Share your tips for avoiding trips and falls as you get older - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

ensure good lighting, we leave a light on for nighttime visits to the bathroom , and no rugs around the loo, despite fathers protests, very common to have blood pressure dips during the night

I have had problems with vertigo and therefore balance. I find that my balance has improved with going to Pilates classes. Pilates was recommended for some back problems, my core strength has improved and I find that it is easier to lift items now and my balance is improving. So I am less likely to fall. Its a win win situation.The ladies in my Pilates class vary from their 20's to their 80's and everybody works to their own level.
I find that as I get older I tend to do more risk assessments without thinking. So I am more cautious when its wet or icy outside. If using steps especially outside I use the handrail. I also wear varifocals and can confirm this does cause visual problems if you look downwards at the steps. Use the rail and look ahead. `
I would also recommend keeping as fit as possible with walking and swimming and any other sports you like. Sitting around for too long is not good for you and you may find your legs have "gone to sleep". if you are watching TV make sure you stand up in the ad breaks.

wear non slip slippers or shoes around the house not just socks

Steady and secure rather than rushing. Also care with slippers catching and mat hazards. Also use hand rails whenever needed.

I went to a shop that dealt in goods for people who needed extra help in their daily lives. I bought two grabbers to pick things that had fallen on the floor and a kneeling mat. The mat has help me keep my balance getting into my bath, and the grabbers allow me to keep my balnce as I don't have to bend down and pick up various objects that I've dropped, or have been left on the floor.

I go to yoga classes once a week and we do poses where we practice balancing. It is incredibly difficult, especially with your eyes shut, and I often put a toe onto the floor, nevertheless i feel it gives me more stability when walking. I try not to go out in icy weather so I can to avoid slipping, as I live off a steep hill. After three operations for a detached retina I found that my vision had changed and I find going down stairs a challenge. I always hold onto the handrail now.

I was always very confident about walking and walked very fast. Three weeks before my 70th birthday just before this Christmas my foot went from under me when hurrying to the supermarket. I think it was black ice. I was on the pavement with my head bleeding and I did feel old. Anyway got checked out and everything was OK but since then I feel a lot of my confidence has gone. People have reassured me that it could have happened to a younger person but I now walk much more slowly, watching out for slippery pavements and uneven paving slabs. I think falling down was a wake up call to go more slowly.

Since retiring we have made it our mission to turn our once, bustling family home into a safe, haven of peace for OAPs. It has taken about three years as time and money have allowed but I think the effort has been worthwhile. A room at a time we identified problems, often to do with clutter or things out of reach and resolved as many as we could then redecorated getting rid of all wallpaper, fitted new low pile carpets or easy clean vinyl or laminate and removed or replaced furniture. We now have a light, bright, almost clutter-free and easy to look after home where hopefully we will be able to safely stay for many more years. The only clutter being shelves of books in my study (all within reach) and hell would have to freeze over before I could bear to part with my lifetime collection!

Take your time, there's no need to rush, less haste more speed

I used to trip and fall, especially on pavements, but have found that since I took up Yoga, my balance has improved immensely and even if I trip, I manage to stay up and prevent myself from going headlong onto the pavement. Try it, it's very helpful.

Keep hydrated, because it is easy to become tired if not enough fluid is drunk,and tiredness could make it more likely that you will fall/trip.

Most of my tips are pretty straight forward or common sense.
1. Make sure you are wearing proper footwear or slippers, some slippers are too sloppy on your feet and hence the name they slip off when walking.
2. Make sure stairs are well lit with a sturdy handrail. Plus don't leave items on the stairs which is one of my faults.
3. Make sure floor coverings are in a good condition, ie, no frayed edges, tears or ripples in carpet that could aid a fall.
4. If you have been having more falls or feeling unsteady on your feet then speak to your Doctor/Pharmacist. As we get older most of us are on a few if not more medications and sometimes it could be the medication or an interaction of medications that is making us feel unsteady.
Hope this is helpful

I hold hand rails when walking up and down stairs. I try to have sensible shoes depending on the weather.

wear sensible shoes not loose fittings and have handrails around the house

Buy better footwear. Hush puppies are excellent.

A family member had a really bad fall a few years ago. We tried all we could so this didn't happen again. She caught her foot in her handbag and fell. So now she has a bag with a short strap. Clothes that aren't to long to trip over. We don't use rugs and keep what we can off the floor to avoid falls.

I had Sciatica when I was younger, and there are parts of my leg and foot that are completely numb as the nerves in them must have just given up the goose! Despite the Sciatic pain being gone for many years now, I do still get very stiff down my left leg, pins and needles a lot of the time and achey in very cold weather, so I do try and still do the exercises that I learned with my back years ago!

I have also asked my family a few years back to put down carpet for me, as before I had laminate flooring, and it didn't agree with me at all. I much prefer the sturdy non-slippiness of a warm carpet!

And lastly of my beautiful dogs, my young neighbours take my larger dog out for me, so I still get my exercise with my little Jack Russell, but my huge Border Collie gets a good run with the neighbours kids who love taking the dog and a frisbee onto the fields and having a run about! This has saved my back alot as my Collie Ben is almost 17 years old and because he's such a big dog, he can unintentionally pull me, so the children helping have saved me from some pain!

Getting older sucks, but as long as you are sensible (not all the time mind!) and make sure things are safe, you can still enjoy all you did before!

When you get up, take your time and steady yourself before you start walking. Accept that you are oder and don't let bravado and sheer stubbornness result in you taking on tasks that in reality you cannot safely manage any more. Don't be afraid or too proud to ask for help.

Remove any trip hazards such as rugs and declutter as much as possible. Buy some long-handled reachers (such as litter pickers use) - these can be used for both picking things up off the floor and out of cupboards, alleviating the need to stretch either up or down.

Wires! Blasted wires...tape them down or hide them WELL with a cable tidy. Get rid of rugs and mats...absolute nightmare to have in the home...backed slippers (not mules) and sensible sturdy shoes with a good grip...and don't over do the Merlot or Jameson's of an evening really.

Bath mats are a necessity in the bath AND shower...infact, all over the bathroom/wet room floor wherever practical.

Keep walkways clutter free especially at the bottom and top of the stairs..never keep anything on the stairs themselves.

Assess outdoor walkways/outdoor steps, gardens and drives regularly. A particularly bad spell of ice and snow/rain can cause cracks and movement leading to potential trip hazards.

remove rugs and always hold onto railings.

Be more vigilant to uneven ground/carpet/rugs. Avoiding leaving obstacles and clutter, and just being more patient and careful.

Keep active and take gentle exercise because it can improve balance, strength and co-ordination. Wear sensible shoes with non slip soles.

Make sure lighting (especially on stairs) is good, keep walkways clear of hazards and try not to rush about too much!

To stop falls make sure nothing is ever left in your pathway, on stairs (don't keep shoes on stairs) Watch out for the cat if you have one who can easily get under your feet if following you around. Wear proper fitting slippers. Don't have rugs, try to have even surfaces all over your walking areas. Don't wear clothes that are too long for you, hazardous for tripping over. Have an up to date eye test and the right prescription glasses. Arrange the furniture so you can hold onto something as you walk if need be, or have a walking frame.