Most older people highly value their independence, and the vast majority prefer to remain in their own homes rather than moving in with a relative or going to a care facility. At the same time, many children of elderly parents worry about their loved ones’ safety as they grow frailer. Falls alone are a significant threat to older people’s health – and almost one third of seniors experience at least one fall each year.

A personal alarm for the elderly is a great way to add a layer of protection for older people who are vulnerable and living alone. This simple device allows an elderly person to call for help fast in an emergency such as a heart attack or a fall, and more advanced devices can even sense when their wearer falls.

But how do you know it’s time for someone to get a personal alarm? There are numerous risk factors to consider, including your parent’s health and the environment they live in. Here are 10 key signs that can indicate it’s time for your elderly parent to get a personal alarm for their safety.

1. Risk factors for heart attack or stroke

If your parent’s GP has warned them that they are at risk of having a heart attack or stroke due to high blood pressure, heart disease or other factors, it’s crucial to put protections in place right away. This is because the health symptoms involved can make it impossible to get to a phone or dial it. For example, a severe stroke can cause confusion and mobility difficulties that prevent a person from standing up or going through the steps to make a phone call.

As a result, seniors who suffer these emergencies can be unable to get up from the floor to get help and can end up lying on floors for hours or even days – an awful situation.

But alarms with a simple one-touch SOS button or automatic fall detection can ensure help is on the way to an older person in medical distress. Here at SureSafe, our customers tell us how our alarms have made a difference after heart attacks and strokes, ensuring that older people wearing them didn’t have to lie alone until they were found.

In the worst-case scenario, a lack of speedy help after a heart attack, stroke or other medical emergency can have deadly consequences. So, a senior who is at risk of these conditions needs to have a way to get assistance 24/7 – and that’s a personal alarm.

2. Reduced mobility

If your older parent has any level of reduced mobility, including stiffness, pain, numbness or muscle weakness, you’ll want to seriously consider addressing their risk of falls.

It is surprisingly easy for an older person to fall. It just takes one loose slipper or a rumpled rug to cause a disaster. And when they do fall, they’re more likely to be injured. For example, according to NICE, nearly 50% of women aged 80 have weaker bones due to osteoporosis, which means a higher risk of fractures after a fall.

What’s more, lying on the floor for an extended period of time after a fall can add further serious health impacts on top of any injuries from the fall. Seniors who can’t get up from the floor can suffer hunger, dehydration, pressure sores, hypothermia and severe psychological harm. Being stuck on the floor is frightening – no-one should have to go through that.

So, while it’s always worth taking steps to reduce the likelihood of a fall or emergency at home, older people also need a plan for getting help fast if a fall does occur. They need a personal alarm that’s with them on a wrist or as a pendant even when a mobile phone is away in another room or up on a countertop.

3. Mishaps or falls

Many of our customers report that they purchase alarms for their parents after one fall or emergency has occurred. And that’s a very smart choice. Seniors who fall once are more likely to fall again – which is thought to be partly because they can develop a fear of falling.

So, if your elderly parent has fallen once, or if they’ve experienced an emergency where they needed help and couldn’t get it, you’ll want to prepare for this type of mishap to happen again. Not all falls result in serious injuries, but the more times a parent falls, the more opportunities they have to be badly hurt. That means it’s crucial to put protection in place as soon as possible so they can get assistance fast.

4. Confusion or dementia

So far, we’ve mostly focused on physical medical problems that can cause emergencies. But problems with thinking are an equally important risk factor to consider – and not just for those with severe dementia.

According to the NHS, one out of every 11 older people in the UK has dementia. But the UK’s Alzheimer’s Society estimates that over a third of people with dementia aren’t diagnosed.

Seniors can also have a condition called “mild cognitive impairment” (MCI) that involves challenges with thinking that aren’t severe enough to be called dementia. And confusion in older people has other causes, too. Medication side effects or epilepsy in the elderly can both be responsible for episodes of confusion in seniors.

All of these factors can lead to an increased likelihood of falls or emergencies, so it’s crucial to take steps to help elderly parents who are experiencing confusion, whatever the reason. You’ll naturally start by seeking medical advice. But another key step is getting a personal alarm so you or another loved one can assist your parent if they encounter trouble due to their thinking.

It goes without saying that more severe dementia can also increase the likelihood of falls or accidents. For example, people with advanced dementia can perceive a dark rug on the floor as being a hole, so they can end up tripping because they don’t understand the surface under their feet. This is why carers for people with severe dementia also find personal alarms helpful – they’re a backup layer of protection that can provide peace of mind for the carer when the carer is sleeping or doing activities in a different part of the home from the person with dementia.

5. Nervousness about traveling or going outside

We’ve talked about how important it is for seniors to be able to keep living in their own home if they want to. But it’s also important that they feel able to confidently go outside and enjoy their freedom.

