March is Brain Injury Awareness Month
Thursday, March 06, 2008
JC Jones MA RN
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asks us to observe Brain Injury Awareness Month by protecting senior citizens from brain injuries. Millions of Americans are caregivers for parents, grandparents or other elders, but did you know that falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI). People aged 75 and over have the greatest rate of hospitalization and death due to TBI.
Here are some tips for preventing TBI due to falls in the elderly:
- Make the environment safe:remove small throw rugs and other obstacles. Install grab bars and railings. Improve lighting and make sure the person has stable shoes.
- Encourage exercise: strength and flexibility throughout life will help prevent injuries.
- Have a vision check: new glasses may be needed or eye diseases may be discovered.
- Review all medications (prescription, supplements and over-the-counter) with a doctor or pharmacist to identify any thing that might lead to dizziness and falls.
Thank you bookish in north park for use of photo of Elderly Man.
Labels: elderly, falls, prevention, TBI
2 Comments:
At Thu Mar 06, 05:52:00 PM 2008,
enyalives said…
Take care of the only brain you have. Being a survivor of 108 fever from drinking water from a puddle in the street and damaging my brain at age 6. I lost motor control in my right hand and right side of body. Now I am 42 and all I can say is watch your kids don't swim in fl lakes and watch from where your kids drink water.
At Wed May 21, 10:14:00 AM 2008,
parkermcgreggor@yahoo.com said…
Just so everyone knows, TBI doesn't happen only to the elderly. I'm 23, and was in a horrific car accident with 2others, who, of course, were fine, and I ended up in a coma for 3mos. My poor parents had to drop out of grad school to care for me, because they didn't trust that the hospital staff would care for me as I had cared for myself. My sister, my niece, and nephew moved here, to florida, to help care for me.
I was on spring break, in 10th grade before my accident, so I had to re-do 10th grade, and as if that weren't bad enough, because I couldn't write as fast as others, and used a wheelchair when I started, I was placed in special ed. That made me even more distressed.
But I graduated in '04' and am preparing for a local community college, and if I find a degree I'd like to pursue, I'll go to the university of south fl. or move to California.
I still struggle w/my balance, memory, constant headaches, back/neck pain, speech+partial paralysis on my right side. Never give up.
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