Protecting yourself from common home injuries
Whether you're living alone or with others, make sure you're aware of these common home injuries, and how to try and prevent them.
Causes of home injuries
One of the key things to remember for home injury prevention is to have a plan in place for some common scenarios.
1. Falls
One of the most common home accidents, falls can be especially dangerous, depending on their severity. This is due to the wide array of injuries they can cause and the potential for the injured person to be unable to get help. They can happen to anyone of any age, but falls are the leading cause of unintentional injury in older Australians1. Some complications from a fall could include:
- broken bones
- fractures
- head injuries
- abrasions, and
- dislocations.
2. Burns
Burns can, and do, happen to everyone. However, as we age, it’s more likely that burns will not only occur more often, but often have more severe impacts. This is due to a variety of reasons, such as a loss of strength causing us to drop items, or forgetting that a hot plate or kettle is on. With more impairments and medical issues, complications can be severe.
3. Medication & Food Mix Ups
Whether you’re older or simply a firm believer in daily vitamins, it's important to take the right medication at the right time, in the correct dosages. As we get older and the amount of medication and supplements we require increases, it can be difficult to keep up – which is a huge concern for in-home injuries. Side effects from mixing the wrong medications, taking incorrect dosages or simply not following the instructions properly can be fatal. This includes potential allergies to certain foods or products.
4. Lacerations
Lacerations sounds dramatic, but it’s actually one of the more common home injuries. It can be something as simple as grazing past a sharp edge, or even trying to do a normally straightforward task that ends up causing a cut to the skin – lacerations are very real and very easy to do at home. It can be the case that, with less durable skin, cuts and abrasions become far more hazardous due to infection.
Ways to prevent accidents at home
Like other home improvements that add value to your property, it’s important to ensure that some home improvements are safe and help you to avoid future injury at home. Some ways you can prevent accidents and injury at home include the following:
1. Remove, or fix, slippery or uneven surfaces and trip hazards
This could include things like:
- laying out non-slip mats on tiles or in the bathroom or wet areas
- taping down cords, and
- laying down high visibility, non-slip tape on changes in elevation or potential hazards that cannot be easily fixed (eg. stairs).
2. Check in with your doctor regularly
It’s easy to become complacent when subtle health changes occur, but it’s important to regularly check in with your doctor for key things like eyesight and hearing checks, overall wellbeing and medication alterations. Things such as sensory and balance issues, whether caused by deteriorating health or medication changes, can be a big contributor to in-home injuries.
3. Maintain a balanced diet
Keeping a balanced diet is important for everyone, no matter their age. But it’s especially crucial as we age due to the impact it has on our immune systems, calcium levels for strong bones, weakening muscles and the increased potential for new health problems. Making sure you follow a balanced and healthy diet where possible can be one of the best tips for overall injury avoidance. For more tips, you can refer to the Australian Dietary Guidelines2 or BetterHealth Victoria3.
4. Get a medical alert device
A medical alert device can come in many different forms. Whether it’s a fall detecting smart watch, or a neck worn alarm – it’s always a good idea to have something wearable to alert emergency services or loved ones when you may need help. While there is some concern that these can accidentally raise an alarm when it’s not needed, this is something that has advanced over time, and some new medical alert devices come with the ability to have the alarm cancelled in a quick and easy manner.
5. Ensure adequate lighting
As we age, our eyesight can degrade, which can cause normal situations to become more hazardous. For example, you may miss trip hazards around the home as you go about your day. It’s important to ensure adequate lighting in each setting, whether that means replacing bulbs to brighten lights or adding extra lighting where necessary.
6. Label and tape accordingly
In alignment with eyesight issues, it’s important to ensure that medications and other items are labelled appropriately to avoid accidental misuse. An idea could be to get a day-by-day medication container, or to label each box of medication with their reasoning or intended use in large letters. Alongside this, taping off or highlighting sharp edges to avoid lacerations. It’s easy to get small cuts and scrapes as our skin ages, so it’s important to smooth off any potential edges or sharp points in furniture, objects or corners that could cause lacerations.
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Apia Health Insurance is issued by nib, a registered private health insurer, and is marketed by Platform CoVentures Pty Ltd ABN 82 626 829 623, a Suncorp Group company (PC), for which PC receives commission from nib. nib is not a part of the Suncorp Group.
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