Zorba Paster: An ounce of prevention can avoid serious falls

If you’re of a certain age, such as I am, you remember standing up on a chair to change a light bulb or to get something from the top shelf in the kitchen. Uh, oh!

Perhaps you’re over 65 and still doing that. Uh, huh. You’ve done it forever, so why not keep doing it now? Like cleaning out those gutters from that high ladder. What’s the big deal?

I had a patient a couple of years ago who was on a ladder chopping off some branches, something he had done for many years. A branch came off, knocked him off the ladder and landed him in the hospital for weeks. He’s never been the same.

Here’s a shocking statistic: In 2022, 46,653 people died from falls, which was more than twice as many as those who were murdered — 21,156 died from homicide. Now here we are, so many people worried about violence and murders, when the real death toll is from falls around the house.

A study in the British Medical Journal looked at falls in the U.S., comparing them to firearm deaths. One out of five injury-related hospital admissions are from falls, and they’re the second-leading cause of injury deaths worldwide for folks 65 and older. Firearm deaths are higher among younger folks, while falls are higher among older ones.

So, what can you do to prevent falls? I have a few tips for my senior friends.

Throw rugs: If you have throw rugs around the house, get rid of them or tack them down. You’re not as spry as you used to be, and your feet may not lift up like they used to — those rugs can be dangerous.

Lighting: Make sure you have night lights all around the house, especially from your bed to the bathroom. I can’t tell you how many people fall when nature calls in the middle of the night. Even if they don’t fall, they might jam their toe on something, which is incredibly painful.

Grab bars: While we’re on the subject of bathroom breaks, put grab bars your bathroom areas, in the shower and by the commode. Too many folks fall when they’re in that divine space.

When you sit on the toilet and have a bowel movement (yes, I’m discussing poop — sorry, mom), you do something called Valsalva (a maneuver named for the Italian physician who first identified it in the 1700s). This allows you to push all that stuff out of your rectum.

You also relax the sphincter. (By the way, that anal muscle gets too little credit; that little bugger can tell solid from liquid from gas, unless you’re sick, for up to 100 years. Hip-hip-hooray for the anus.)

Anyway, when your body is taking care of these functions, your blood pressure can fall. When you’re done, which means when you get up, you might fall, too. Having bars around the toilet just might help ensure you have those golden years you’re looking forward to enjoying.

Medications: Next, let’s talk drugs. Ask your pharmacist if any of your medications might be causing you to get dizzy.

There’s something called the Beers Criteria (named for Dr. Mark Beers), which lists drugs that might be risky for people age 65 or older. It includes things such as over-the-counter sleep medications, which can make folks wobbly.

Check the Beers Criteria to see if you might be on one of these drugs; your pharmacist can help with that.

Winter safety: When you’re outside this winter, walk with an ice-effective cane and put ice crampons on your shoes or boots. Or use Velcro bottoms – the kind ice fishers use when they’re out doing that crazy Wisconsin winter sport (at least, my California cousin says it’s crazy, even though ice fishing can be rather nice on a sunny January day).

Eyesight and hearing: Make sure your glasses are up to date. If you can’t see well, you might fall. If you need hearing aids, get them. Hearing is part of how we navigate through the world. Believe it or not, when you hear your feet, you walk better.

Vitamins: And last, but not least, consider taking vitamin D — 2,000 IU every day. We don’t get enough sunlight in the great upper Midwest in winter.

To get the sunlight needed to make enough vitamin D for yourself in January, you’d have to go outside, take off your shirt and sit in the sun for 30 minutes every day around noon. Try that on Jan. 15, and tell me what it’s like.

My spin: When it comes to avoiding falls, a little thought just might save your life. Stay well.