According to medical practitioners, the elderly and children, mostly under-five kids, are most vulnerable. While the elderly usually fall inside houses, children are more prone to falling from balconies or in play areas outside.“We see at least one fall case a day — trivial to significant ones. In the case of elderly persons, we see at least 15% of them suffering major injuries. In paediatric trauma, around 50% are children who have fallen from heights,” said Dr Harshitha Sridhar, head and consultant (emergency medicine), Manipal Hospital, Millers Road.“Elderly patients are usually fragile, their bones weaker, and a common fall can turn into a major injury. Because of multiple medications, they will have low BP and vertigo, sometimes. Due to these factors, they usually tend to fall indoors. When BP drops, they feel giddy and fall,” she added.Among children, even the simplest activities can become hazardous. “We often see parents feeding their kids while standing on the balconies of their homes. That is dangerous. We see many cases where kids fall from height when they are being fed. If the railings are low in balconies, the kids can easily slip out,” said Dr Malarvizhi Sanjeevi, head of emergency medicine, Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road.“Parks or outdoor play areas are other common places where children pick up injuries,” she said.Victoria Hospital frequently treats fall injuries — both trivial and serious ones — among the working population. “We see a lot of construction workers who fall and suffer injuries. We also see some cases of professionals who might faint and fall from high-rise buildings,” said Dr Asima Banu, who heads the Trauma Care Centre and is principal of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute. Dr Asima noted that kids of working parents commonly come in with fall injuries, which occur either while they are going up and down the stairs, jumping and playing, or falling from cots while sleeping.(With inputs from Shrinivasa M in Mysuru)
