For your elderly loved ones who still live alone in their homes, it is only natural to worry about their safety and well being. But no matter how much you worry, they may be less safe than you realize. But the good news is that there are steps that you can take to boost the safety of their homes, which will make them more secure and increase the peace of mind for both you and your aging parents.

There are many things that must be taken into account when planning out our retirement years. Sorting out health care plans, looking over financials and planning for the future monetarily, securing living arrangements and planning for necessary changes, and how to maintain a healthy social network of connections with friends and family. But there is one thing that many seniors may neglect to plan for, which is taking steps to prevent a fall.

To a doctor, the way an older adult walks can reveal a lot. It can capture a snapshot of overall functioning and well-being, provide insight into a senior’s mobility and independence, and give foresight into fall risk, hospitalization, and future disability.

Sepsis is a serious and life-threatening health condition that can and does affect all age groups. Infants, people with chronic health conditions, and those who have damaged immune systems are all more likely than those without to acquire sepsis. However, adults over the age of 65, particularly those who have health problems, are more prone to sepsis than all other groups and demographics. Adults 65 years of age and older are 13 times more likely than adults younger than 65 to be hospitalized with sepsis, and 63% of older adults admitted to the ICU present with sepsis upon entry. Just as with strokes and heart attacks, sepsis is a critical medical emergency that requires swift diagnosis and treatment to save the health and life of the patient.

The crime of elder abuse is sadly far too common. Many elders experience abuse at the hands of others, whether it's physical, financial, emotional, or sexual. Another form of abuse is neglect, which is when a person in charge of the wellbeing of a senior fails to provide for their health and safety. But there are many seniors who are in charge of their own wellbeing, and fail to meet their own needs.

As a caregiver, you will find yourself responsible for many tasks and situations that you may not have encountered in your life before, requiring skills that you may not possess already. When you find yourself in these moments, you may be wondering what is the best way to accomplish certain tasks. If your loved one requires a wheelchair as a mobility aid, assisting them with the use of it and caring for the wheelchair may be one such task.

While the world is, generally speaking, a safe place, sadly the potential for danger magnifies when a person is in their senior years. Everyone, your loved ones especially, deserves to feel safe and secure in their homes.

The month of October is Fire Safety Month according to the National Fire Prevention Association. Fires are particularly dangerous to senior citizens, as people older than 65 are twice as likely to die or be seriously injured by a home fire.

Fall is known around the world as the harvest season, with countless delicious and celebrated seasonal favorites reaching their peak as the days shorten and temperatures drop. Apples, pumpkins, pears, cranberries, acorn squash, leeks, brussels sprouts, and more are just a few of the crops that will appear in greater numbers in grocery stores and farmers markets everywhere

The week of the 18th through the 24th this September is Falls Prevention Awareness Week. This is an important subject, as the rate of falls experienced by older adults has unfortunately only been increasing in recent years. Falls are the number one cause of preventable injury in senior citizens, and many seniors who experience an injury from a fall begin to suffer from loss of independence and a general decline in quality of life.

For many people, end of life care is only something they think about as it pertains to getting older. But the sad reality is that a medical emergency can happen at any time, leaving you unconscious or unable to make decisions for yourself. When this happens, your family members are left to decide what they think or guess at what you would have wanted. Instead of making them choose in this situation, you can create an advance directive, which will clearly state your wishes and leave very little gray area.

Older adults who suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease will often feel a compulsion to walk and wander about. Naturally, there is no real place for them to go, and most of the time they are not even aware of what direction they’re heading in. They simply feel the need to move and walk around aimlessly. This behavior is often called “wandering” by medical professionals, researchers, and caregivers.

  All people, not just older adults, value their sense of freedom and having the ability to come and go as we please. One of the biggest parts of that freedom, one that older adults are usually resistant to giving up, is driving. But as the body ages, so too do our abilities and senses, and it is important to be mindful of any changes to our driving habits. Older drivers, especially above the age of 70, have a higher per-mile risk of being involved in a car accident.

The kitchen is commonly regarded as the heart of the home. But unfortunately, it can also be a dangerous place. According to FEMA, people over the age of 65 have a chance of dying in a kitchen fire that is 2.5 times greater than that of the general population. Cooking accidents are one of the leading causes of fires in the home, accounting for thousands of preventable injuries and deaths each year. But just because your senior loved one has lost some mobility or mental capacity doesn’t mean they have to give up their love of cooking. The key is to provide a safe kitchen for them to use.

Bathroom safety is one of the most important things for an elderly person living in their home, as the multiple slippery surfaces and stepping required makes for a potentially dangerous situation. Falls are one of the biggest dangers to older adults, with many hospitalizations and deaths sadly caused by them every year. And for many seniors, injuries from a nasty fall can be the beginning of a physical decline that leads to a reduced quality of life and lifespan.

Hoarding is an issue that has only recently come into public consciousness, mostly due to TV shows sensationalizing the lives and homes of those suffering from it. It is a real, and serious issue, and one that frequently affects aging people, making it a point of concern for those caring for their elderly relatives and loved ones. Not only does hoarding cause significant mental duress related to the possessions in the hoard, it poses a major health and safety risk as well.

Falling is the most preventable cause of injury to seniors, with one out of four seniors falling down each year. Less than half of those seniors who do fall will tell their doctors, and falling one time doubles your chances of falling again. One out of five falls will cause a serious injury such as a broken bone or head trauma. This means that one out of twenty seniors is seriously injured by a fall each year, making it one of the biggest dangers to older adults.