Falls; It is a serious problem, especially for older people. In these patients, who already have limited mobility due to walking difficulties and joint complaints secondary to chronic diseases, the addition of falls may make the patient completely bedridden. In these patients, vision problems, hearing problems, balance problems and physical problems that occur with age make falls more common.
When we look at the neurological causes of falls in general; Syncope (loss of consciousness), cerebrovascular accident (blockage or bleeding in the brain vessels) or epileptic seizure come to the fore.
Neurological causes: Cerebrovascular diseases, Parkinson's disease, dementia (Alzheimer's type). and other dementias), nerve ending inflammations such as epilepsy, vertigo, polyneuropathy
Cardiac causes: Heart attack, cardiac arrhythmia, hypotension
Gastro- intestinal causes:Gastric bleeding, diarrhea
Internal causes:Hypotroidism, anemia, hypoglycemia, dehydration
Physical causes:
strong>Arthritis, muscle weaknessPsychiatric causes:Depression, anxiety disorders
Other causes:Some central nervous system drugs
One in every 7 elderly people has significant walking impairment and one in every 4 elderly people needs an assistive device such as a cane or walker. In addition, environmental factors such as slippery floors and inappropriate lighting are responsible for half of the falls.
Falls inside the home mostly occur in the bathroom, bedroom and kitchen, while falls outside the home mostly occur on steps and sidewalks.
Falls in the elderly usually have more than one cause and most of them result in injuries.
Injuries, painful soft tissue injuries, hip, femur (leg), humerus (arm), wrist and rib fractures, brain hemorrhages often occur. injuries are seen. Some injuries require hospitalization. The emergence of complications related to lying down for a long time is an undesirable situation as it may cause bedriddenness in the future.
The important thing is to prevent falling or to prevent the patient from developing a fear of falling. Correcting the underlying causes that cause falls li. It is necessary to attach importance to a healthy life, physical exercise and balanced nutrition. Obstacles and elevations that may cause the patient to fall inside the house should be eliminated. Before the fear of falling develops, the patient should first be allowed to walk with support, and then the patient should do walking exercises on his or her own.
Read: 0
