You can’t always prevent injuries, but you can try. And once an injury has occurred, you want to prevent re-injury if at all possible. We’ll start with some general, mostly common sense advice on making your home as safe and as little like an obstacle course as it can possibly be. You may roll your eyes at the simplicity of these suggestions, but you might also be amazed at how much we can overlook dangers in an environment that is so familiar to us.

Just as a brief anecdotal example, my strong, healthy younger sister came in from the backyard pool one Fourth of July in the house where she’d lived for thirteen years, didn’t dry her feet properly before walking across the ceramic tile of the living room, slid and nearly sliced off the little toe of her left foot on the corner of a bookshelf. Several stitches and a nice scar later, she’ll gladly tell you about unsuspected hazards in the place where you spend the majority of your time.

Making Your Home Safer -

Use non-slippery floor coverings. Where there are unfitted carpets, tape the edges down. For throw rugs, you can buy non-slip mats to stick underneath them. Ensure that your house is well-lit enough for you to see where you are going.

Attempt to train your pets to stay out of your way when you walk. As the mother of four cats, I understand the inherent difficulties in this, so I’ll just admit that simple awareness of the animals under your feet may be your best option. Other than these movable obstacles, try to make sure your usual paths are clear by putting things away and not leaving anything on the floor.

Wipe up spilled liquids right away, wear shoes or slippers with rubber soles, and take extra precautions when using stairs, including the installation of a handrail as necessary. Keep a telephone readily accessible, but don’t hurry to answer it when it rings. If you live alone, it’s good to invest in a medical alert device that you can wear around your neck. Also, discuss your medications with your physician. Might any of them impair balance or orientation?

After the Fall -

If you’ve fallen and are in any discomfort, you need to have an x-ray taken of the affected area. If you’ve broken or fractured a bone, it needs to be attended to right away. In the event of a hip fracture, ask your doctor about receiving nerve blocks prior to the operation; this can lessen the amount of oral analgesic you’ll need for the surgery.

Ultrasound therapy can help to speed the healing of fractures as much as 45 percent. The treatment is provided at home through a window in the cast. It is expensive, though, and may not be covered by insurance.

Nutritional Aid -

Eating half of a fresh pineapple everyday until the fracture is healed will help to reduce swelling and inflammation, because pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain. Be sure to only use fresh pineapple, not canned or processed. If you don’t like pineapple, you can get bromelain as a supplement.

Now sit back, relax, and heal!

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