Accident in Elderly

Accidents in the elderly that children need to know

Accident in elderly that the family must know, accident is likely to easily occur to the elderly and when it happens, there may have followed with many complications.
Accident in Elderly That the Family Must Know

Statistically, it is found that there are 1,600 Thai people per year who die from “falling” which is the second accidental injury, that can be a cause of death, after the traffic accident. One third of the people who have died from falling are 60-year-old and more, and the risk will increase as their age gets higher. The most common health problems that are occurred in the elderly who have abovementioned accidents are hip fracture or brain injury which tend to highly cause disability and death.

Cause of Accidents in Elderly

• Physical change such as unclear vision and hard of hearing. Sometimes, they may not hear a car horn or have an imbalance vestibular system which can be affected by inner ear problems, lack of muscle strength or osteoarthritis. Their somatosensory system may deteriorate which, as well, are caused by having a long period of diabetes or problems regarding cardiovascular system and circulatory system that produce the symptoms of chest pain and faint or dizziness when you change your posture.
• Environment, for example, not having enough light, slippery floor especially concrete polishing floors, slippery stairs or do not have a rail, have too many obstacles on the floor, such as charging wire, toys, rags and pets.
• Medicine, such as antihypertensive agents and sleeping pills.
• Outfit, they may wear something too big or too long or have too lengthy tie rope.
• Inefficient walker, such as the walker is not equipped with non-slip rubber pads or wheelchair that does not have wheel stoppers.

Common Accident in Elderly

• Slip and fall is the most common accident that occurs, especially in the bathroom, which causes hip fracture or, in some cases, death, particularly after they are during the treatment state where high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and kidney failure can trigger to other complications.
• Falling, the elderly age from 65 – 75-year-old tend to fall from beds, stairs, chairs, balcony, trees, hole and manhole. Most of these accidents take place in their house.
• Burning and scalding from boiling water, this can happen while they do some activity, such as cooking, when they lose their thermoreceptor.
• Choking or have food stuck in their windpipe. This is commonly found in the elderly who have mobility limitations, such as legs or arms.
• Weak, be paralysis and have loose dentures
• Other accidents that commonly occur and should be cautious are, pick up wrong medicine due to the unclear vision and insufficient light, take medicines more than it is prescribed or forget to take medicines, and get scraped by a car while walking due to the sight problems, blurry hearing and unable to make a sudden decision to avoid a car.

When the elderly has had an accident from falling, the most common bone fractures are wrist and hip bones in which when there is bone fracture, the elderly are likely to have a lengthy recovery time. They must be advised to stay still for a long period, nonetheless, this can lead to other complications, namely, pressure sores that can arise quicker than usual as the elders’ skin is fragile and less likely to be able to resist friction and given that they tend to have stress urinary incontinence (SUI), especially women, the wetness can trigger the chance to have pressure sores more easily. In addition, depression can also appear if the elderly need to lay down most of the time.

If the elderly has history of falling, there is a high possibility that they will repeat the accident again although they use any assistive equipment, because their muscle is not yet recovered which is the reason why they have balancing problem, and if the second fall occurs, it might be more dangerous than the first time.

Further Suggestion to Prevent the Elderly from Falling

The family should assess any risks from accidents, for example, frequently observe their symptoms and vision problems, their movements and balancing as the ability of the body mechanism to control is reduced. Furthermore, their perceptive ability needs to be observed as well, for example, they might be confused or forgetful about date, time, place and persons as well as have slower sense of recognition, response and recalling. The relatives should consult with a doctor regarding the medicines that can lead to falling problems and the household area should be checked frequently whether it is safe for the elderly or not. Nevertheless, if the elderly is falling, you should take them to see doctors immediately to diagnose if there are any fractures, especially the hip and brain, because it is dangerous and lethal. Do not suppose that the reasons why they cannot stand up are because of their ageing body or congenital disease, such as dementia and depression

For more consultation: Baan Hormlamduan Nursing Home, Soi Vibhavadi 44, Bangkok

Please contact Khun Kornrawee Sanduang for further information via phone number 091-3331-909 or Facebook ศูนย์ดูแลผู้สูงอายุบ้านหอมลำดวน.