work i've been on many safety committees and some people say i'm a safety not just passionate about safety now slips trips and falls i mean we look at this this picture here we see the sky it's funny you know funny i've done a presentation on subsequent falls a few times where i work at a different group if you will when i started looking into date of the club that i have now called the older adults people who are now so yes it is funny when we see a cartoon character or someone in a movie fall down go boom but in real life it's not really that funny so hopefully by the end of this presentation you will have seen what causes these things and the biggest thing what we can do to prevent  the national council cultural on aids or i have a handout when we're done today there we can take in the has the web address to so should you desire to look at and you further information to refresh your memory or anything you can refer to that statistics every second of every day in the united states an older adult falls making falls the number one cause of injuries and deaths from injury among older americans every second i want to take me twenty seconds to read that twenty people just fell down go boom i mean this is just like every second the referee day one of us is going to fall  don't report it so that that number is even larger more than seven million of those falls required medical treatment or home where something like that seven over seven million and then this is a scary one statistics and i'm going to show you and hopefully you know guide you through ways to prevent you from becoming one of those statistics now first let's i want to get rid of to debunk some of the  older adults and slips trips and falls falling happens to other people not to me we always say that many people think it won't happen to me but the truth is that one in four older adults about twelve million fall fall so it's one of the adults are going to fall but there are ways to like i said keep us from becoming that one in four falling is something normal that happens as you get older no falling is not a normal part of aging strength and balance exercises managing your medications having your vision checked and making your living environment safe all the steps that you can take to prevent the fall in other words just because you're getting older doesn't mean you have to fall was things we can do to make sure that we do not fall we definitely don't want to become one of those statistics if i limit my activity i won't fight sit around and do nothing i won't fall down some people believe that the best way to prevent falls is to stay at home and limit activity no not true you've got to get out and move around performing physical activities will actually help you stay independent we all know no one wants to lose their independence you slip and fall that's one of the first things that that you lose is your independence you don't want to lose that so as the strength the rage and motion will benefit from staying active i'm not saying you have to run marathons every day but just keep moving if if you don't move rest up i mean i'd rather wear out than rust belt that's my policy so keep moving does you don't have like i said don't do that you know  just keep moving and this facility here office all kinds of activities to keep you moving i've seen that in the newsletters all the time is always things to be done here to keep you active to keep your body in motion and it's also the social activities are good for your overall well being gives you a better feeling about just so long as i stay home i can avoid falling over half of all the falls take place in the home  i that's not good inspect your home for fall risks fix simple but serious has that such as clodagh throw rugs and poor lighting make simple home modifications such as adding grab bars in the bathroom a second hand rail on stairs flexibility can't be regained no one of the new view as strong as i was when i was twenty years old but while we do lose some muscle as we age exercise can possibly restore strength and flexibility flexibility is very key to keeping us  slipping tripping and falling and it's never too late to stop never to i mean you can if you've never done it before this there are programs here for new people to get in do that even if you become a cult potato become inactive now will benefit you in many ways and protect you help prevent you from falling down taking medication doesn't increase my risk of falling well taking any medication may increase your risk of falling medications affect people in many different ways and can sometimes make you dizzy sleepy be careful when starting a new medication talk to your health care provider about potential side effects or interactions of your medications all medications if they work they have side effects some people are more affected by the side effects that some people have symptoms of side effects when they take a certain medication all the people they get all twelve of those side effects also some medications interact with others and soul if one medication makes you a little drowsy sometimes now add to one or two other medications questions ask them tell them what the good thing is today in today's computer age most of the medication you take they're all linked into this computer database so that if one doctor over here prescribes this and you get this doctor prescribe that this  don't talk to one another but they all those prescriptions all end up on the same computer database and when the pharmacist sees that things pop up with all of this internet you can't be taking this with that and if but but always ask and tell the pharmacist i'm taking this and this will will will what i'm taking be affected by this new drug interfere with volume currently taking medications just don't mean prescription there's a lot of stuff that we can nowadays by over what i call over the counter you know just off the shelf that not too long ago you needed prescription to get so include when you talk to the pharmacy and say oh i'm also taking this and this is it oh ok wait a minute or so before was ok but now that you're taking this and this it may may or may not be ok if you're not sure  always say when in doubt ask you know that they had there to help you that's what that's why they always say you have any questions for the pharmacist to say ok yes i don't need to get my vision checked every year vision is another key risk factor for falls age and is associated with some forms of vision loss that increase risk of falling and injury people with vision problems more than twice as likely to fall as those without visual impairment have your eyes checked at least once a year update things that you would by trip over fall of you need to be aware of that and take good care of your vision we most of what we do is because we see what we do what we see that's most important sense that we have a sense of vision so starts to deteriorate we've got to do what we can to fix to correct it and be aware of it using a walker cane will make me more dependent now walking aids are very important helping many older adults maintain or improve their mobility however make sure you use these devices safely have a physical therapist fit the walker came to you and instruct you when it's safe use another word these think you know that they were just a bill for a reason because sure what you have this you've been trained how to use it and size properly for you i don't need to talk to family members or my health care provider if i'm concerned about my risk of falling i don't want to alarm them and i want to keep my independence  prevention is a team effort bring it up with your doctor your family anyone else who is in position to help you i mean they want to help you maintain your mobility and reduce your risk of falling and keep your independence so if you're concerned don't keep all  talk to people there were people that they had to help you with to work we work together as teams in all walks of life so don't be afraid to talk to someone if you feel i think a should talk to some you know i need some