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Comment by wolverine876 | Hacker News Reader

I am always worried for elderly people I know. It seems like a fall is inevitable - we all fall, trip, stumble, at some point, and they have worse balance and less muscle to compenstate - and they are so fragile.

How do other people deal with it? I know the basics for a fall-resistant home: no stairs, walk-in shower, handholds at toilet and shower (with a chair in the shower), hazard-free walkways.

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Surround them with four year olds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_People%27s_Home_for_4_Year...

(Possibly Geolocked to Australia) trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13_rJVvxx_g

I spend time with my 89 year father helping him split wood (5 tonnes every few months), shovel manure (overfilling a double axle trailer), delivering MealsOnWheels to less able seniors, track maintainance (he caretakes 15 km of a 1,000 km walking track).

It's kind of exhausting keeping up.

That said he built a fall resistent home 30 years ago that's all single level with wide verandah patio on a sloped block where every level has ramped access for wheelbarrows, wheelie bins, and eventually wheelchairs.

Best advice? Get active and stay active.

> How do other people deal with it.

A couple decades ago it was more common to see elders wearing canes. It was actually an simple, ancient invention that made a lot of sense. But I think there's years since the last time I saw somebody with one. Our society became youth obsessed, and now people are ashamed to look old. Perhaps making canes become fashionable again would help.

I haven’t been to the U.S. for quite a while so I don’t know how common canes are there, but here in Japan it’s not unusual to see people using them. Just today, I remember noticing three people walking with canes when I was out doing errands; there were probably more, but I wasn’t paying attention. Japan’s population is aging rapidly, which helps to reduce any stigma there might have been about using a cane.

I don’t need a cane yet myself, but when I do there will be many to choose from:

http://tsueya.com/

Make them lift weights and stretch, probably the simplest, cheapest, easiest, best bang for your buck investment you can do in your entire lifetime. It's doesn't even take much, even stagnation is better than rotting away

The day you can't tie your shoes alone it's game over

This guy started at 89!

https://barbend.com/john-claassen-235-pound-raw-deadlift-92-...

several ways. There are definitely better types of flooring that are far more forgiving such as thick carpets versus a cement basement or something. A good medication review and ensure they are not taking meds they don't need or getting on meds they need timely such as antibiotics. Regular engagement from health care workers, I work as a home care aide and visit seniors daily and we ask them each day if they had any falls. Increased falls can indicate other health issues and the possibility to treat them. On that same line we can teach them better ways to do things and support them in tasks they may struggle with. Regular exercise helps as it encourages muscle building and that works hand in hand with balance and muscle control. But at the end of the day people are going to fall and that is okay. We have to let people live life and sometimes that means they are living at risk. There has been invented an airbag system for fall risk patients. It is worn as a vest and if you fall it deploys an air bag system that protects your hips, head and neck. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/azTnlWGSy5U

Thank you. I'm going to start asking (politely).

I remembering seeing a product at CES years ago which was sort of like an air bag for walking. You would wear it on your hip like a fanny pack, and if you fell, it would expand into a large cushion.

I have a feeling this was never released, since I haven't heard about it since. I wonder why. It seemed like a really smart idea.

(By "seeing", I mean I saw a video from The Verge, CNET, or some other news organization covering CES. I've never been to CES in person.)

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