Falls Prevention Tip 3

Falls Prevention Tip 2

Walk in Honor of Cancer Survivors

Falls Prevention Tip 1

Risk Factors for Falling

People fall for a variety of reasons. Some people are more prone to falls than others. These people generally have one or more “risk factor” for falls. This means they have a condition or a characteristic that makes them more likely to fall.

These characteristics significantly increase a person’s risk of falling:

• Being female
• Being white or Asian
• Being over age 65
• Being thin
• Smoking
• Having a family history of falls
• Having had a previous fall
• Having lower body weakness
• Having gait or balance problems
• Having osteoporosis
• Having foot problems
• Having low blood pressure or blood pressure that drops when the person stands up
• Having had a stroke
• Having physical limitations
• Wearing glasses or having other visual problems
• Having more than one chronic disease
• Having Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, seizure disorder, or other neuromuscular disease
• Having urinary incontinence
• Having Alzheimer’s or being confused or cognitively impaired
• Lack of exercise
• Excessive alcohol intake
• Low calcium intake
• Having early menopause
• Taking more than four medications
• Taking psychotropic medications
• Wearing shoes with thick, soft soles

Call the Extension Office for a brochure about Risk Factors on Falling and help yourself or your parents learn their risk levels.  #STEADIAsYouGo

Why Do We Need Work on Preventing Falls

The Quay County Extension Service and the Health Council have form the Falls Prevention Network to help Quay County residents reduce our falls rate.

In the United States, every 29 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall. Every 15 seconds an older adult is treated in an emergency room for a fall-related injury. Nationally Falls remain the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries for older Americans.

In New Mexico Falls are also the leading cause of injury-related deaths and hospitalizations among adults 65 years and older. Our rate is two times the national rate and we are the 7th highest in the nation for fall related deaths in older adults.

 

The costs associated with falling are high.  In 2013, the direct medical costs of falls in the United States, adjusted for inflation, was $34 billion.  On average, the hospitalization cost for a fall injury was $35,000.  Falls are responsible for at least 95% of the hip fractures among older adults.  Hip fractures often cause an elderly person to lose functional abilities and develop other health problems. Sometimes hip fractures lead to death.

Follow our #SteadiAsYouGo on FaceBook and Instagram to learn how to help your friends and family members reduce their chances of a fall.

Measles: Why Vaccinate?

Sonja Koukel, PhD
Community & Environmental Health Specialist

Measles (Rubeola) is a serious respiratory disease that occurs in the lungs and breathing tubes. It is spread from person to person through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Droplets can remain suspended in the air for up to two hours.

In the entire year of 2014, there were 23 reported outbreaks of measles in the United States. In 2015, there were 176 reported outbreaks in just 3 months (January 1 to March 13)! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows 465 individual cases of measles confirmed in 19 states since January 1, 2019. What is known about this outbreak:

·       The majority of people who got measles were unvaccinated.

·       Measles is still common in many parts of the world including some countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa.

·       Travelers with measles continue to bring the disease into the U.S.

·       Measles can spread when it reaches a community in the U.S. where groups of people are unvaccinated.

Prior to 1963, nearly everyone in the U.S. became infected before the age of 15. There were an estimated 3-4 million cases of measles each year in the U.S. and an average of 450 measles-associated deaths reported annually (1953-1963).

A measles vaccine was licensed in 1963. In the years following, the number of measles cases dropped dramatically. By 1981, the number of reported measles cases was 80% less compared with the previous year. In 2000, measles was declared eliminated from the U.S.

Today, the measles vaccine is usually combined with mumps and rubella - called the MMR shot. This vaccine is the best way to protect against measles.

What are the advantages of having everyone vaccinated?
 
Herd immunity is the concept behind mass vaccinations. Vaccinated people act as a barrier and reduce the risk of infection for people who cannot be immunized, such as the very young or those with compromised immune systems. For instance, health experts recommend first vaccines for children between 12 to 15 months of age.

Following are graphics used to demonstrate how herd immunity protects in a hypothetical measles outbreak (Corum et.al., 2015).

In a measles outbreak where nobody has immunity, one infected person might infect 12-18 people. Each of those infected people might each infect another 12-18 people. At this rate, a small outbreak quickly grows out of control.

Every vaccinated person (represented with green) reduces the potential sources of infection. Thereby, reducing the risk to unvaccinated people. This reduction in risk is sometimes calls the herd effect (Fig. 2). The presence of vaccinated people helps slow the spread of the disease (Fig. 3).

For an outbreak to end quickly, each infected person must infect, on average, fewer than one other person. In this example, at least 17 of every 18 people (more than 94%) would need immunity. This threshold is sometimes called the herd immunity threshold. To maintain this threshold within a community over time, children need to be vaccinated at a high rate. 

For more information on childhood vaccines and the measles shot, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website (www.cdc.gov). Talk to your primary care provider for a vaccination schedule.