National “Fall Prevention Week” is this week — using the start of the fall season to highlight the dangers of real falls. The Fall Prevention Center of Excellence in Los Angeles says accidental falls will soon overtake car accidents, shootings and stabbings as the number one cause of traumatic injury in Iowa.
Registered nurse and injury prevention specialist, Paula Segebarth, says women fall more often than men, but the injuries to men are more deadly. She says men take riskier behaviors, such as going up on ladders putting up the Christmas lights, while women tend to break bones as they suffer from osteoporosis. People who are 65-years old and older are more susceptible to a serious injury from a fall.
Binnie Lehew of the Iowa Department of Public Health says there are things people can do to prevent the risk of falls. LeHew says you should check you home and look for areas that may be risky, such as rugs are the bathroom, where falls might occur. Segebarth says it’s important for the elderly to know which medications might cause dizziness and lead to a fall.
By Randy Van, KCOB, Newton