What constitutes a "fall"?

Yeah right!

I thought when "having a fall" was said of the elder generation, it meant that there was no real or discernable reason for it.

If you trip, stumble etc. it is usually over something.

If you have a fall, you lose your balance and fall and don't know why.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

I recently fell because I stood on a piece of broken brick that I hadn't seen. It wobble under me and I followed suit.
If I had wobbled on nothing, then I suppose you could say I had had a fall.

It's a clumsy expression, surely "I fell" is all we need to say?

I tripped on the stairs the other week, luckily i was able to stop myself actually falling but i did run down the last few steps pretty quickly, catching my hand on the banister on the way down. I now have a cresent shaped scar on my hand to remind me constantly to hold both the bannister and the rail!!!!

grandtanteJE65 Sorry to diabuse you, but it if you are over 65 and trip or fall, the medical people will talk of you 'having a fall'. A friend in his 60s broke his ankle when he politely stepped out of someone's way and ended half on and off a high kerb.

He was incensed because not only did they consistently describe it as 'having a fall' but encouraged him to attend a 'fall clinic' and gave him a help sheet advising him not to wear worn out slippers round the house, tidy away cables etc and remove all trip hazards. - good advice, but not needed.

I think yesterday’s experience was a fall. I changed direction slightly in a department store basement, my right knee gave way, and I crashed to the floor. I didn’t trip or slip, I was simply distracted by the sight of a Nespresso counter.

Grandtante
Having fallen over/tripped over an obstacle and damaged myself enough to attend hospital twice in a couple of years, no-one has suggested (yet) that I attend a falls clinic.

That was understandable grumppa, it's concentrating on something other than where your feet are heading that can cause problems!

If I fell over now, I'd be inclined to keep it to myself and not tell a soul!

I had to! The damage was considerable.

pensionpat, I did something similar at 6am on Wednesday morning. I was eating a bowl of soup (don't ask), and got fed up with it halfway through. I stood up to take it to the kitchen and slipped on the laminate floor in the sitting room, fell and poured the soup all over me and the living room. Mum almost had an aneurism. X

Up to now, I've never fallen and am cautious of uneven pavements and flipped up rugs inside. I try to have a firm grip on terra firma at all times and look where I'm going as mum used to say.

The nearest I came to falling was after a TIA when I went to cross a road and turned my head to the right to see if anything was coming. Went as dizzy as an ant and grabbed a neighbour's arm as he was passing ( he was 96 and really stepping it out ) horrible feeling though.

Chewbacca I dont know whether that constitutes a fall or not but it made me laugh (sorry!) because i am sitting on the turn in our stairs which has the best view of next door. The prospective purchasers are inside - there were lots of them!!!

That’s not funny FH , my MIL died of a ruptured aortic aneurysms and DH had urgent open heart surgery for his (also aortic) aneurysm close to the aortic valve.
You do know what an aneurysm is, I take it ?
Sorry about the soup - though at least laminate floor is easier to clean up than carpet.
(Is your mother usually up at 6 am? )

Aneurysm not plural - blame the iPad.

MawB2, is it not like a funny turn? She got up as she heard me heating up the soup and needed the toilet. X

No, an aneurysm, its full word being abdominal aortic aneurysm is a bulge in the vessel which leads from the heart to the abdomen and if not treated quickly with major surgery can cause a rupture with severe bleeding and death.

FlyingHxndbag

*MawB2*, is it not like a funny turn? She got up as she heard me heating up the soup and needed the toilet. X

No I’m afraid not, FH it can be abdominal, as Charleygirl says or cerebral (in the brain) -in my MIL’s case.
The latter is nearly always fatal, the former (as happened to my FIL) can be survived depending on exactly where and with very speedy medical attention- FIL was lucky, he was rushed into Dumfries (I think) and they saved him.
DH’s was actually very close to his heart and as well as beginning to tear had distorted his aortic valve, necessitating a major op in London.
You might have meant apoplexy ?

Another saying used, and I think too lightly is "OMG I nearly had a heart attack when I saw x" and it is usually something minor.

My apologies Maw I totally forgot about cerebral aneurysms.

My friend's husband phoned me one night, as we were planning to go away on holiday as couples.
His wife, on a line dancing weekend came back the next day to find him dead on the floor. He had a fatal cerebral anuerysm. No warning, nothing. I was the last person he spoke to.
Not something to make light of. ?

Oh... that's horrific!! X

Not at all funny my DH is very lucky to be alive after a cerebral aneurysm!

Yiayia4

Not at all funny my DH is very lucky to be alive after a cerebral aneurysm!

Very lucky indeed ?

My husband has an abdominal aortic aneurysm. It is regularly scanned and monitored.

Yes, ^soop* and you and Mr. Soop understand the seriousness of it.

Absolutely not funny FH. My father had an aneurysm, the after effects of which sadly killed him.

May I suggest you check first any medical references you might make to ensure you are using them correctly.