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Did you know that in the UK, falls are the most common cause of injury related deaths in over 75s? Having a fall can have far more of an impact than a bruised ego and a bump on the head. It can be emotional too, with the loss of confidence, mobility or independence. Never fear, we have 5 handy tips to help…
We all do it, the phone rings and we rush to answer it. And you can guarantee it will be someone wanting to talk to you about PPI or compensation for the car accident you never had. So what can you do? If you don’t have one already, it might be worth investing in a cordless phone, or better still, get an answering machine, that way you can screen all those nuisance calls and just speak to the people you actually want to.
If “someone’s knockin’ at the door, someone’s ringin’ the bell” – Is that song stuck in anyone else’s head now, thanks Paul McCartney! Anyway, if that’s what has you rushing, you can get an intercom or one of those fancy doorbells – that way, you can answer whoever’s interrupting your favourite TV show, without even getting off the sofa. They’re easy to install and use too.
Whatever you decide, no one is worth breaking a limb over, well almost no one, I’m sure there’s a few people we wouldn’t mind coming to our rescue.
You are not alone in having them displayed proudly on the back of a chair, or in the corner of the room willing to be used. On the odd occasion they get an outing from their usual spot, only to be left in the kitchen as you furniture hop your way back, only realising when you get up again – damn, where did I leave it?
But they really are worth using. They are a great support if you get a wobble and surely it’s better to use an aid than to end up on your bum, struggling to get up. Alternatively, you can install hand rails to give you extra support as you move around your house.
As fun as it is to try and navigate in the dark without stubbing your toe or testing if those carrots you ate for supper really do help you to see in the dark, having a light that comes on automatically when you get up is a far easier way to get about. You can get night lights, or motion sensor lights that come on when your bladder rudely interrupts you getting a good night sleep.