Fall Stats: How big of a problem is it?

According to the CDC:

-One out of three older adults (those aged 65 or older) falls each year1 but less than half talk to their healthcare providers about it.

-Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries.

- In 2013, 2.5 million nonfatal falls among older adults were treated in emergency departments and more than 734,000 of these patients were hospitalized.

Solutions? Anyone, anyone, Beuller, Beuller……

• -Report a fall to your doctor even if you were not hurt, it may save your life. Falls can be caused by a variety of reasons not always something life threatening. Medication, vision changes, and urinary tract infections are big culprits that contribute to falls. Sometimes there may be a more serious underlying cause that was the catalyst to the fall but reporting it to your doctor may prevent another fall and catch something serious early before it has a more profound effect.
• -If you are treated in the emergency room after a fall and released, follow up with your doctor. A hairline fracture doesn’t show up on an X-ray right away, it can take about 10 days before it is noticeable.