Geriatric Syndromes : Falls and Instability.

Who has not had a grandfather/mother or a elderly acquaintance who has had an accident and has fallen to the ground? We all know that aging produce a deterioration of our bodies: we become more rigid, our agility decreases, osteoporosis occurs in many cases, we see no good etc.

When we are young a fall is not a major problem that any scratch or numbness, but in the case of elderly things change and it is a factor of high morbidity and mortality.

Come to my mind a patient who I was for two months in MAZ Hospital. She was a 67 year old woman with osteoporosis. Someone tried to steal her purse and when that person removed it, she fell to the ground, this woman only broke a shoulder but due to the operation was complicated, she was in the ICU for 4 weeks, but finally came out and stayed on the for 2 months more in the hospital. Fortunately not all the elderly who fall, end up in the ICU, but it is an example of what can lead a fall for an older person.

For all these reasons we must prevent falls, it is the only way to prevent that our health get worse. I would like to mention some things we could do as preventive measures:

1. Avoid slippery floors, uneven or wet.
2. Good lighting
3. Smoothly and orderly environment
4. Immobilizers: as safety restraints in the elderly (abdominal belt, vest holding and fixing sheets). Such mechanisms will be used in specific situations always.
5. Lowering the bed as much as possible.
6. Install handrails in bathrooms, stairways and corridors
7. Using support measures: walkers, canes, crutches for greater base of support.

Bibliography 

• Hoffmann G. Meeting Safety Needs of Older Adults. Basic Geriatric Nursing 5th Edition. Missouri: Elsevier; 2012. p 166-169.