Cuidado--Be Careful!

Stores post various warnings to increase customers’ awareness of possible causes of accidents. They usually translate the signs into Spanish, at least in Texas. For the customers’ safety? Of course, but also for protection against litigation.

Caution—Wet Floor
Watch Your Step
Hold Handrail (Escalators & Stairways)
Do not leave child unattended in cart.
Children must be accompanied by adults.
Step Up
Step Down….

While we all should heed the warnings to avoid injury, the most serious danger is for the elderly. And, of course, within that group, those with Alzheimer’s. According to statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, each year 1.8 million Americans over age 65 are injured in falls. For some, “the fall sets off a downward spiral of physical and emotional problems—including pneumonia, depression, social isolation, infection and muscle loss—that become too much for their bodies.” (Dallas Morning News, Nov. 9, 2008)

One in five hip-fracture patients over age 65 dies within a year after surgery, and one in four has to spend a year or more in a nursing home. Any underlying conditions, like heart disease or respiratory problems, increase the chances of a downward health spiral.

We cannot be too careful when it comes to being “caregivers.” A good place to start is with an extended arm offered anytime your patient is unfamiliar with the territory. Of course, the amount of “unfamiliar” increases with time as the disease progresses. So what was once the politeness of an escort becomes an absolute necessity in the prevention of falls, not only in stores, but also in simply going in and out of doors and up and down steps to the front porch or to the back yard.

It's a fact: we cannot be too careful!