Five Tips for Responding to a Senior’s Fall

Your first thoughts when you realize that your aging adult has fallen may be awash in fear. But keeping a level head can help you and your elderly family member to recover quickly from even a scary fall.

Home Care in Franklin Lakes NJ: Senior Fall Concerns

Try to Keep Everyone Calm

A sudden fall is a scary event, no matter who all is present when your elderly family member falls. The first step is to make sure that everyone present is able to stay calm, particularly your aging adult. the calmer everyone is, the easier it’s going to be to do the rest of what needs doing.

Move Slowly and Don’t Try to Help Her up Yet

The next step is to take everything slowly. You don’t want to help your senior up just yet. Now that she has fallen, you need to be able to take your time assessing what has happened. If your senior is trying to get up, encourage her to relax for just a moment.

Determine if She’s Injured

From here, it’s time to assess whether your elderly family member has damaged or broken anything. Depending on how she fell, you might want to pay particular attention to her arm, wrist, or hand. This is especially true if she tried to catch herself as she fell. Other potential injury sites can be her hip, her back, her knee, or her ankle. She may have injuries elsewhere, too. If you think that anything is broken, stop your assessment and call 911 right away.

Move Something Stable Near Her

Once you have determined that your senior has not injured herself, she may be safe to try to stand. Move something a bit more stable near her, such as a chair or other piece of furniture. You’re going to brace the furniture as your elderly family member attempts to rise on her own.

Remember to Provide Support Only

It’s important that you offer support only during this part of the process. You need to know whether your elderly family member could still be injured and if she can’t get up by herself, there may be more going on. Once your elderly family member is upright again, make sure that you contact her doctor to report what happened. An office visit can rule out potential injury.

One of the ways that you can help your elderly family member to avoid falling is to hire senior care providers. They can help with clutter, mobility, and other issues that can help your elderly family member to avoid a fall.

If you or a senior family member are considering hiring Home Care in Franklin Lakes, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Caring Solutions Home Care LLC.  In-home senior care servicing Bergen & Passaic Counties. Call today (973) 427-3553.