When I was growing up and I'd hear that an older person had had a fall, the adults around me would say things like "oh, it's the beginning of the end then..." or "they'll never recover..." and I would wonder why.
It did seem, somehow, that a broken hip or leg seemed to end up with the elderly victim being permanently placed in nursing care or ultimately dying within a year. I knew that older people recovered more slowly but it did always seem that that broken hip lead down a very sickly path.
Today I read a little about why older people not only have a hard time getting back to normal after a fall, but how other major concerns also surface. Some may not even tell anyone they fell, and suffer in silence, fearing that their families or doctors will admit them to nursing homes or treat them like invalids.
Once treated, many go on to suffer other serious ailments like pneumonia, bedsores, weakened muscles or further falls. Patients who do not receive adequate physical therapy lose weight and strength and spend more time in bed that they should.
Increased medications don’t help either. Some can have adverse effects and cause a person to suffer other side issues from nausea to fatigue.
Doctors realize that depression due to a fall is just as likely to cause a person to become less able, than the fall itself. Patients can become more socially isolated and stop going to weekly clubs, groups and church. Lack of socialization is a key factor in preventing a person from getting better.
All is not lost! Older patients and their families need to be aware of the trauma that a fall can cause; trauma that may have nothing to do with the actual fall. Keeping strong social ties is crucial, as is talking to doctors regarding the necessity of all medications being taken and possible negative reactions.
Suffering a fall does not have to be the ‘beginning of the end’ for anyone. Good medical care, physical therapy, a nutritious diet, a positive attitude and support from friends and family can ensure that elderly victims of a fall can get back to having as independent a life as possible.
For more on this story, click here : http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/us/08falls.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=health
Colorado State University provides some great tips on how to recover from a fall, and how to work to prevent them: www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/consumer/10242.html
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Have you or someone you know suffered a fall? What were the consequences? If you or someone you know are elderly, was it harder to recover?
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My grandmother fell and broke a hip in her late 80s, and indeed spent most of the rest of her years (she was 97 when she died) in a nursing home.
I heard a fabulous story on NPR a couple of years ago about how disorienting it is for older people to have to be hospitalized or to stay in a nursing home for any period of time. An older person might be quite capable and confident of their routines and self-care when in their own home and their own daily life, but the simple act of needing to be admitted to a facility for care -- and then the dizzying number of resulting tests, conversations, medical experts and so on -- can result in a huge loss of equilibrium and self-esteem.
In fact, because the hospital or nursing home caregivers don't know the person's capabilities, they don't see how different the patient is acting than they did in their daily life. That patient who is fearful of being in the hospital, is intimidated by all the medical personnel around him or her, and is unfamiliar with the routines and people surrounding them will not only not thrive, they can very well go downhill rapidly.
The story made me see that loved ones need family members around them almost constantly when something like this happens, both to be a filter for the doctors and nurses and to be support for the patient. Someone needs to be there to tell a doctor or nurse "No, that's not right, she's not ordinarily like this" and to be able to tell the patient "Hang in there. We'll get you better and get you out of here."
November 11, 2008 - 5:50pmThis Comment