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

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

remove rugs and always hold onto railings.

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 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.

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.

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!

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.

Buy better footwear. Hush puppies are excellent.

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

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

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