If your elderly family member is concerned that she might fall, she may not be making it up. There are a lot of possible reasons she’s not wrong to be aware of what’s happening.
Medication Side Effects Are Present
Side effects from the medications your senior takes have a huge impact on her body and on her body’s ability to do things like avoid a fall. Make sure that you and your senior each understand the different side effects she’s likely to experience because of the medications that she takes. Remember also that if she takes more than one medication, those side effects can compound and become bigger.
She’s Got Blood Pressure Issues
Both high and low blood pressure can cause problems for your senior when she’s walking and trying to remain balanced. She may need to pay closer attention to how she’s feeling and do things like stand up much more slowly than she did in the past. Talk to your senior’s doctor about how blood pressure affects her and about how medications for her blood pressure are likely to affect her.
Her Eyesight and Hearing Are Different Now
Changes to how your senior hears and sees impact her body and her brain on more than just a few levels. The inputs her brain receives from those senses change and your senior may not be getting the information that she needs in order to properly avoid obstacles or losing her balance. It may help her to talk to her doctor about what she’s experiencing and how those changes to sight and hearing are creating bigger issues.
Her Reflexes Have Slowed Down
When your elderly family member’s reflexes respond quickly, that helps her to dodge something that’s in her way or catch herself when she loses her balance. As she ages, those reflexes slow down. She might find that her body and her brain don’t respond in the ways that she expects them to respond, even when she knows that something is about to happen. That can be frustrating for her and it leaves her more open to a possible fall.
Her Muscle Composition Has Changed
If your elderly family member isn’t moving around as much as in the past, she may find that she’s losing a bit of muscle tone. Eating less protein than she needs can also cause her to start to lose muscle tone. Talk with her doctor about whether exercise is safe for her to do and then consider helping her to start an exercise program to help slow down that muscle loss.
Having elderly care providers with her more often can be a helpful way for your senior to manage all of these issues. You’ll also know that she’s got someone there to help her to stay as safe as possible.
If you or an aging loved one are considering elderly care in Escondido, CA, please contact the caring staff at Innovative Healthcare Consultants today. Call us at (760) 731-1334.
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