Because the risks of falls in the elderly are so well known, experts on ageing often discuss how to best prevent a fall. They’ve created important tools for fall prevention like falls risk assessments and home safety checklists – just two measures among many that can really help prevent falls.

However, even the best fall prevention efforts cannot be 100% effective. It’s great if an older person’s chance of falling can be reduced – but that chance can never be totally eliminated.

Therefore, every fall prevention programme should be accompanied by a plan for getting help fast to a senior who does fall.

This is crucially important because the amount of time an older person spends on the floor after a fall really matters. Essentially, when a senior begins to fall, they are facing at least two different sets of risks:

The risks of harms that occur at the moment of falling, such as a broken bone
The risks of harms that occur when an elderly person is unable to get up from the floor.

This second set of harms are significant and long-lasting. In this post, we’ll outline just what those dangers are and how they can be avoided after a fall has occurred.

What is a ‘long lie’ or ‘long lie fall’?

When an older person falls and is unable to get up from the floor or ground for one hour or more after the fall, this is called a ‘long lie.’

It’s key to note that some long lies can last an extremely long time – a whole night, 24 hours, or even more. Naturally, the longer a person is on the floor, the more they are affected by it.

Why avoiding a ‘long lie’ is so essential

There are many reasons why a long lie can be dangerous to a senior. One is very obvious – injuries from a fall, such as hip fractures, need to be treated as soon as possible. They may also be very painful while they’re untreated.

But there are other effects of a long lie that aren’t so immediately obvious, and these can be just as serious.

Problems with temperature

Seniors who cannot get up from the floor are likely also unable to protect themselves from extremes of temperature. In particular, an older person who is stuck lying on the floor in the colder months may suffer hypothermia or other bad effects of the cold temperature if they’re unable to reach a blanket to cover up with. This problem may worsen when the fall occurs in the warmer daytime hours and the person is still on the floor when their home grows cold at night.

Food and drink

Normal meals and water are, of course, not accessible to a person who is stuck on the floor. While this might not seem to matter at first, a lack of food or hydration can begin to seriously affect an older person’s health as time goes on. Severe dehydration can lead to issues like kidney problems.

Pressure sores

We typically think of pressure sores as a condition seen in people who are bed-bound and unable to move. However, they are undoubtedly also a danger in cases of an extended long lie. The problem of pressure sores can become more serious due to dampness if a person is unable to get up to go to the toilet.

A similar condition is rhabdomyolysis, which is when muscles break down when a person is motionless. This can also cause kidney damage.

Fear and anxiety

As you might expect, all of the above problems can cause great suffering in an elderly person who has fallen. Therefore, it’s very understandable that a long lie can have severe and long-term psychological impacts.

One notable mental health effect resulting from falls is an intense fear of falling again that can:

Make a person avoid walking in future
Affect a person’s gait and way of walking

This fear and anxiety around falling is a deep-rooted effect, not something that the older person can easily dismiss. An older person suffering this fear may be unable to walk without touching something for support.

Overall effects of a ‘long lie’

Every older person is different, so they will experience varying effects from a long lie. However, in general, older people who have to lie on the floor for an extended period may experience more severe injuries and may recover more slowly.

Preventing a ‘long lie’

So, how can you prevent a long lie?

One core cause of long lies is simply that an older person cannot get to a phone to call for help. Even an older person who would normally be able to get up from the floor may not be able to do so with an injury such as a fractured hip.

Therefore, a powerful way to reduce the risks of a long lie is to get a personal alarm for the elderly that features fall detection.

Personal alarm tech

Fall detection technology allows an alarm to monitor air pressure, movement and impact so that it can tell when its wearer has fallen. If the alarm believes a fall has occurred, it will raise the alarm by itself. This is crucial if the older person who has fallen is unconscious or if they simply can’t get to a phone.

Of course, fall detection technology can’t promise to be 100% perfect. That’s why it’s good to have a personal alarm that also features one-touch SOS button technology. This feature lets the wearer press and hold a single button to call for help if they need it.

A personal alarm is the best solution for this problem because it can be worn all the time, so it’s never out of reach. Many alarms are shower-proof, which is key because the bathroom is a common location for falls to occur in.

Other measures

Together with a personal alarm, you’ll also want to get a key safe. This allows helpers to access an older person’s home in an emergency without kicking down the door.

Lastly, you should research how to help an older person up from the floor after they’ve fallen. While experts advise against trying to pick up a person from the floor, it’s good to know the proper way for an older person to get up independently.

Get protection after falls occur from SureSafe

If you’re looking for personal alarms for the elderly, SureSafe is here to help.

We’re a UK market leader in elderly personal alarms, which means we’re experts in the subject of falls in older people. In business since 2013, we’ve garnered excellent reviews and ratings, such as our high Trustpilot rating.

If you’d like to know more about how SureSafe alarms work or which one might be best for you, why not give us a call on 0808 189 1671? You can also speak to us through live chat or by requesting a call back.