How do you deal with loved one falling out of bed?

PS Together with a 16" mattress and a 5" foundation (boxspring) it makes it a perfect height (about chair level) to get in and out of bed.... and, it's better for their knees. Hope this helps... It's really helped my mother.

That reminds me, if you're putting a mattress on the floor and you need it a bit higher... You can buy a 'low' profile foundation/boxspring (to put under the mattress to raise it up about 5" off the ground...) walmart/ip/Sleep-Inc.-Low-Profile-5-Foundation-Multiple-Sizes/27408416 I have one of these under my mother's mattress. The low height makes it easier for her to get out of bed.

MORE on keeping in bed: We bought a twin bed with buckboard no box springs to keep it low. On really bad days, the mattress goes on the floor. It is 16" high and FIL sleeps quite well on it. If he rolls onto the floor, he can't go any further. Also check out Harbor Freight for motion sensor alarms, cost around $13 on sale. When FIL tries to get up, one or both alarms wake me and give me enough time to get to his room before he can stand. One is placed under the bed and the other on the wall on the way to the bathroom. We put velcro "picture hangers" on the backs of them, so we can move them to the walls near his day chair and on the way to the kitchen.

At the hospital, mom kept pulling the IV and anything attached to her. I remembered being shocked when I first saw her hands were restrained to the side railings. It was a loose cloth tied around her wrists and she could still move her hands up and down. She just could not reach across her body. That was years ago. I don't know if this is still being done.

To the individual who said not to tie them to the bed. If you had read my post carefully and thoughtfully, my husband is not tied to the bed. Thank you.

Friendlybed, you bet, I agree, and it occurred because my sib POA sis, would not stay with Mom in the hospital or hire a caregiver to stay with her. And I was not notified until after the fact.

My mom had dementia, and we did get to a period where she would fall out of bed. I found a very useful item, not wanting to use side rails after reading of some bad situations occurring. It's from a company called Stander. It's kind of an upside down U that is along the bed, covered with a fabric (and pockets for remotes, etc.). It is lightweight yet supposed to hold up to 400 pounds. It slides under the mattress to secure in place. It was enough to keep my mom in bed, but another feature of it was if she decided to get up, she would need to sit up in bed, and the item could assist her in getting out of bed. I also had a camera in her room so I could monitor her by vision, audio or both.

Wow- the "tied to the bed" or "zippered in" stories are wild- restraints of any kind (and that includes drugging people into submission) are not allowed in today's medical world- nursing homes are in the hot seat for anything that happens and "restraints" are near the top of the list.

Recent hosspitalization of my Mom's to try to get meds right they had a bed (maybe some sort of contraption) that zipped her in as she kept getting up.

Please don't tie him to the bed. My husband's grandmother was in her bed at the nursing home with the rails up and tied to the bed. She fought the ties and somehow ended up with her head and neck between the mattress and the rail. It
choked her and she died. I like the idea of a pillow or noodles tucked under the mattress. Tying seems to agitate them and they fight it.

OMG, I am off to get some groceries. This is quite depressing as I have no idea how to feed just me or what to buy so I don't throw alot out! Any ideas other than peanut butter, which I will get, are appreciated. I am used to feeding at least three people.

First of all, bed rails are very important but not enough. Then you have to put folding chairs all around the bed and string strong rope in and around the bed rails and the chairs so that there is no way they can "escape." Nursing homes can't do that because of state laws, but the state cannot order me to do anything or not do anything in my own home so long as it's for my husband's own good and safety.

Also, my daughter's best friend, who is an RN, urged two sleeping pills each night that knock him out. You can get them at CVS, and they are "CVS Regular Strength Sleep-Aid, 25 mg.

Here's the site showing the smaller rail. Mom has the third one down. It keeps her from falling out.
walgreens/q/adult-bed-rails

There is a rail that is mainly used to pull yourself up to a sitting position to help u get out of bed. It is L shaped, the longest part going between the mattress and boxspring. Its about 18 in wide. Just enough to catch them from rolling out of bed. No, the side rails are dangerous like said, people try to climb over them.

Heart2Heart- pretty good idea to try. I can comment on nursing homes- restraints of any kind are not allowed. Hi-Lo beds that lower very close to the floor (and often pads) are often the standard for people that are at risk. States have different guidelines on bedrails- some states have a half page form the nursing home fills out saying the benefits outweigh the risks (or something to that effect) and that gets presented to the state inspector to ok (however many SNFs think that is too much work/risk and just don't allow them at all). We had to fight to get bedrails added for my father when he was in a nursing home as we felt it was critical- and his was the only bed in that facility with them. Going back to my earlier point- bedrails on an "official" hospital bed are better designed than many that are sold for homecare use (which have few or no standards to meet).

In nursing homes as well as lowing the level of the bed they often put air mattress type pads on the floor @ the bedsides. Provides a soft landing should the person fall out!

