What should you do if you fall down the stairs?

If possible, slap the stairs or floor with a shoe or otherwise make as much noise as you can. You should also try to get to a safe, comfortable space to wait for help. This may mean moving off the stairs if you aren’t on a flat surface. If you feel that moving will cause further injury, then stay put and wait for help.

Is falling down the stairs fatal?

Most fatal falls from stairs are caused by serious head injuries5, 6, 8). Whenever a fatal stair-accident occurs, the actual duration time until receiving the first impact by falling down the stairs is within a second, according to the author’s experiments9, 10).

Should you go to the hospital if you fall down the stairs?

If your back pain after falling down the stairs persists for a few days, you should seek medical attention. Depending on the severity of the back pain, you can either see a physical therapist or a medical doctor as your first point of contact. Some people even choose to work with athletic trainers, too.

What happens to your body when you fall down?

Falls can cause broken bones, like wrist, arm, ankle, and hip fractures. Falls can cause head injuries. These can be very serious, especially if the person is taking certain medicines (like blood thinners).

Can you get paralyzed from falling down stairs?

A complete injury of the spinal cord means that the spinal cord has been severed, and this results in paralysis from the point of the injury downward.

How common is death from falling down stairs?

Accident Statistics Related to Falling Down Stairs

Reviewing falling down stairs injury statistics uncovers even scarier information: every year there is an average of 12,000 deaths as a result of a stairway accident.

Do you feel pain when you fall?

As the adrenaline wears off, a person can feel pain, soreness, swelling, and experience other symptoms, such as bruising. These are signs of soft-tissue injuries, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, which are below the surface and, therefore, hard to see.

When you fall on your buttocks?

A slip and fall onto your buttocks can result in a coccyx (tailbone) injury. If you see your physician about your pain, you could be diagnosed with coccygodynia, which is pain at the coccyx. The coccyx is located at the very tip of your spine between your buttocks.

Why do I fall without warning?

This can be caused by dehydration, ageing circulation, medical conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and heart conditions and some medications used to treat high blood pressure. inner ear problems – such as labyrinthitis or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) problems with your heart rate or rhythm.

What happens if you fall backwards?

A backward fall can lead to serious bodily injury. The consequence of the fall may be contusions of the body as well as bone fractures, which are especially dangerous for the elderly due to possible problems with bone fusion.

What kind of injuries can you get from falling down the stairs?

Some of the most common injuries from falling down stairs include sprains, strains, soft tissue injuries, broken bones and fractures, and head and neck injuries, including concussions and traumatic brain injuries. In some cases, the victim was not at fault for the stairway accident.

Should I go to doctor after a fall?

Seeing a doctor immediately after a fall is imperative. Waiting to seek medical treatment can prolong your discomfort and possibly worsen your condition. You could also be at risk of falling again.

How long after a fall can you feel pain?

It can take a few minutes to feel pain from injuries. If someone else falls it’s important to reassure them, and assess the situation together, before you act. Find out more about what to do when someone falls in this leaflet (PDF, 1 MB).

How do people fall on stairs?

WHY DO PEOPLE FALL? Professionals who study why people fall on or from stairs have identified three main contributing factors: Environmental factors including poor design, construction and maintenance of stairs, non-existent or dysfunctional handrails, poor lighting and other features such as poor tread surfaces.

Can a fall make you feel ill?

Over the next couple of days you may experience some mild symptoms such as minor headaches, feeling dizzy, irritability, tiredness, problems with concentration or memory, feeling sick without vomiting, lack of appetite and problems sleeping.

How often do people fall on stairs?

They found nearly 25 million patients treated in ERs over those 23 years, representing an average rate of about 38 stair-related injuries per 10,000 U.S. residents annually, which is about 3,000 per day or one injury every 30 seconds.

Can falling down the stairs cause internal bleeding?

If you experience neck or back pain after falling down stairs, seek medical attention. Internal bleeding – Blood vessels inside the body can be torn or crushed by the impact of a fall.

What does stomach bleeding feel like?

If sudden, massive bleeding happens, you may feel weak, dizzy, faint, short of breath, or have cramp-like belly pain or diarrhea. You could go into shock, with a rapid pulse and drop in blood pressure. You may become pale.

Can internal bleeding go unnoticed?

Because it occurs inside your body, internal bleeding may go unnoticed initially. If the bleeding is rapid, enough blood may build up to press on internal structures or to form a bulge or discoloration under your skin. Severe internal bleeding can cause shock and loss of consciousness.