Nighttime could be a dangerous time for seniors to be walking alone even in the confines of your home wherein slip and fall accidents could happen. Doing measures to make your house a lot safer at nighttime will save your seniors from suffering the effects of injuries as a consequence of slip and fall accidents.

But before you could implement the safety measures, you have to know first the culprits that contribute to slip and fall accidents and given below are the reasons why they happen along with the things you can do as a solution.

1. A lot of seniors wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom to relieve themselves or to the kitchen to drink water and poor lighting at home during the night has contributed to a lot of fall accident cases in seniors. This is especially true since seniors are commonly afflicted with problems with their eyesight that cause poor vision.
   
   What to do?
   
   To prevent falls, install bright lights to help the senior clearly see his way, in his or her room, the hallways, the stairways and the bathroom. It will also be a lot safer for your senior if you provide a glass or a pitcher of water at their bedside so that they will not have to take that trip to the kitchen when they get thirsty.
   
   Providing them a flashlight at their bedside table is also good and it will come in handy in those times when you, as the care giver forget to leave the lights on in those areas mentioned above as you go to sleep.



2. Carpets, mats and rugs have also been the culprit in slip accidents. Loose carpets easily slide once they are stepped on and the seniors can also trip on the mat's or rug's curled end causing them to lose their balance.
   
   What to do?
   
   Check if your carpets have non-slip backing to make sure they are properly secured to the floor and they will not slide when stepped on, or you can also opt for wall-to-wall carpeting. If you can do away without having these floor decorations, you can also remove them as slip prevention measure.



3. Walking barefoot on slippery floors, which is a common practice at home could cause slip and fall accidents and that is no wonder because the soles of our feet have less traction on the floor.
   
   What to do?
   
   Encourage the senior to wear a pair of slippers that will provide the necessary traction. They should be conveniently placed near the bed and in plain sight, so that when he or she needs to get out of the bed in the middle of the night, he or she will not have to search for it and risk having slip injury.

As a final thought, providing your senior with an ambulatory aid like a walker, to provide support in their walking is an effective way to prevent slip and fall accidents. Having this device in their lives will give them the means and the confidence to achieve a degree of independence.