, allowing them to live independently.

We spoke to Doctor Ciara Kelly, GP and broadcaster, to learn more about the impact falling can have on us as we age and how we can protect ourselves.

Dr Kelly says that she decided to get involved with the campaign due to her own personal experience with her mother.

“My own mum, she died last year, she was 91 and she would have had significant problems with falls and Dementia. She would have been in a nursing home for the last couple of years. When she was in her late 80s and still at home, [falling] would have been a real worry for us as a family, trying to support her to live at home because most people want to stay in their home for as long as possible.”

It’s a fact that as we age, we’re likely to experience more falls. But why is this?

“One in three people over the age of 65 will have a fall annually, if not more. That’s a lot of people. There’s a lot of different reasons why people fall as they get older. Their muscles get weaker so if you’re walking along the street and you trip, you may well right yourself. You catch yourself and you pull yourself back and you won’t fall,” explains Dr Kelly.

“But as you get older, you’re a little bit weaker. Your leg muscles, your back muscles, your core, all of that is a little bit weaker. Sometimes you’re not able to right yourself. You don’t have the physical strength, so muscle weakness is a big thing. As we get older our balance is not quite as good as it was when we were younger, so that’s a problem.”

Dr Kelly also says that issues with eyesight, hearing, low blood pressure and existing conditions can contribute to our risk of falling as we get older. Therefore, the important thing to do is to reduce our risk as best as we can. So how can we do this?

“Stay mobile. We all see the ads on the tell where there’s an 85-year-old and she’s riding a bike in a triathlon or whatever. The only reason she’s doing that is because she’s kept that up when she was 40, 50, 60, and 70 – before she was 80. She didn’t start doing that when she was 80 so try and maintain your mobility with exercise and movement and keep walking. That’s very important,” says Dr Kelly.

“Maintain good health. Get your blood pressure checked. Get your cholesterol checked… Maintain a healthy weight. If you’re overweight your centre of gravity is thrown off slightly and it does make it harder, in that case, for you to avoid falling…”

It’s also important, if you’re prone to falls, to be willing to use walking aids.

“I will do it myself when I’m older. If you need a stick or if you need a frame, there’s no added benefit to not using something like that and then falling, as opposed to using it and not falling. People don’t like to have sticks or frames or those walking aids because they make them feel old and even though you might look at somebody and think they’re old, that doesn’t mean that they feel it and they may not want to use those things. You need to get past that and you need to use them.”

Experiencing a fall in your own home can shake your confidence and leave you feeling vulnerable. Dr Kelly stresses that it’s important for you to reach out if you feel scared or shaken.

“It’s so important because we know, in addition to all the other problems people have [such as] health and mobility, social isolation is a huge issue for older people and Ireland is a country of ageing people,” says Dr Kelly.

“I think it is up to people to reach out themselves because by doing that and by reaching out themselves they will, I think, have a better quality of life too. But I think we also need to reach out to our older people as well.”

And finally, what should you do if you experience a fall?

“It depends on how significant a fall is. If you’ve had a significant fall, then I would advise them or a loved one to call an ambulance because you may need an x-ray… If it’s a less serious fall then yes, sure, a visit to the GP or a house call from A GP if you can’t get out of bed might be no harm either. But equally some people will have a fall and none of those things will be the issue. It will not be about physical injury, it will be about somebody having such a knock to their confidence that they are now afraid to go out,” says Dr Kelly.

“Then I think it’s about loved ones stepping up and doing things like getting them a personal alarm that makes them feel secure… get a walking aid, maybe get your son or daughter to start walking with you until you get your confidence back, that you have somebody with you there in a supportive role.”

The Home Assist range is available in selected Boots pharmacies nationwide. To learn more about the different packages available, log on to www.boots.ie/home-assist