assistance here talk to them they can help you ten i don't need to talk to my parents siblings of older adults if i'm concerned about their risk of falling it will hurt their feelings and it's none of my business well there's a saying that they use a lot to see something say something you see the sibling as someone who's ill they look like they're not too stable on their feet to say something and maybe there's a simple reason maybe the shoes aren't on backwards windows but there is something you know you want to say something let them know about your concerns and office support to help them maintain the highest degree of independence possible there are many things you can do including removing hazards in the home finding a fall prevention program in the community or setting up a vision exam see something don't be afraid to say they can't see where they go and they can't see what's going on the front of them untidy floors wrinkled copying uncovered electrical cords cables obstacles and closed dresser drawer and even walking surfaces steps thresholds caused by slips trips for the most but some of the other causes false elevations and improper use of a ladder will be a step ladder extension ladder type of thing makeshift make shift step ladders the people one side as the other so there was no good resistance whatsoever that you could step out and slide right across the floor like that and i took care of that and they lay flat so i have one in a couple of places that i mean you could stick that thing does not move rings you go to the other room pick up the phone stop talking to you forget about bottom draws open so later that afternoon evening you go into a room you don't click the light on because all i know everything is that drawer is still open you trip over th have flashlights handy so don't have to go searching for them have it in a spot we could reach it quite easily quite readily without having to go searching all of the holes in the dock for a lot and allow time i had just been changing from and becomes slick go get new shoes make sure they fit you if they're too big that's not good if they can fall off too easily that's not good you know make sure that they're comfortable they fit you well and they have good traction i can see irregular surface don't walk so fast in here this is nice you can walk at a steady pace don't run you know not in that big a hurry to get someplace we can take the time look we look ahead look we're going to look around don't be staring down it just so phone texting stop and then turn change slowly and don't carry a load you can't see often we see people in the commercials this time you know they've got bundles up the christmas presents but all of them they are walking down the street it's like no no no no we don't do you're even inside outside doesn't matter where you're reaching for so if you're going up the ladder new start to reach for something if your belt buckle or your belly button crosses over one of the sides you've gone too far that means move the ladder over and then go back up secure this is still not safe this woman him we got her ok she's on a this is a step stool i mean this is a foot stool that is not a she's reaching up over here she's got flip flops on and she's got this vacuum cleaner here so that she forgot she put it there and when she gets down off of that footstool she's going to step right on to this and it's like nazi this here much safer it's got two steps as you can see has a nice railing here that you can hold onto while you're going up the steps and more still more important when you're coming back down again and notice how the steps there are like you know it's a step it's not people all just grab a kitchen chair get on that wall that's two steps now if your front porch didn't do step step it did two steps every time i don't get to live in that house you get that steps two is designed for stepping up the cha but it's also hanging over the floor so that when you get out of the bed you could step on the quilt which now is very slick on the on the wood floor and you're going down for the count so that is not a good condition here  there's no stuff on the floor the quilt is not on the on the on the floor it's days off the floor so that you're not going to trip on that there's no rug or wires or debris your shoes kicking around that you know you forgot to put there when you went to bed last night and you get out of bed in the morning it's like here's a typical about the people there is not a very safe environment to be in right there this here we've got to grab it's got to somebody to get them installed this is what i was talking about there is little shelves there's stuff everywhere on here this is not a very safe thing it's just asking for trouble  light switch up here someplace to switch off you can also see how these railings carry over not just on the step up but on to the landing as well which just doesn't get you get you on to the landing as well so it's just these are very well position stairs be going up and down now i know this looks pretty we don't really love to do this in the fall they love to put out the pumpkins and the flowers and it looks great but it also makes it very difficult to get to the henry and it also leaves things that we jungle this is going and they don't even have a railing but it looks pretty look at all the lovely pumpkins in a row it looks nice i know they are not good idea much it just looks nice this is pretty looks good that chair and it all of a couple of a foot or so backwards but you can see that you can feel it when you go to sit down and that is not there so you know they say look before you leap look before you sit if your chair has wheels on it it may have moved to come close once or twice myself i look is it because it's easy to do it's very easy thing to do again so we've gone from the fall into winter with christmas decorations ok i told you you need to use henry all the time well it's kind of tough to use a hand if you've got gollum wrapped all around over my head of growing up as a kid we had one hand real going from the second floor to the first and every christmas my mother would i didn't think sometime dusting over and i know there's ice on the so but that is like it's like now it's hit and that's even because now you have the dust of snow one of those like it will take you down but in the blink of an eye you'd be so look at the sky hockey players how do they go on when they're moving on the ice this cake they keep their on ice and ok so this works now ice even four wheel drive is there's no match for ice those poor guy here he has four wheel drive but he's no match for the he's got four paws with claws so he's got started started snow tires and yet when it comes to ice all bets are off could take a step this way and make take me three seconds longer but not off the walk on ice remove the void potential hazards and then use proper judgment i have a be careful you might think you're never going to fall but we all know someone who has next time it could be you the good news is most false are preventable start with six easy steps first find a balance or exercise program to help you build stability strength and flexibility make it fun and go with a friend don't be afraid to tell your doctor if you've had a fall or create a falling as current to assess your risk of falling discuss medications with your pharmacist or doctor they'll know what chris christianson over the counter medications can increase your risk of falling make sure you get your vision and hearing checked every year because your eyes and ears are key to keeping you on your home safe for example remove any items you might trip over make sure your home is well it used mats in your shower and install grab bars in the bathroom and finally remember it's important to talk to your family ask for their support in taking these simple steps to stay safe falls making your living environment your home and whatever all steps you can take to prevent a fall say it's up to you don't become a statistic thank you very much for your time and don't forget to take a handout on your