What’s the Plan if Your Senior Falls?

The very best plan is to help your senior to avoid a fall completely, but realistically that isn’t the only plan to have. In case your senior does fall, you need to know what you should be doing as her caregiver to ensure that she’s alright and that she’s able to recover as well as possible.

Avoid Overreacting at First and Don’t Try to Help Her Up

The first moment after a fall, you may already be going into adrenaline overdrive, but that’s not helpful for your senior. Take a deep breath and do what you can to keep everybody as calm as possible. Something else that may not make sense at first is that you shouldn’t try to help your elderly family member up just yet. You need to follow the plan for best results.

Assess the Situation

You both need to take a moment here after your initial deep breaths and assess what’s going on. Is your elderly family member feeling extreme pain anywhere? Does she have wounds that are bleeding? Some of these situations dictate what happens next. For instance, if your elderly family member does have a wound, tend to it before she gets up. Help her to do a full-body scan and pay attention to any body parts she fell directly onto.

Put Something Solid Next to Her

If your senior doesn’t seem to require medical assistance, move something solid, like a chair, next to her. You may have to stand near the chair or item to help stabilize it. The purpose of the chair is to give her something to lean on and to support herself with as she tries getting up on her own. Brace the chair as your senior puts more of her weight against it and try to resist actively helping.

She Needs to Get up Herself, if Possible

It’s more important than you think for your senior to get up under her own power if she can. This is going to help to ensure that she’s not injured worse than either of you thought in that initial assessment. If your senior can’t get up at all on her own, it’s possible that she’s injured more severely and does need medical help.

Your senior’s doctor may want to see her after a fall. You should at least call the doctor’s office and determine what they want her to do so that you can help her with any next steps.

If you or an aging loved one is considering caregivers in San Ramon, CA, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Walnut Creek. (925) 203-3039.