Best wearable device for fall alerts?

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Best wearable device for fall alerts?

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We are on the hunt for the best wearable for Mom. She's 100% NOT tech savvy (in fact, she's patently refused to learn), so it has to be small, not ugly as sin, easy as can be to use (for her), and it needs to really work well.

What have your elders used that you feel great about recommending?

Fall Prevention Home Safety Personal Alert Devices

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My mom never used hers..She would leave it in another room or not wear it in the shower. She fell and still thought they were not needed. An expense that did not work for us.

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Same thing happened to my grandmother. She always took it off at bedtime and both times she fell at night going to the bathroom

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My parent uses Medical Alert for 3 years now. :)

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Anastacia: My late mother used the Life Alert pendant. However, and even though she was told 1,001 x to wear it while showering, she did not, causing her to be susceptible to injury if she fell while bathing. It is imperative that your mother wear the device once you have obtained it. There are much more advanced systems now to wear.

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I use a tiny wearable called SafeWander. It connects to your phone. The App alerts you with a sound when the sensor 'moves' (sits up). it is small, i can attach to a shirt. I tell my husband it is an alarm so that I wake up. True. Not only does it save me in the middle of the night, I can be elsewhere in the house and alerted when he moves. I have also accidentally washed the device and it still worked.

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I have had any luck with alert systems. My mom is in the latter stages of moderate dementia and lives alone. She forgets to wear it, she forgets to charge it, and when she falls she forgets she can push the button to summon help. I tried Alexa but she can’t remember the name Alexa so it does not respond to her. When she falls she is often flustered enough she doesn’t know how to dial a phone. We have had to resort to security cameras inside the house. If I call and she doesn’t answer the phone I can turn on the camera via my phone and check to see where she is in the house. I can also talk to her via the cameras and hear her responses.

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My mom wears a pendant from Philips Lifeline that detects falls and calls automatically when it detects one. The person doesn't have to do a thing. It has detected a good number of falls and I haven't gotten any false alarm calls from it and it's been several years now. It's waterproof so is worn in the shower too.

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i watch

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I decided not to depend on a wearable. I used the panic buttons on my security system, adapted with a HELP tag glued to the front and mounted (via doubled sided tape strips) to the walls in likely places: 2 in the bath, 2 in the hall and 2 in her bedroom. Mom retained reading ability and was more likely to reach and use the help buttons. Although she never needed one for a fall, after she became very limited in her mobility, she did summons me a couple of times with the button nearest her recliner.

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They're all easy to use - if the wearer a) wears them and b) will think to use them in the heat of the moment.

What are you expecting this device to be able to do? What are the risks, specifically, that you hope it will reduce?

More and more of our clients are set up with devices like Alexa. If your mother would be able to say "Alexa, call an ambulance" (and isn't likely to be stuck behind the bathroom door with the shower running) then a home hub might be your best bet.

If she herself agrees she needs to be able to use an alarm should she fall, then a pendant or wrist alarm that she presses in an emergency is fine. She needs to get into the habit of wearing it night and day, because typically it's at night that people stumble on their way to the bathroom - all too often leaving their alarm tidily on the nightstand. Some people are worried about throttling themselves with the pendant cord if they wear their alarms to bed: this can't happen, they're all designed to break open if they're pulled on, it's a standard safety feature - only don't tie a knot in it, I've lost count of how many fingernails I've broken undoing knotted alarm cords. Try also to persuade her to wear it outside clothing, because fishing around under layers of underwear is not easy with a broken wrist.

If she suffers from TIAs or other types of loss of consciousness, then a Vibro type which detect falls and bumps and goes off by itself is indicated. Their main drawback is that they can be prone to going off when knocked or dropped - and it's not unreasonable that elders object to being called by their alarm services at three in the morning six nights running just because they turned over too energetically in bed. These get sent back more often than the others.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "really work well"? They all work, as in do what they're meant to do, which will depend on what service they're connected to and what cascade of contacts you've all agreed on (usually 1. primary caregiver; 2. other nominated contact; 3. emergency services).

How many falls has your mother had in the last 12 months? Has she experienced any injuries as a result? What were they?

Bear this in mind - you've listed your post first of all under the heading of fall prevention. No alarm can prevent a fall. And while of course this is obvious, and you know that perfectly well, there is a tendency for us all to mis-think that once we have "insured" ourselves and our loved ones against a risk, the adverse event *thereby* won't happen. Actually, the "insurance" can only limit the damage done - in this case, the length of time before help arrives in the event of a fall.

So if your mother is really resistant to the whole idea, it might be better anyway to get an occupational therapist to recommend adaptations, equipment, techniques and possibly exercises that make a fall less likely to happen in the first place.

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I'm with AnnReid. I saw the commercial for the watch and it summoned help after a fall and the wearer was unresponsive.
I know several people living in Independent Living or Assisted Living facilities and they have the pendants and they leave them on the coffee table, the bedside table or the dresser. Anyplace but on the body. They do no good if they are not worn.
Not sure if there are other watches that do the same thing it would be worth checking out.
For inside there are the "assistant" devices like Alexa, Dot and others that would respond to "Call for help" or "Call Anastacia"

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She might be willing to wear the new iWatch, and it’s probably the closest to what might be helpful for her.

It detects the motion of a fall and automatically connects the wearer to a designated assistance.

From your description, it might do what you’re looking for, and they’re pretty great looking. She could see it all the time on TV broadcasts.

good luck!

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I take it your reference to "new iWatch" is the same as the Apple Watch, which I've read good things about, such as this from Google:
Is Apple Watch Good for Senior fall detection?
If Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch Series 4 or later detects a hard fall, it can help connect you to emergency services if needed.Mar 31, 2022

I've also read that it's good for people with AFIB, but I don't know how that works.

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Nothing will work if she doesn't put it on. My 103-yr old Aunt who is still pretty darn sharp, stopped wearing the pendant because she's short and she kept leaning against the counters in the kitchen which would press the button and trigger a false alarm. If she shortened it then should couldn't just slip it over her head. I suggested she put it in her pocket, which she did... but then on Tuesday she had a medical issue early in the morning and because it was on her nightstand, and not her neck, she couldn't alert anyone. So, may be best to use something she can't take off and senses when she's down or not moving.

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Best wearable device for fall alerts?

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