If you notice that your older parent has become nervous about being outdoors, particularly alone, this can be a sign that it’s time to get a personal alarm for them. While some personal alarms work only within the home, you can also get alarms that are mobile and have GPS tracking. These alarms can offer peace of mind to an older person who wants to walk their dog or just go for a healthy stroll in a park or green area. If an emergency or fall occurs while the alarm wearer is alone, the alarm lets them call for help right away, and the GPS tracking function allows helpers to locate them.

It's been well proven that taking walks can have great benefits for seniors, including health and mental wellness benefits. So, if fear of needing help while alone outside is preventing your parent from going for walks, getting a personal alarm is a great choice.

Retirement is also a great time for traveling, but fear of needing help while in an unfamiliar place, away from family, can prevent older people from doing it. Personal alarms can help here, too.

6. Feelings of isolation or fear

On a similar note, older people can start to feel lonely and fearful as they age. Even if they remain in their own home, they may find that fewer family and friends are nearby. And if there’s nobody just down the street to check in on them, they may worry that no-one will realise something’s wrong after they fall or have a medical emergency.

This is exactly the kind of situation that personal alarms are made for. With a personal alarm, an older person doesn’t have to wait for someone to come to their house and notice that they’re not answering the door. They can simply press a single button – and with a SureSafeGO alarm, they can speak directly through the alarm device to a loved one to get reassurance and comfort while help comes.

7. Difficulties in extreme weather

Sometimes, weather factors are also a sign that a senior might need a personal alarm. If your elderly parent has ever:

Suffered heat exhaustion or started to feel ill from extreme heat
Started to feel ill from the cold, including difficulty breathing
Struggled with clearing snow
Worried about slipping on ice over their driveway or pavement, or
Faced a risk of flooding in their home,

– then they could likely benefit from a personal alarm that will let them raise an alert in these emergencies. Older people’s bodies simply don’t handle extremes of temperature as well, and seniors can become overheated or hypothermic without even realising it. Cold weather also raises the risk of heart attacks and strokes and can cause difficulty breathing, particularly for people with conditions like COPD or asthma.

8. Household risks

Sometimes, a home that was perfectly suited to a younger person becomes hazardous to them when they age. Poor lighting, steep or uneven staircases or slippery bathtubs are classic fall hazards that can be present in many homes. And after a lifetime of living in one place, clutter can build up in a home and present a tripping hazard to an older person with weaker eyesight or decreased mobility.

There are steps you can take to make an older person’s home less dangerous. But it may not be possible to make some changes, and elderly parents may not agree to others.

If you take a look at our home safety checklist and find some issues that can’t be remedied, it’s probably a good idea for your older parent to get a personal alarm. While preventing falls is always ideal, there is no way to completely eliminate the chances of a fall – so it’s crucial to have a plan in place about getting help if a fall does occur.

9. Troubles with poor vision

We’ve already touched on the issue of poor vision. But it’s worth mentioning this point specifically.

Many people find that they have more vision difficulties over the years – such as needing to switch between different pairs of glasses for reading and for distance sight. And, as you now know, older people’s eyesight is generally worse at night regardless of any near-sightedness or far-sightedness.

Adding lighting can help. However, if your older parent is starting to experience serious issues with seeing or even just switching between the different pairs of glasses they use, it’s a good idea to get a personal alarm in case their vision problems lead to a fall.

10. Other health conditions causing difficulties

In addition to the health conditions we’ve already discussed, many other conditions can potentially raise a senior’s chances of falling – and some of them might surprise you.

For example, some elderly people experience a drop in appetite or may become dehydrated. Of course, both hunger and dehydration can cause fainting – which can lead to a situation where an older person is injured from the faint or just can’t get up from the floor. This is one reason why a decrease in appetite or hydration is a red flag for danger.

Difficulties with even mild incontinence can also lead to falls. If an older person is often rushing to the toilet, that increases their chances of tripping or slipping and falling.

Alcohol abuse is another issue to be aware of, as it can cause trips and falls, passing out or other dangerous situations at home.

If you’ve noticed any of these conditions affecting your parent’s wellbeing or safety, see if you can talk to your older parent’s GP about their risk of falling. And consider getting a personal alarm for them, too.

Get more protection and peace of mind with SureSafe’s lone worker alarms

At SureSafe, we’re passionate about keeping seniors safe through elderly personal alarms. That’s why we’ve created the SureSafeGO and the SureSafe Dementia Tracker. These alarms offer all the functions we’ve mentioned and more – a one-touch SOS button, automatic fall detection and GPS tracking. You can even opt for geo-fencing, where the alarm sends you an alert if your parent with dementia leaves a designated safe zone.

If you’d like to know how our alarms can help address the specific risks you’re concerned about, give our expert team a call on 0808 189 1671. You can also get in touch through our live chat or request a call back.