Unit 8
Situations or conditions that influence safety and techniques to help. Take a moment and consider what other ideas you might have to help ensure safety.
Confusion or forgetfulness
Frequently a person living with dementia may forget they need assistance or fail to remember their walker or cane when they walk. It is NOT helpful to admonish them to use the walker or ask for help, remember, they would if they could, a person living with dementia is unable to remember short term thoughts especially when it comes to safety. It is much better to ensure the walker is placed right next to them so as to cue them as they rise to walk.
Impaired mobility
A person with a shuffled gait, such as those with Parkinson's disease or other mobility issue is at a much higher risk for falling. An important technique in promoting safety is to anticipate the needs of your resident. An example of this might be before leaving the room take a minute to stop and look at the room, is their trash can, tissues, call light, walker and other needs in reach? Ask the resident and pause to give time to assess and consider if they have everything they need before you leave. Have you ever been injured or had a surgery and experienced limited mobility? Think about how frustrating it was when you finally got comfortable just to realize you forgot to grab your cell phone or book. Now imagine living like this every day. Taking just a minute saves you time from going back into the room for forgotten items and shows that you can as well as lowers the stress your resident experiences.
Sensory impairment
An example of a sensory impairment that might lead to a fall could be neuropathy, which is a nerve problem that causes pain, numbness, tingling, swelling, or muscle weakness in different parts of the body. It usually begins in the hands or feet and gets worse over time. A person with numbness and tingling in their hands may spill their hot coffee and a person with neuropathy in their feet would be at a much higher risk of falling. Helpful techniques for promoting safety with a person living with neuropathy are, good slip resistant shoes on while transferring and ambulating, walker or cane within reach. Look at their feet/hands daily to check for injury as they may not even know if a pebble is in their shoe causing a sore etc... Encourage use of handrails in the hallway.
Vision. Ensure glasses are clean and on when ambulating. Good lighting is very important. Never rearrange the room without the resident closely involved.
Hearing. Hearing aids need to be clean, check the batteries, and assist in adjusting the volume. Never approach from the back as it can startle
Diminished sense of smell and taste. The sense of smell warns us of such things as smoke or fire as well as food that is unsafe to eat. Can you think of another risk a lack of sense of taste or smell may cause?
Side effects from medications. Many medications can cause dizziness or drowsiness. This certainly is a fall risk. One way to lower this risk is by what we call dangling. Dangling is when a resident sits for a minute or two before fulling standing and walking. This helps to stabilize the blood pressure and assists in the resident feeling more awake and alert. Have you ever stood up too quickly? Did you get lightheaded? Can you imagine if you were elderly and with other risk factors how it could affect your safety? Give your resident time when rising.
