Elderly people (that is, people aged 65 years and older) are more prone to heat stress than younger people for several reasons:

While he was getting ready to shave, the 94-year-old man lost his balance and fell into his empty bathtub.

Trying to pull himself out of the [...]]]>

By  children.

By the elderly.

For seniors, falls are associated with:

Falls are the leading cause of unintentional home injury deaths, accounting for 33 percent of deaths.

According to the Home Safety Council (HSC) they account for more [...]]]> Falls.

By  children.

By the elderly.

For seniors, falls are associated with:

• lower-body weakness
• problems with balance and walking
• visual impairment
• chronic illness or a
• history of stroke.

Falls are the leading cause of unintentional home injury deaths, accounting for 33 percent of deaths.

According to the Home Safety Council (HSC) they account for more than 40 percent of nonfatal injuries. The two highest risk age groups are children under five and older adults over 70 years old.

Read more about Falls Are the Leading Injury-Related Cause of ER Visits.

Rauscher was trapped in the bathroom for four days because she could not get up and out from the bath. The report indicates that Rauscher told her [...]]]> The Austria Independent newspaper reported a woman was found trapped in her bath. 78 years old, Mary Rauscher was discovered by his daughter when she came to visit.

Rauscher was trapped in the bathroom for four days because she could not get up and out from the bath. The report indicates that Rauscher told her daughter that she was bathing and could not leave and called for help in vain. Rauscher lives by herself. She did not suffer any injury caused by being stuck.

This event is one of the most serious problems encountered when a person is forced to live on their own. Though Rauscher may not have been forced, this episode would not have happened if someone had been there with her to help in any way she may need.

As a person ages, they begin to lose their ability to fend for themselves.  A walk in bathtub or slide-in bath would be ideal in this situation.

From http://austrianindependent.com/news/General_News/2010-09-27/4699/Elderly_woman_stuck_in_bathtub_for_four_days

“The unfortunate fact is that for 20 years we’ve been talking about this. This is the government that’s finally doing something about it,” said [...]]]> The problems in retirement homes exposed by an undercover Toronto Star investigation should be easier to root out once new regulations are in place next year, says Ontario’s minister for seniors.

“The unfortunate fact is that for 20 years we’ve been talking about this. This is the government that’s finally doing something about it,” said Aggelonitis.

Star reporter Dale Brazao went undercover for a week in west Toronto’s In Touch retirement home, discovering seniors abandoned for hours to fester in urine- and feces-filled diapers with no toilet paper in bathrooms, substandard food, and other poor conditions.

The investigation prompted numerous calls from readers and health care workers detailing identical problems across the province.

Continue reading Disgusting nursing home conditions prompt legislation

Measures of physical capability, such as grip strength, walking speed, chair rising time and standing balance ability, can predict [...]]]> People who are better at simple physical acts such as gripping, walking, rising from a chair and balancing on one leg are more likely to live longer, according to a new study published on bmj.com today.

Measures of physical capability, such as grip strength, walking speed, chair rising time and standing balance ability, can predict mortality in older people living in the community, UK researchers found.

Read the entire article

Those who fell indoors had more physical disabilities, took more medications, and had lower cognitive function [...]]]> According to a study by the Institute for Aging Research, older adults who fell outdoors were somewhat younger than those who fell indoors, more likely to be male and better educated, and had lifestyle characteristics indicative of better health.

Those who fell indoors had more physical disabilities, took more medications, and had lower cognitive function than those who fell outdoors.

Read an excerpt of the report here.

From heraldexpress.co.uk.

An elderly man was rescued by firefighters after locking himself in the bathroom at his home in Paignton, UK.

He became stuck in the tub, but no one else in the property was able to help him out because [...]]]> Here is an example where a walk-in tub would help in a dangerous situation.

From heraldexpress.co.uk.

An elderly man was rescued by firefighters after locking himself in the bathroom at his home in Paignton, UK.

He became stuck in the tub, but no one else in the property was able to help him out because the door had been locked.

The alarm was raised at an address off Kings Ash Road at 11pm on Wednesday.

A crew from Paignton were able to open the door and lift the man from the bath water.

The drama prompted fire officers to issue safety advice about the dangers of locking bathrooms when taking a dip.

“The best thing to do is not to lock the door,” said a fire spokesman after the rescue.

It is understood the pensioner, believed to be in his 70s, had not used a specially provided chair to immerse himself in the bath.

“In this case he could not get out. And no one could help him because the door was locked,” explained the spokesman.

And it is not good for them either, according to researchers at the Stein Institute for Research on Aging and Rady School of Management at the University [...]]]> We usually scold our children and teenagers for watching too much TV. It turns out that their grandmas and grandpas spend even more of their time watching TV.

And it is not good for them either, according to researchers at the Stein Institute for Research on Aging and Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

In a study published online in advance of publication in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, UCSD researchers examined television use in a large, nationally representative sample that was collected by the Center for Health and Well Being at Princeton University.

Using an innovative, diary-like assessment strategy called the Day Reconstruction Method, study participants were asked to measure how they spent their time and describe their experience of everyday activities.

“We found that older people spent a great deal more time watching TV than younger people did, yet they enjoyed the experience less,” said first author Colin A. Depp, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry with UCSD’s Stein Institute for Research on Aging.

“What the study underscored is that alternatives to television as entertainment are needed, especially in older adults.”

Read the entire article Older Adults Watch More TV Yet Enjoy it Less Than Younger People