Winter-Proof Your Walk: Tips for Preventing Falls
Courtney Carter
/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2024

Winter-Proof Your Walk: Tips for Preventing Falls

As temperatures drop, your risk of slipping and falling on ice and snow goes up. If you’re lucky, you walk away with a bruised bottom and ego. But for many folks, especially those 65 and older, icy falls can lead to broken wrists, hips, and hands and even fatal head injuries. 

Of course, no one anticipates falling, but there are things you can do to reduce your risk. Here’s where to start:

Keep walkways clear of ice and snow. Apply sand or earth-friendly cat litter to well-used walkways and areas that commonly ice over to create traction.
Walk like a penguin. When walking on ice, shuffle your feet only slightly apart for better balance. Bending your knees slightly as you walk will also improve balance. Keep your hands free and out of your pockets to help you balance.

Walk sideways on inclines. When navigating icy inclines, turn sideways. Take small side-steps with your knees slightly bent for better balance and stability. 

Watch out for icy patches. Watch out for invisible ice when exiting cars or when walking up and down outdoor stairs. 

Choose your path wisely. If there are clean pathways with handrails, use them. If the sidewalk is icy, move just off the edge and walk on the snow or grass for traction. 

Wear shoes and boots with proper traction. Flat-soled footwear made of rubber and neoprene composite provides better traction than plastic and leather soles. For especially slippery conditions, you may want to invest in slip-on traction cleats or snow grips, which provide grip on snow and ice.

Use Assistive Devices Wisely.

If needed, use a cane or walker for added stability. Make sure any device you use is properly fitted for you.  Consider attaching an ice gripper to your cane tip or getting wheels specially designed for winter conditions for your walker.

Take your cell phone. Whenever you’re headed out in icy conditions, put your cell phone in your pocket. Having your hands free will help with balance, and if you do fall, you can call for help if needed.

Fall smart. If you feel yourself falling, try to land on something soft and use your arms to protect your head if necessary.

Stay still. If you do fall, resist the instinct to jump right up. Instead, take a few moments—or minutes—to assess any sources of pain or discomfort. If you can’t get up, hit your head, or feel like you may have broken a bone, call 911.

Get up slowly and safely. If you can get up, do it slowly to avoid falling yet again.

With a few simple precautions, you can significantly reduce your risk of falling and safely navigate winter's slippery challenges.

 

Dr. Lisa J. Downing-Forget, MD, MPH practices Geriatric Primary Care at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

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How to Become a Mask Wearer

Long before COVID-19, online chat groups for people with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) were filled with posts about how uncomfortable it is to wear a mask in public: not physically uncomfortable, a fact that was barely mentioned, but psychologically uncomfortable. For people with this condition or the lung transplant used to cure it, catching a cold or the flu could be deadly. They need to wear masks in public to help protect themselves from getting ill.

The participants discussed how awkward it is riding the bus in a mask, going to the grocery store in a mask, or boarding a plane while wearing one. They were mostly self-conscious that others would think they were ill or weak. Many would rather suffer the risk of getting fatally sick than put a mask on in a department store.

Now, we've all been directed to wear masks in public. Both Bennington and Wilmington's Select Boards have passed local mandates requiring masks in public places. This—along with distancing and handwashing—are crucial parts of returning to a more normal way of life. Suddenly, we are all feeling the psychological discomfort PF patients have felt for many years.

People usually have an interest in blending in. And, just like doing anything out of the ordinary, wearing a mask for the first time definitely feels like putting yourself out there. If we want to return to a somewhat normal way of life, masks are crucially important, along with frequent, thorough handwashing and keeping a distance from others.

Here are a few tips for making the leap from being someone nervous about wearing a mask to being a person who wears one regularly.

Do it for others. We know that people can spread COVID-19 as many as a few days before they get sick. Even if you feel fine, you could have COVID-19 right now without knowing it. At the same time, masks are far better at keeping sick people from spreading germs than they are at keeping people from getting sick. So wearing a mask isn't a sign of weakness; it's a sign of altruism. It's like saying, "I am not certain that I am not sick, so I want to pay those around me the consideration of limiting the likelihood I will infect them." Think of it as a badge of kindness.

Get a mask that fits. We know that masks are not completely comfortable physically. Getting the right fit makes a big difference in their "wearability." Cloth masks are readily available online and from local groups. The Green Mountain Mask Makers have excellent information and resources. If you can, purchase a few types in a few sizes to see which you like best. Buy enough of that type to allow washing between trips out in public.

Get a mask that you like. Once you have found a mask source and as long as you have a choice, pick one that you like. You can choose colors that match your wardrobe or that represent your interests, like camouflage. There are even masks that look like fashionable scarves when they hang around your neck. The sooner we start thinking of masks as part of our outfits, as essential and unremarkable as shoes or a belt, the healthier we will all be.

Try to quit caring about what others think. This one is hard. But one wise PF patient wrote, "I just don't give a darn!" Essentially, he shared that if people want to judge him for wearing a mask, so be it. Their opinions don't have a single thing to do with him. Many in the chat group applauded his confidence and vowed to adopt his attitude.

If we all do our best, soon the cultural scale will tip. Wearing a mask or not wearing one will cease to be a political statement. It will be normal. And thankfully, if wearing a mask in public, handwashing and sanitizing, and keeping our distance are all normal, going out into public again can be safe and normal too.

Donna Barron, RN, is the infection preventionist at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

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