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Home News Winter Safety and Care for Seniors

Winter Safety and Care for Seniors

Published: Thursday, January 1, 2009

By Allison Kolk, Assistant Writer

Winter brings with it many fun and exciting events: snow, holiday decorations, traveling, visiting with family and friends, and the list goes on. But winter also can bring with it slips, falls, accidents and weather emergencies. For the senior members of the community being prepared for an assortment of winter events is very important. Kip Wenger, DO, medical director of Emergency Medicine at the University of Tennessee Medical Center advises seniors on how to prepare for winter and which hazards to watch out for.

Decorating

We’ve all had our fair share of clumsy moments while hanging up the holiday decorations. Although these incidences often are hilarious in movies, they can be quite dangerous in real life.

“It’s amazing, holiday decorations take some folks down,” Wenger says. “I mean huge injuries: it’s head injuries, chest wall injuries, rib fractures; it’s everything, but head trauma is big,” says Wenger. In fact, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that from 2000 through 2003 17,465 people were treated for holiday decorating-related falls. About 43 percent of those falls were from ladders and men were 40 percent more likely than women to be injured.

Wenger says that injuries such as these especially are problematic in the elderly because, “their physiological reserve, their ability to compensate for the injury, is much less. While the healing is decreased, the bigger issue is the co-morbidities, these other illnesses they have, and the fact that their ability to step it up physiologically is not there.”

“Elderly trauma is a big deal, and the number one cause of death in terms of trauma deaths is in fact falls,” Wenger says. “It’s hard to tell your grandfather not to go up on the ladder. But, if he’s going to do that he needs to be very cautious – I say he because we see a disproportionate amount of men involved in this – and have some assistance, not over reach if we’re talking about ladders.”

Underwriters Laboratory suggests following these decorating safety tips.

• Use wooden or fiberglass ladders when near power lines and electrical wiring.
• Use the correct height ladder, ensuring it extends 3 feet over the roofline or working surface.
• Set the ladder on a firm, level surface and avoid soft or muddy ground.
• Never exceed the ladder's weight limit or the maximum load rating.
• Never stand on a step ladder's bucket shelf. Read and follow the warning stickers for highest standing levels.
• Only one person on the ladder.
• Don't carry equipment while climbing. Buy a tool belt or have someone hand equipment to you.
• Face the ladder when climbing up or down, keeping your body centered between the side rails.
• Don’t overreach
• Read and follow the manufacturer's instructions for electrical decorations.
• Don't use staples or nails to hang light strings. Instead, purchase hooks or clips designed for hanging light strings.
• Don't overload extension cords by plugging in too many decorations.
• Turn off all electrical lights and decorations before leaving home or going to bed.

Celebrating

 

Spending time with family and friends is a highlight of the holiday season, but over extending yourself is not a good idea either.

“The holidays are a classic time when families get together, often from different from parts of the country,” Wenger explains. “Then all of a sudden they’re shopping in the mall or hiking in the Smokey Mountains, or whatever the activity may be, doing things they normally wouldn’t do. You don’t want to push your Grandma, for instance, too far. You don’t want to put her in a padded room, but you also don’t want to push her too far too fast. Be sensitive and watch and say, ‘hey grandma, do you need to stop?’”

Holiday party attire usually is not conducive to being winter weather prepared. Wenger advises that proper footwear is important. “The ascetically pleasing high heels may not be a good thing for any kind of difficult conditions,” he says, particularly for seniors.

Traveling

 

Like the old song says, some of us will be traveling, “over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go.” Although for some travelers, the “over the river and through the woods” part involves late-night driving, ice, snow and other treacherous travel conditions. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that every year about 6,500 deaths and 450,000 injuries result from vehicle crashes during bad weather.

As Wenger explains it, “your grandparents are going to get in the car and they’re going to go, and when they get there they’re going to throw down the keys and say ‘I made it in a new record time.’ That’s not a good idea because as you get tired your response time gets less and, you hate to pick on the elderly, but the reality is as you age your response time less anyway. So, you add sleep deprivation into that and you’ve got a situation set up for disaster. Throw some icy conditions in and next thing you know Grandma’s in the trauma center and not doing very well.”

