I fell last winter and broke my nose. I had two shiners that last for about 12 days. My mom fell in her NH bathroom and hit her forehead. Two days later, she looked like she's gone 5 rounds with Muhammad Ali AND Joe Frazier.
I don't take a blood thinner other than a small aspirin, but I'm apparently at the age where we start bruising easily. I have a small round bruise on my chest. It looks a lot like a spot that sometimes forms after an insulin shot, but it is definitely not where I'd give myself a shot. So what could have poked me in the chest hard enough to leave a bruise but that I was totally not aware of?
Ah, the mysteries of old age! Helps prevent boredom, I guess.
My husband fell repeatedly early in his dementia. He was on a blood thinner. He constantly looked like an abuse victim! He was so glad to get a wheelchair and minimize the fall risk!
My brothers wife said he'd fallen out of bed and sustained bruising on the side of his neck behind his ear to almost his shoulder and slight bruising to his ear Does anyone think this injury is possible ?
Gladimhere brings up a good point - with most of these older folks being on blood thinners, all it takes is a small little bump and they're badly bruised. So a fall, even if she didn't hit her face, could still cause bruising in areas you wouldn't expect.
My mom once got a black eye from falling. But, L, on cumadin, got a black eye, a bad one, just from rubbing it wrong. These old folks bruise very easily.
She may have hit her eyebrow, or her head above that eye. Blood tends to pool, and then drain downward, so it certainly seems possible. Also, many older folks, and younger ones as well, take a baby aspirin, to help to prevent heart attacks and strokes, so their blood is thinner, and bruising is more likely to happen. Hope she heals up soon!
My mother fell on the street one time. Her eye and side of her face look like she had been beat. I told her that she ought to tell the doctor that dad beat her up. She looked a mess.
My neighbor in TX fell and bumped her head above her eye. She got a lump and bruise there. Her eye also turned black. She was okay, but she looked terrible like a train had hit her.
When old people fall they don't catch themselves as fast as they did when they were young. The reflexes aren't as good. It's not unusual to bump heads. Falling out of bed must be one of the worst things, since there is no time to break the fall. Scary.
For myself, if I try to lift something that is too heavy or awkward, a few hours later I will notice one eye the white in the eye has turned dark red... scary looking, but it goes away in a couple of days. And here my eye wasn't touched by anything.
A fall can result in bruising in very odd places. She could have struck her eye on something on the way down (trash can, side of the bed, nightstand....), or even just the jarring blow of hitting the floor with the side of her face could have done it. If she fell face down, hitting her nose hard enough could have caused a black eye. (I've actually seen that one with my mom - a blow to the bridge of the nose from a fall and both eyes were blackened).
My mom had a very bad fall out of bed 2 weeks ago, and the bruises showed up in very odd places. She fell on her knees and elbows, but somehow must have hit the inside of her calf with her opposite knee when she landed, because three days later, there was an absolutely black bruise - a big one - on the inside of her calf, and a couple of days after that, there was a huge blister filled with blood on the bruise. She didn't land on that part of her body, so where did the bruise come from?? We never quite figured it out, other than the knee-to-calf scenario, but at any rate, I wouldn't be too quick to doubt the facility's claim that the black eye came from falling out of bed. Stranger things have definitely happened.
I agree that it could happen; it's happened to my mother at least twice that I can remember off-hand. However, I'd be surprised if there were not other bruises as well, such as on the elbows or knees or whatever other body part(s) hit the floor as well. If the bruised eye is the only bruise, I'd be a bit suspicious.
In any event, I'd seriously consider a dr visit to check that eye. Broken bones in the eye socket can occur and can cause issues with vision. Also, my mother actually tore a retina one time when she fell on her face. She needed a lot of follow-up treatment (mostly with a laser) to tack the retina back in place.
The bruise will appear wherever the impact is. Usually for my sister it is the hip area. For me, a fall means a broken foot or ankle. For our mom, a fractured shoulder or a bruise on the nose/eye. Depends how you fall.
When someone is 86, their skin is thinner thus more prone to bruises. Even a minor bump will cause the area to get black/blue.
My Mom was having black/blue marks because she refused to use a walker, and she would tumble or bump into a piece of furniture. Then when she was placed in long-term-care, she was trying to climb out of bed forgetting she could no longer stand-up. The long-term-care tried a lot of different things to keep Mom in bed at night, and in her geri-recliner during the day.
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Ah, the mysteries of old age! Helps prevent boredom, I guess.
My husband fell repeatedly early in his dementia. He was on a blood thinner. He constantly looked like an abuse victim! He was so glad to get a wheelchair and minimize the fall risk!
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Does your brother have any impairments? Sleep disorders?
Does anyone think this injury is possible ?
I would be upset if they didn't and she needed medical attention
My neighbor in TX fell and bumped her head above her eye. She got a lump and bruise there. Her eye also turned black. She was okay, but she looked terrible like a train had hit her.
When old people fall they don't catch themselves as fast as they did when they were young. The reflexes aren't as good. It's not unusual to bump heads. Falling out of bed must be one of the worst things, since there is no time to break the fall. Scary.
My mom had a very bad fall out of bed 2 weeks ago, and the bruises showed up in very odd places. She fell on her knees and elbows, but somehow must have hit the inside of her calf with her opposite knee when she landed, because three days later, there was an absolutely black bruise - a big one - on the inside of her calf, and a couple of days after that, there was a huge blister filled with blood on the bruise. She didn't land on that part of her body, so where did the bruise come from?? We never quite figured it out, other than the knee-to-calf scenario, but at any rate, I wouldn't be too quick to doubt the facility's claim that the black eye came from falling out of bed. Stranger things have definitely happened.
In any event, I'd seriously consider a dr visit to check that eye. Broken bones in the eye socket can occur and can cause issues with vision. Also, my mother actually tore a retina one time when she fell on her face. She needed a lot of follow-up treatment (mostly with a laser) to tack the retina back in place.
My Mom was having black/blue marks because she refused to use a walker, and she would tumble or bump into a piece of furniture. Then when she was placed in long-term-care, she was trying to climb out of bed forgetting she could no longer stand-up. The long-term-care tried a lot of different things to keep Mom in bed at night, and in her geri-recliner during the day.