Knowing the correct emergency response steps after a fall is crucial for an elderly person’s safety and recovery.
Part 1: Immediate Action ⚠️
If you discover someone has fallen, act quickly to identify life-threatening conditions.
- Initial Assessment:
- Assess Consciousness & Vital Signs: Check if the person is conscious, breathing, and has a pulse, especially if they don’t know why they fell or could have had a heart attack. (🫀❤️🩹)
- 🚫 Do NOT Move Them: Unless absolutely necessary for safety (like fire or immediate danger), avoid moving them initially.
- If the Person is Conscious:
- Ask About the Fall: Inquire if they remember how they fell. Inability to recall may indicate a stroke, seizure, or cognitive issue (like dementia). 🧠 ❗Call 911 or get medical help immediately.
- Check for Stroke Signs: Look for sudden facial drooping, slurred speech, or weakness/numbness in an arm or leg. If any sign is present:
- Keep them lying flat and still. Do NOT sit them up (this could worsen bleeding or lack of blood to the brain).
- 🚨 Call 911 right away. (👉 Act F.A.S.T.: Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, Time to call 911)
- External Injuries & Bleeding: If there are visible injuries or bleeding, apply pressure to stop the bleeding and carefully bandage the wound. Seek medical attention for further evaluation and care. 💉
- Look for Fracture Signs: Check for severe pain, deformity (odd angle), unusual joint position, bruising, swelling, or inability to move or put weight on a limb.
Part 2: Getting Help 🤝
If the situation is beyond your ability to handle alone, call for help immediately. Stay calm and reassure the person.
- Contact Family:
- Keep emergency contact numbers for the elderly person prominently displayed (like on the fridge or by the phone) and easily accessible. 📞
- Call 911:
- If the person is seriously injured or showing signs of stroke/heart attack, 🚨 dial 911 immediately.
- Clearly state the person’s condition and your exact address.
- Provide basic first aid while waiting for help to arrive.
- Consider installing a medical alert system (like Life Alert) in the home. If they live alone, this ensures help can be summoned even if they can’t reach a phone, preventing critical delays. 📱
- Seek Nearby Help:
- Build relationships with neighbors, community health workers, staff, or volunteers. Knowing who to call locally can be invaluable in an emergency. 👨⚕️👨💼👩⚕️
Part 3: Treating Fall Injuries 🩹
1. External Wound Care:
- Clean & Disinfect: Carefully clean wounds to prevent infection. If debris is embedded, get professional medical help for cleaning to avoid deeper contamination or increased bleeding. 🧼
- Control Bleeding:
- Capillary Bleeding (Minor Scrapes): Blood oozes slowly. Clean, disinfect, and cover with a bandage.
- Venous Bleeding: Steady flow of dark red blood. Apply direct pressure with a clean cloth or gauze. Cover with a pressure bandage.
- 🆘 Arterial Bleeding: Pumping or spurting bright red blood. Apply firm DIRECT PRESSURE at the wound site immediately. Apply a tourniquet ONLY IF trained to do so and bleeding is severe/uncontrollable. CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY. Medical help is critical. ⚠️
2. Suspected Fracture:
- 🚫 DO NOT Move the Person or Limb: Immobilize the injured area.
- Splint the Injury: Support the limb above and below the fracture using something rigid (like a board, rolled-up magazine, or sturdy stick). Do NOT try to realign bones. 🪵📰
- Handle With Care: Minimize movement during transport to avoid damaging nerves or blood vessels with bone fragments. Keep the injured limb stable.
- First Aid Comes First: Provide initial first aid (control bleeding, splint) before transport to the hospital.
- First Aid Steps:
- Stop Bleeding & Bandage: Control bleeding with direct pressure and sterile bandages. Avoid ointments or unsterile water. Clean around the wound if possible, cover with sterile gauze, and bandage firmly. Use a tourniquet ONLY for life-threatening limb bleeding if trained.