I had a husband in a nursing home they drop the hospital beds to the floor and still use the rails but yes never do they tie them down its not human and the sencorsare on the bed for no escapes older people have ddifferent sleep patterns and need to toilet at odd hr well odd for us a. Night aide is very handy and the person will also be a comfort to the older person easing them back to sleep

I mean next to [her] your mom's body... If the chair isn't heavy enough you can put something on the seat like a stack of magazines.

Try putting a heavy chair next to the bed parallel to his upper body (turn the chair around so the back of the chair is against the bed). Let us know if this helps.

MIL crawled out of bed twice - and broke her hip both times. Both times, she had no memory of it. Sundowner syndrome. She also had continuous UTI's which definitely affected her cognition but she otherwise had no trace of dementia/Alzheimers at all. We made sure that any pain meds she got were not stronger than Tylenol, unfortunately, even when she had her broken hip and/or surgery. It all made her too disoriented. Doctors were very careful about that too. Rails on the bed are helpful but she managed to throw her leg over them and in the end it created a bigger 'challenge' and tripped her, making her fall harder. A mattress on the floor next to the bed is a good thing, even though it can get in the way. If she did fall, her landing was softer.
Better or worse, after two broken hips she was wheelchair bound. That stemmed a lot of the falling out of bed issues and created other ones.
Managing meds with infections and other conditions ends up being one of the biggest challenges.

Ahh- the bedrail debate- good, bad and in-between. People have been killed/injured by them over the years but they have also saved countless injuries. Homecare rails have no real standards so there are many flimsy versions- most made as cheaply as possible overseas. Best example I saw was one advertised with 250# capacity and shipping weight was about 2#- what a joke. The ones that slide between mattress and boxspring can often be felt under your back and do not work well with adjustable/hospital beds. Good suggestions above- much depends on the mental/physical state of the person. If mostly mental- the mattress on the floor or the swim tubes may be the best option. If falls are because of physical problems there are assistive products that would be good/safe solutions- even ones that allow a person to remain in a wide, comfortable bed instead of a narrow bed. If I can make suggestions please let me know.

You can buy a U shaped Hand Bed Rail from Amazon. They can't get their head stuck in it. It slides between the mattress and box spring. They can use it to steady themselves when getting up at night and it is gentle reminder to keep them from rolling out of bed. I got one for my Dad when he rolled out of bed and he hasn't rolled out since. Also you can get a bed alarm and keep a pad on the floor in case they do roll out. A low bed is, also, a great idea.

Good advice on NO SIDERAILS from the posters. Patients have gotten caught in them, strangled themselves when sticking head thru bars, climbed over them etc. The halo type mentioned by Linnea is the safest. Also a 'scoop' mattress has elevated sides like Katie222 mentioned. Rolling uphill is harder than rolling off a flat mattress.

My mom was falling out of bed at her AL where no side rails were allowed. they did allow one kind. It's called a halo rail I think. It is a round, circular affair on each side nearer to head of bed attached to bed rails and is just enough to keep them from rolling out of bed and also lets her use it as an assist to get out and stand up.

My Mom would drop out of bed thinking she could walk if she is having delirium,(she is completely bed ridden and can't stand or walk). Some hospital beds can be lowered very close to the floor and we have one of those plus some padded mats that can be put next to the bed. The mattress that came with the hospital bed has raised sides making it harder to get out. If you can't get a hospital bed, keep the mattress close to the floor and try some mats to prevent injury.

Just a comment, those noodles that ozark mentioned are a great idea. They are swim noodles found in the children's water toys area, they are fluorscent colors and about five feet long.:)

Try something other than Aricept. My mom took Aricept for awhile but it caused vivid, frightening dreams for her so the doctor took her off of it completely, no more bad dreams.

If he is on Ativan, try something else as well. Ativan can have the complete opposite effect on the elderly as is intended. Also saw those effects in my mom.

A low bed was a good idea...even so low as to placing his mattress directly on the floor. That way, if he rolls out, he only has 7" to go ibstead of 20+ & the likelihood of injury is greatly reduced. You can also purchase pool noodles at your local Walmart and insert them between the mattress & the floor (or box spring or bed frame if you choose to continue using them) along the long sides of the bed. Dad would have to roll "uphill" in order to fall out. Lastly, it won't prevent a roll out of bed, but if you buy padded exercise mats & put them on the floor next to his bed, it will help to cushion him & prevent injury should he roll out despite the pool noodles & low bed.

How about putting the mattress and box spring directly on the floor? This would also likely alleviate him being able to rise to standing unassisted (though also making you do this for him when you DO want him to be up and about).

My mom was a sleep walker, and even after she couldn't walk she still wanted to sleep walk and would just fall down. Before she died, I was staying the nights with her in assisted living, all night long was a battle to keep her in that bed. Hospitals and facilities don't allow rails or restraints anymore, probably with good reason. You can buy a motion detector with an alarm for $25 on-line and place it next to the bed so the alarm goes off if any part of his body hangs off the side or if he even puts one foot on the ground, you'll know. You have my sympathy, the motion detector was a very useful tool for me, even during the day (I'd move it to the living room, one step off the sofa and I'd know!). The motion detector was two separate units, the detector was one half, the sounding alarm was a small square I could carry in my pocket. Hope this helps...