Preparing for the First Parkinson's Disease Fall

As cliché as it sounds to say don’t panic, you will get up from the fall albeit not without some bruises and perhaps some pain. It’s also imperative that the person helping the patient up from the fall be trained in the proper way to do so if they are not emergency medical personnel. They shouldn’t rush the patient if they aren’t ready to get up from the fall, increased tremors from fright may make them have a second fall which may exacerbate any injuries that they may have already sustained. Rather than have them stand all at once, the patient should be encouraged to scoot to a piece of furniture and helped to a sitting position there. If they insist on standing, a transfer belt is the best way to assist to a standing position without injury to the patient or helper. The transfer belt should also be used to help lower them onto furniture as well. Before doing any of that though, you should asses that it is safe to taking the risk of moving the patient at all. If you’re unsure resist moving them and call emergency responders if they haven’t already been alerted