- Splinting:
- Splint before moving the person. The splint should extend beyond the joints above and below the injury. Use rigid materials like boards, padded sticks, or even an umbrella.
- 🛑 Key Splint Rule: Stop Bleeding > Bandage Wound > THEN Splint. The goal is immobilization ONLY (keeping it still), NOT repositioning bones.
3. Suspected Head Injury:
- Keep Airway Open, Immobilize Neck: Ensure they can breathe. Gently hold the head still if possible, avoiding twisting or bending the neck. Support the head/neck in the position found unless breathing requires repositioning.
- Monitor Vital Signs: Check breathing, pulse, and pupil size/reaction to light. 👁️
- 🚫 Handle Fluid Discharge Carefully: If clear fluid or blood drains from the nose/ears, do NOT plug, stuff, clean, or probe. Place a clean cloth loosely under the area to absorb fluid. (Indicates possible skull fracture/CSF leak).
- 🚨 Call 911 immediately. Transport requires medical supervision.
Part 4: First Aid Basics ⛑️
1. CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation):
Perform CPR ONLY if the person is unresponsive and not breathing normally (gasping doesn’t count).
- Check Safety & Responsiveness: Ensure the scene is safe. Tap shoulders firmly and shout, “Are you okay?”
- Check Breathing: Look for chest rise for 5-10 seconds (no more than 10). If breathing is absent or abnormal (like only gasping)…
- 🚨 Call 911 & Get AED: Yell for someone to call 911 and bring an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), if available. If alone, call 911 yourself first.
- Position: Place the person on their back on a firm surface.
- Begin Chest Compressions: (Hands-Only CPR is recommended for untrained rescuers)
- Place heel of one hand on the center of the chest (between nipples), place other hand on top. Lock elbows. Keep shoulders over hands.
- Push HARD & FAST: Compress the chest at least 2 inches deep at a rate of 100-120 compressions per minute (to the beat of “Stayin’ Alive”).
- Allow Full Recoil: Let the chest rise completely between compressions. Minimize pauses. Keep going until EMS arrives or the person starts moving.
- If TRAINED (Standard CPR):
- After 30 compressions, open the airway with a head tilt-chin lift. Pinch nose shut.
- Give 2 breaths (1 second each), watching for chest rise. If chest doesn’t rise, reposition head and try again.
- Continue cycles of 30 compressions to 2 breaths until help arrives.
2. Bleeding Control & Bandaging:
Primary methods include direct pressure, elevation, pressure bandages, and tourniquets (LAST RESORT).
- Direct Pressure: ⛑️ Immediately press firmly and directly on the wound with a clean cloth/gauze/palm. Apply steady pressure. Hold for several minutes. This is often sufficient.
- Elevation: Raise the bleeding limb above heart level (if possible) while maintaining direct pressure.
- Pressure Bandage: Place gauze/cloth over the wound and wrap firmly with an elastic bandage (e.g., Ace wrap) to maintain pressure. Check fingers/toes for numbness/color change.
- Tourniquet: 🛑 Use ONLY for severe, life-threatening limb bleeding uncontrollable by direct pressure. Apply high and tight on the limb above the wound. Follow device instructions. Write down the time applied and notify EMS immediately upon arrival.
3. Safe Moving Techniques:
- Use a Stretcher: 🧍♂️➡️🛏️ The safest method. Log-roll the person carefully onto the stretcher (support head, neck, torso, hips, legs simultaneously). Lifters should coordinate movements, keeping the stretcher level.
- Manual Carries (Last Resort/Short Distances): Used only if absolutely necessary and risks are minimal (e.g., fire). Methods include:
- Support Carry: For alert & cooperative person. One person supports under shoulders.
- Two-Person Seat Carry: Two people link arms to form a seat for the person.
- Clothing Drag: Grab shoulders of shirt/jacket, pull backwards carefully (protect head).
- 🏠 Minimize Movement: Only move them if essential for immediate safety.