The Federal Highway Administration offers these holiday travel safety tips.

• Plan ahead
• Travel during non-peak commuting times
• Before you leave check travel information websites for road closures, accidents and construction on major roadways.
• Allow extra travel time if you’re going to be driving through congested areas or bad weather.
• Wear your seat belt.
• Use child safety seats when necessary.
• Don’t tailgate.
• If the road is icy, allow at least three times more space between you and the vehicle in front of you.

Preparing

 

What if you’re not traveling for the holidays? What about the other wintry months? The key to having a safe and fun winter at any age is preparation.

The American Red Cross advises that people should have these readily available.

• flashlight and extra batteries
• battery-powered radio
• extra food and water
• extra medicine
• first-aid supplies
• emergency heat source
• fire extinguisher, smoke alarm

 

Wenger stresses that the most important thing people need is a carbon monoxide detector. “Sometimes what we see people doing is using alternative fuel to heat their building so make sure you have a CO₂ detector. A lot of people do not have one. Make sure that it’s up-to-date and working, but they also shouldn’t ignore it when it goes off. When it goes off, generally it’s going off for a reason and it needs to be investigated.”

What if the heat goes out? First and foremost the American Red Cross advises that you stay inside. Use an alternative heating source such as a fireplace if you have one, but make sure that you have proper ventilation. If you don’t have an alternative heat source, don’t panic; the American Red Cross has outlined a few things you can do.

• Close off unneeded rooms.
• Stuff towels or rags in cracks under doors.
• Cover windows at night.
• Eat and drink. This will help your body have energy, which will help keep you warm.
• Dress in layers. Clothes should be loose-fitting, lightweight and warm.

 

Other Tips

Other winter preparedness tips for seniors include the following.

• Make a plan with family, friends or neighbors
  It’s important to have support during a winter emergency. Communicate with loved ones and friends about what to do if there is an emergency. Will someone shovel the driveway for you? What if you lose your heat? Having a plan in place before there’s an emergency will set everyone at ease.
  
• Don’t over exert yourself trying to shovel the snow
  Wenger says, “As we age, folks need to be aware of the fact that they’re not the same person they were yesterday. When they get shortness of breath, when they get chest discomfort, they need to stop what they’re doing and rest. They also need to seek the care of a physician if those kinds of things are happening.”
  
• Be careful about getting too hot or too cold
  “This time of year conditions change quickly. It’s hard to dress for that. The elderly have less ability to thermoregulate themselves. They’re more sensitive to highs and lows of temperature. They become over heated or hypothermic more quickly, so just because you’re not hot or cold that may not be true of your great-grandfather,” Wenger explains.
  
• Talk with your doctor, clinic, hospital or healthcare professional about medical preparations and back up plans
  Do you need dialysis? Do you have chemo treatments? Think about all of the appointments that you have and talk with the providers about what to do if there is a winter emergency.
  
• Have back-ups for your equipment
  Make sure that you have extra hearing aid batteries, glasses and medical supplies such as oxygen.

 

Winter time can bring with it lots of surprises, but that’s no reason to stay inside and miss out on all the fun. By planning ahead and taking precautions you can jump into the winter time fun and skip the trip to the emergency room.

If you have an emergency, call 911 immediately or seek treatment at the nearest emergency room. For a non-emergency, you may visit the After-Hours Clinic or call 1.877.UT.CARES (1.877.882.2737) for an appointment.

For more information, visit Emergency & Trauma Services.


References

1. American Red Cross. “Winter Storms The Deceptive Killers: A Preparedness Guide” www.redcross.org.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Fall Related Injuries During the Holiday Season – United States 2000-2003.” http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5348a1.htm.
3. Underwriters Laboratories. “’Tis the Season to be Safe” http://www.ul.com/seasonal/opdec/light.html.
4. U.S. Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/holidaytraveltips.htm.
5. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/seniors.html.