It's the class that has cold medications in it, like Sudafed PE, drugs to help control bladder problems, like Detrol. There are a lot of drugs that fall into a class called anticholinergics. They can cause you to not be as sharp so that you're not paying attention to curbs or uneven sidewalks.Īre there any other drugs that seniors should be aware of? Pain pills have similar side effects sleeping pills. How do pain pills increase the risk of falls? And if we could get everybody off of those pills, it would be so helpful. Those sleeping pills, pain pills, a lot of the drugs that older adults have been prescribed for years and years have markedly increased risk for falling. You've got to be out and active, but being out and doing things does allow you to put yourself in a position where you could fall.Īlso, I think one of the biggest problems for falls is that so many older adults are on risky medications. I always tell people to please not be sedentary to prevent falls. I think our older adults are starting to, and that also is going to put you at risk for falling. There's more awareness about falls as older adults and doctors are starting to think about it a little bit more. There are so many more seniors, and there's probably better reporting than there used to be. I think it might be a little bit of both. This interview combines two separate conversations with Eckstrom and has been edited for clarity and length.Īre seniors falling more than they used to? Or are there more seniors? Does something else explain this increase? NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro and Luisa Torres spoke to Eckstrom about the most common causes of falling among seniors and the best ways to prevent them. "A lot of older adults and a lot of physicians think that falling is inevitable as you age, but in reality it's not." Elizabeth Eckstrom, professor and chief of geriatrics at Oregon Health & Science University. adults age 75 or above died from a fall in 2016, up from more than 8,600 deaths in 2000, and the rate of fatal falls for this age group roughly doubled.īut the risk of falling can be minimized, says Dr. A recent study showed that more than 25,000 U.S. And, more older adults are dying from falls today than 20 years ago.
A fall can be a real health setback for a frail, elderly person. As we age, the risk of falling increases and becomes increasingly perilous.
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