Patient/caregiver was educated that falls & accidents in seniors could result from one or many of the following reasons:
Dehydration:
- Compliance with recommended fluid intake is needed to prevent dehydration. Sensitivity to thirst decreases progressively, as age advances.
- Consequently, senior citizens can often present with poor fluid intake and consequent symptoms of dry mouth, dry skin, low blood pressure, confusion, and dizziness.
- The confusion and dizziness can contribute heavily to fall risk.
Hypotension:
- Poor blood pressure regulation in senior citizens can be an important fall risk.
- Low blood pressure episodes could be contributed by many factors, such as, sudden position change, overdose of antihypertensive medications, dehydration, surgeries or injuries with blood loss.
- Low blood pressure episodes with resulting confusion and dizziness can lead to severe fall risk.
Hypoglycemia:
- Poor blood sugar control in senior citizens can be an important fall risk. Low blood sugar episodes could be contributed by many factors, such as, poor intake, overdose of oral antidiabetic medications, overdose of insulin, and irregular eating habits.
- Low blood sugar episodes can result in confusion and dizziness and lead to severe fall risk.
Noncompliance with assistive device:
- Poor muscle tone in senior citizens must be supported by use of assistive device, such as, cane or walker, to prevent falls. Occasionally, seniors can be forgetful or negligent regarding use of assistive device.
- This can undermine their safety leading to falls and accidents.
