Puppy Love Hurts
Falls caused by animals lead to thousands of senior injuries annually.
Animals make exceptional friends and, for seniors, they often make the perfect companions for activity, mobility support and love. Unfortunately, they also have a knack for getting underfoot, which can lead to serious injury for people with limited mobility and slower reaction times.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, more than 21,000 seniors are treated in the emergency room each year for pet-related falls – a number that accounts for nearly 25 percent of all fractures, contusions, sprains and lacerations caused by cats and dogs.
“Pets, particularly dogs and cats, can be wonderful companions that provide many health benefits for older adults,” said Dr. Thomas A. Cavalieri, a geriatrician and the dean of the University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine. “At the same time, falls are a particularly serious health hazard for the elderly. When an older person falls, there’s a one-in-three chance that the result will be a fracture, which could mean an extended period of convalescence or even permanent disability or premature death.”
Cavalieri says that studies show walking dogs offers seniors much-needed cardiovascular fitness, and just having a pet in the house is thought to lower blood pressure, stave off depression and lessened symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Not all pets, however, are ideal mates for seniors.
“Some pets, though, will present a hazard just because they are so attached to their owners,” Cavalieri says. “A dog or cat that likes to nap at its owner’s feet can present a tripping hazard, especially for older individuals who have less of the strength and flexibility needed to ‘catch’ themselves when they begin to fall.”
Dr. Cavalieri offers these tips for helping to safeguard older friends and family members from pet-related falls:
• Make sure pets – especially dogs – are obedience trained to walk calmly on a leash and to not jump on visitors.
• Discourage pets from lying next to beds at night or at the foot of chairs.
• Don’t leave pet toys in the middle of the floor.
• If you have an older friend or relative with a dog, offer to go along on walks so that you can handle the leash.
© CTW Features
Matthew M. F. Miller, author of “Maybe Baby: An Infertile Love Story” (HCI, 2008), is a syndicated fatherhood blogger
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