One out of four people over sixty-five fall every day, and as our aging population grows, the total number of people falling increases.  In 2016, almost 25,000 people seventy-five or older died as a result of falling.

There are several things you can do to lower your chances of falling.  Have your vision checked regularly.  Make sure that your medications don’t make you unsteady. Always stand up slowly.  Do strengthening exercises regularly. And I would add (from personal experience) look where you are going.

I wonder what resources are being allocated to deal with this problem. The U.S. government allocated more than $9 billion to develop a Covid’19 vaccine, a pressing need at the moment.  But is there money devoted to helping the elderly with their balance?

The Center for Disease Control does have some information on its website, and I hope that they are beginning to realize that this is something that we need to address.

In the meantime, watch out.  Wet leaves can be slippery.