Safety

The Safest Way to Get Up from a fall.

Use these five tactics if you take a spill.

"A fair amount of media and medical attention is paid to preventing falls among older adults — but there are times when people fall, despite taking the recommended precautions. Every year, more than 25 percent of adults 65 and older fall, and falling once doubles a person’s chances of falling again, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Sometimes a fall causes a serious injury such as a broken bone. Each year, at least 300,000 older people are hospitalized due to hip fractures, according to the CDC. If you have fractured a bone from falling, it’s best to stay where you are and call for help, if possible. Even if a bone isn’t broken, sometimes older adults have trouble getting up from a fall without assistance. This is partly because people don’t learn this skill and partly because people become more stiff and less agile as they get older."

Check this site to learn how to get up after a fall.

Older Adults and Balance Problems

Have you ever felt dizzy, lightheaded, or as if the room were spinning around you? These can be troublesome sensations. If the feeling happens often, it could be a sign of a balance problem.

Many older adults experience problems with balance and dizziness. Problems can be caused by certain medications, balance disorders, or other medical conditions. Balance problems are one reason older people fall. Maintaining good balance as you age and learning about fall prevention can help you get around, stay independent, and carry out daily activities.

Plan Ahead for Emergencies and Natural Disasters

Make a plan today. Your family may not be together if a disaster strikes, so it is important to know which types of disasters could affect your area. Know how you’ll contact one another and reconnect if separated.

Establish a family meeting place that’s familiar and easy to find.

Use this page to access specific information about different types of potential weather disasters, such as, extreme heat, flooding, thunder and lightning, power outages and other forms of severe weather. Then use the various resources to help you and your family prepare for these events.

This is a great resource for emergency preparedness preparation and planning.

How to Keep Your Pets Safe While Traveling in a Car

Advice and tips on how to safely travel with your furry friends.

Restraining your pets is as much about your safety as theirs. If a vehicle brakes abruptly or is involved in a crash, an unrestrained pet of any size can hurtle through the cabin, becoming a dangerous projectile that can cause injuries. According to the pet advocacy group BarkBuckleUp, a 60-pound dog in a car traveling 35 mph can turn into a 2,700-pound projectile in an accident!

Consumer Reports offers their advice on how to keep your furry friends safe when traveling in a car.

14 Top Scams to Watch Out for in 2023

Scammers are like viruses: They continually evolve in response to the latest news and trends, using them for new ways to separate us from our cash.

These criminals “are so adaptable, they’re going to just follow the headlines,” says Amy Nofziger, director of fraud victim support for AARP.

Be Careful: Research Shows That Anyone Could Forget a Kid in a Hot Car

"Forgetting children is a common memory failure that can lead to tragic consequences"

If parents believe they would never forget their child in a hot car, they should think again. It can happen to anyone.

Since 1998, about 950 children have died in hot cars and more than half of them were left behind unknowingly by their caregiver, according to NoHeatStroke.org.

A leading expert in cognitive neuroscience who has studied the role of memory in such tragedies has found that the stresses parents face in everyday life can make these memory lapses more likely.

Forgetting a child is not a negligence problem but a memory problem, says David Diamond, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

“The most common response is that only bad or negligent parents forget kids in cars,” Diamond says. “It’s a matter of circumstances. It can happen to everyone.”

This updated, June 2023 article from Consumer Reports is an eye opener and a reminder that this awful experience can happen to anyone!

Center for Pet Safety

Center for Pet Safety – Protecting Pets and the People Who Love Them.

Featured on The Today Show, ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, CNN New Day, Discovery Channel Canada, The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, Consumer Reports, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Pet Age, MSN Auto, MediaPost and other global news outlets, the Center for Pet Safety has captured the attention of pet advocates, journalists, bloggers and the media.

We invite you to learn more about the mission of Center for Pet Safety and our focus on independent scientific research to ensure the safety of pets and the people who love them.

Pet Heat Safety

Tips to Keep Your Pets Safe During Summer

The following tips are provided by The Humane Society of the United States:

. Never leave your pet in the car.

In nice weather you may be tempted to take your pet with you in the car while you travel or do errands. But during warm weather, the inside of your car can reach 120 degrees in a matter of minutes, even if you're parked in the shade. This can mean real trouble for your companion animals left in the car.

If you do happen to see a pet alone in a car during hot weather, alert the management of the store where the car is parked. If the owner does not return promptly, call local animal control or the police department immediately.

. Don't put your pet in the back of a truck.

It is very dangerous, and in some states illegal, to drive with a dog in the back of a pick-up truck. Not only can flying debris cause serious injury, but a dog may be unintentionally thrown into traffic if the driver suddenly hits the brakes, swerves or is hit by another car. Dogs should ride either in the cab (in a crate or wearing a seat belt harness designed for dogs) or in a secured crate in the bed of the truck.

. Watch out for fertilizers and deadly plants.

Plant food, fertilizer and insecticides can be fatal if your pet ingests them. In addition, more than 700 plants can produce physiologically active or toxic substances in sufficient amounts to cause harmful effects in animals.

. Provide plenty of fresh water.

To avoid pet heat exhaustion, make sure your pets have access to cool, fresh water all day long.

. Stay bite-free.

With people and dogs spending more time outside, dog bites are likely to increase in the warmer months. Spaying or neutering your dog reduces the likelihood that he will bite and provides many other health benefits.

. Keep your pets safe and healthy year-round.

Make sure your pet is always wearing a collar and identification tag. If you are separated from your pet, an ID tag may very well be his or her ticket home.

. Check with your veterinarian to see if your pets should be taking heartworm prevention medication.

Heartworm disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, can be fatal in both dogs and cats.

. Another warm weather threat is fleas and ticks.

Use only flea and tick treatments recommended by your veterinarian. Some over-the-counter flea and tick products can be toxic, even when used according to instructions.

Food Safety - Being Careful in the Kitchen

"The best place to be as a child was in Grandma’s kitchen, especially when she’s taking a fresh tray of cookies out of the oven. Sneaking a bite of cookie dough was a must for any youngster. Grandma may have thought nothing of it then, but today, the risks of eating raw eggs are well known. For seniors, these stakes are even higher. A caregiver may be today’s gateway to good health for their loved one, starting at the basic knowledge of food safety."

This article from Today's Caregiver talks about food safety risks for seniors and how to deal with some of the risks.

Preparing Makes Sense for Older Americans: Get Ready Now.

In the case of an emergency or a disaster, older Americans need to be prepared in advance to be sure that they have the resources, knowledge and support needed to survive. This PDF from Ready.gov addresses preparing a kit of emergency supplies, making a plan and being informed about what might happen. Download this guide and begin your preparations.

Car Safety for Dogs: Training Your Dog to Ride in the Car

The American Kennel Club offers some guidelines for training your dog to ride safely in a car.