11 home safety measures for avoiding accidental falls

A large number of accidents occur in homes, such as falls, fire, suffocation, cuts, injuries and poisoning. Amongst very young people, accidents are mainly due to lack of knowledge, experience and skills. In slightly older groups carelessness may be the cause. In very old people, slow-reaction, poor muscle coordination, poor sense organs may be the causes of accidents. Accidents on account of choking and poisoning occur mostly in very young children. Falls occur in children and old people. Fire accidents can occur in all age groups.

In order to prevent falls in the house, the following rules may be adopted as safety measures:

i. Keep things in their proper places after use.

ii. It is essential that the floors should be kept dry and clean especially in the kitchen. Any water, grease, vegetable and fruit peelings should be removed at once from the kitchen floor to avoid slipping.

iii. Unwanted furniture or any other discarded items should be properly stored or disposed of.

iv. There should be a step-stool or a step ladder to reach high points out of reach for the housewife.

v. Staircases should be kept well-lighted at night or in darkness; must have hand rails for proper grip.

vi. Any articles such as brooms, toys, boxes should never be kept on staircases.

vii. There should be little gates at the top and bottom of staircases, especially if there are small children in the house.

viii.Windows should have grilles or iron bars to prevent children from falling out.

ix. A bath-mat should be on the floor, of the bathroom to prevent skidding and falling.

x. Children should not be encouraged to fly kites from the roofs of houses especially if the walls are low.

xi. Everyone should have a torch by the bedside in case of a need to get up at night.