11 Tips to Avoid Winter Slips, Trips, and Falls

Winter can often be a tough time for those of us who are advancing in years. During the cold months, it’s more important than ever for the older and less able members of our community to take care, avoiding any unnecessary injuries caused by trips and falls. To help ensure that we all stay happy and safe in the winter, we’ve put together our top tips to avoid slips, trips and falls in the coming months. So, here we have, the best ways to avoid falls in winter.

Wear The Right Footwear
Walk Slowly And Carefully
Check For Potentially Slippery Areas
Adjust Your Walking Style
Avoid Carrying Heavy Items
Stay Clear Of Uneven Surfaces
Avoid Walking In Poorly Lit Areas
Watch Out For Ice
Stay On The Path
Grit Areas On Your Property
Ask For Help

Winter officially begins Sunday, 22 December in the United Kingdom. However; the days are short, the weather is glum and festive decorations are rife in your local area. It’s safe to say that winter has already arrived.

Despite the excitement and fun times that are synonymous with winter, this time of year can also pose some problems to many of us – especially those of us who are advancing in years. The poor weather conditions that come with winter means that we must take a little extra care while out and about during this period.

Wear The Right Footwear

It might sound quite obvious, but making sure you’re wearing the right footwear is a great way to reduce the risk of slips and falls in the winter months. With wet, slippery and potentially icy surfaces being encountered more frequently, wearing the right footwear is imperative. Try to choose a boot or shoe with a thick sole and adequate grip – not only will this help to give you extra grip and prevent falls in winter, it will also help to keep your feet dry and comfortable. 

Walk Slowly And Carefully

You may already think that you take care while walking, but adverse weather conditions mean that you must take extra care. Taking extra care may mean that you leave extra time for your journey and walk more slowly than you usually would. After all, your safety and health are the priority.

Check For Potentially Slippery Areas

During poor weather conditions, it’s forgivable for you only to be on red alert for slippery surfaces while outdoors. However, it’s crucial to also be aware of slippery surfaces indoors. Unfortunately, when the weather is poor outside, the areas close to the entrances to your home can often become slippery; primarily due to people entering with wet footwear – this is something that is often overlooked. Ensuring that you have a doormat, or asking people to remove their shoes upon entry to your home will help to combat this possible issue. 

Adjust Your Walking Style

Making an effort to walk flat-footed is a good way to maintain balance and avoid slipping in poor weather conditions. Walking flat-footed means that more of your foot is in contact with the floor at any given time. Doing so creates a larger surface contact area, increasing your grip – providing you’re wearing the right footwear. It’s also advisable to take short steps with your toes pointed slightly outward to maintain a stable base of support.

Avoid Carrying Heavy Items

Typically, the cause of a trip, slip or fall is the loss of balance – and one core way of maintaining balance is to extend your arms. And as you would expect, carrying heavy items in your arms would impact your ability to extend your arms and improve your balance. So, avoiding carrying heavy boxes or shopping bags will help you to maintain balance and keep stable this winter. 

Stay Clear Of Uneven Surfaces

With the potential of snow, additional rainfall and even soggy leaves covering the ground, identifying uneven surfaces can become increasingly difficult during winter. Being wary of the fact you may not be able to easily see a bump or ridge in the path will stand you in good stead when avoiding falls in the winter. One other thing to watch out for is covered kerbs when crossing the road. 

Avoid Walking In Poorly Lit Areas

Walking in poorly lit areas with little visibility is largely not advised at any time of year. But in winter, the risk of you falling due to poor visibility is increased. The shorter days and lack of natural light may mean you’re unable to see an overhanging tree branch; or perhaps an unexpected item that has been left on the floor. If you know that you’re going to be walking in potentially poorly lit areas, it’s advisable to take a torch with you to combat this possible issue. 

Watch Out For Ice

Ice, and most notably, Black Ice is undoubtedly one of the biggest causes of slips and falls in the UK during the winter months. In fact, during 2018 the London Ambulance Service reported icy conditions caused more than 50 per cent rise in injuries from falls. Although snow and ice aren’t things to be scared of, these statistics do highlight the need to take extra care when Jack Frost is on the ground. 

Stay On The Path

It’s often tempting to deviate from the paths and designated walkways to shave a few seconds off of your journey time. And typically, this is fine. However, during winter grassy verges and the proverbial ‘off-road’ could present slip hazards that are easily avoidable by sticking to the path. 

Grit Areas On Your Property

Commonly, you feel most comfortable and at ease in and around your home. Bearing this in mind, it’s understandable that you may not be so alert to any potential slip, trip or fall hazards while on your own property. By gritting your driveway and walkways around your property, you greatly reduce the risk of a fall; you can ask a friend, family member or neighbour to help with this. You could even pay somebody to do this if necessary. 

Ask For Help

The key things to consider when it comes to keeping safe and avoiding winter falls is that you’re not alone. Don’t be afraid to ask family, friends and neighbours for support. If you don’t feel like this is an option, then there are other options out there. 

Are You At Risk Of Falling?

No matter who you are, your age or your physical condition, the winter months always present an increased risk of falls.  If you feel that you are at risk of falling over the coming months, care plans and residential support throughout the winter are available to you. 

What To Do If You Do Fall

No matter the precautions you take, unfortunately, falls do occur. If you or somebody you know does suffer a fall during the winter, then there are options available. If your fall is minor, then it may be a case of just ensuring that somebody close to you provides some extra support by popping round each day to make sure everything is okay. However, if more specialised care is required after a fall, then Oakland Care has four residential care homes in the South East of England that can provide all of the support needed to get you or your loved one back on their feet. 

Stay Safe In Winter 2019

At Oakland Care, our priority is ensuring that you stay safe – especially in the winter. We hope that our tips on fall prevention in winter have been helpful. And Oakland Care wish everybody a happy and safe few months… and beyond.