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

Make sure rooms are well lit (get any bulbs that go replaced immediately) and avoid clutter being left on the floor. It is too easy to slip or trip on something that you don't see.

Always wear proper shoes with elastic, buckles or laces, indoors and out.
Have a Fire Service health and safety check, they are very thorough and notice things you may overlook.
Have handrails both sides of your stairs.
Take up tai chi, gentle, improves balance and a way to meet other people.

Sensible footwear - my MIL is in her 90s and insists on teetering around unsteadily wearing kitten heels - I'm in my 60s and wear reliable Hotters!

I think YOU need to change, how YOU think, it could be YOU

It is important to make changes to your house,
THINK, trip hazards, like rugs, items left out...........
IMPROVE, lighting, grip rails,..............
CHOOSE, sensible shoes, slippers, shorten trousers?
ASK, for help from Occupational Therapy,others to check house
USE, gadgets, walking sticks, glasses,

Above all, think it could be YOU, and YOU is no longer young

get rid of small rugs. they can trip you up even though they are only small.

Make sure you keep things tidied away. Keep things repaired or renewed like carpets.

I am wary of coming out of the bath as I get older. Take it slow and avoid slipping on the wet enamel surface. Be careful when stepping out so you don't lose your balance. Don't hurry. Be aware and use caution.

Keep your home clutter free so there are less obstacles to trip over. Also, try to have carpets rather than laminate to break the fall.

This may sound a little silly but I have had so many 'near painful' incidents because of my slippers! I have known people to fall in socks but also some slippers as people do tend to buy them a little big and the slip on type can so easily slip off - Especially going up and down the stairs!

I would say wear slippers, walking around the house in socks can be dangerous as I found out when I slipped and fell down the stairs.

I would also say hold the stair bannister, I used to run happily up and down the stairs until my fall. Now I use the handrail just in case

try to stay as active as you can and avoid having rugs or mats in the house!

I used to find my nan had lots of little rugs all over her bungalow,she also had like many elderly people plastic runners "to keep the carpet clean"
They were so dangerous,she was eventually made to throw them away,for her own safety

Days of wearing heels are long gone. I find my Skechers so comfy and feel safe and secure in them. Stopped just wearing socks indoors and wear slippers with non slip soles.

don't rush to answer the door/phone. If it's important they'll wait

Don't go anywhere or do anything in a rush, slow and steady will get you there safely. Wear sensible footwear forget fashion comfort and safety come first, avoid cluttered floor spaces at home, keep obstacle free especially from bedroom to bathroom if you are prone to getting up during the night. Several little battery operated tealights will help guide you safely should you need it. If you feel you need a stick get one, ditch pride and accept your healthy uninjured life is far better.

Make sure things are kept tidily so that there's nothing to trip over on floors, and use banisters when you're going up and down stairs. Keeping active generally even if it's just a walk every day helps to keep you supple and less likely to fall.

A good way to make your muscles stronger and to improve your balance is to take regular exercise.

I have problems with walking due to a medical condition. My best advice is to walk slowly. I use a stick to help me and find that motorists are more tolerant when I take my time crossing a road if they see I use a stick.

Make sure the grandchildren tidy toys away when they leave.

My wooden stairs used to really dis-orientate me, I'd feel myself go faint whilst going up and down the stairs, as you'd be looking through the wooden slats, so I got them changed. When getting up out of a chair or bed, take your time, don't rush, as often you can get dizzy and easily fall. I had a hard time admitting to myself that I needed to re-think my living arrangements, and there was no shame in it. Be honest, you'll save a lot of heartache, there is the saying "Pride before a fall", and it's true.

Use a hostess trolley to carry things from room to room, also helps with balance

I use a walk stick when out to keep me steady.Also I don't rush aeound as this can make me feel very dizzy and more chances of my falling over.

Keeping healthy, watching my step and not putting myself in situations that could prove fatal!

My best tip (although sometimes easier said than done) is to keep fit and active. It's easy to begin to feel a bit unsteady and so to walk less, but then we get out of condition and become even more vulnerable to falls and slips. I built up my strength slowly and surely and that's helped my balance no end. The worst thing you can do is to start to give up or avoid and then it becomes a real problem.

Hate to say it because it makes me feel old (I'm not even 60 yet) but appropriate footwear is a must and looking where you are going. I'm quite clumsy and fall a couple of times a year. Last New Years when we were walking the dogs and I slipped on wet grass. I was wearing normal shoes and not my normal walking boots and I went down, not once, not twice but 3 times. So I said enough is enough, fate is trying to tell me something (i.e I was being stupid trying to walk in shoes) so went back to the car and left my husband to walk the dogs alone. I wasn't hurt but it did dent my confidence a bit and was very careful going back to the car. The other fall I had was when my foot turned over in a pot hole and that one did hurt and took a couple of weeks to get fighting fit again