Chewable Pills Supporting Bones, And Safe Falling At Home, On Holiday, And In Hotels

A major cause of accidents at home and overseas for the elderly is falling. You could fall off a ladder or roof fixing a roof at home. (This happened a couple of years ago to a relative in the USA.) 

You might fall down stairs at home or in a hotel. When you are younger, you might laugh and forget if you fall off a chair whilst changing a light bulb, or trip over a paving stone. When you are older, you cause more damage, or alarm, when you fall over a pothole, up or down steps into your house or a building. 

You might often simply trip over your own long skirt or shoe laces or bump into a trolley at a supermarket, or fall for no apparent reason at all. That's without being drunk, overtired, jet-lagged. 

Frequent Falls On Public Transport

Signs on the London underground railway, nicknamed the tube, warn you to hold onto the handrail of the escalators. They say accidents happen every week.

Mind the Gap is a sign used in the UK, China (Hong Kong), and Canada.

Mind the gap sign in Victoria station, London, England, UK. Photo author WillMcC in Wikipedia.

Prevention Of Falls

Prevention is better than cure.

What precautions can you take? The NHS Falls Prevention issues a booklet of exercises left by a trainer for those patients at risk of falling.

I have two relatives who take Alendronic, to strengthen bones. This is a prescription drug.

Chewable Adcal

Adcal, chewable calcium and vitamin D is currently in 2026 available in UK chemist shops (Europeans say pharmacies, Americans say drug stores) for anybody to buy. Adcal is free on the NHS in the UK to those British residents who are eligible for free medicine because of low income and/or advanced age and medical need.

It comes in more than one flavour. Lemon. Multiple fruits. 

You can also buy it online. Prices vary. You can search for the cheapest supplier, taking into account whether postage is included or extra.

Practical Information Falling Safely

Safe Falling Demonstration

I recall at a |Toastmasters International club in Singapore, which met at the Sheraton hotel, the late Laurence who had had part of one leg amputated, enjoyed shocking the audience by pretending to fall up the steps to the middle of the dais. He would fall and immediately right himself, and gleefully lift his trousers to show his wooden ankle. 

He always got applause and was voted the best table topics speaker. (He was volunteering to give 2 minute impromptu speech on one of the topics which in the 1920s when TI started in the USA were on pieces of paper on the table, face down, selected randomly.)

After writing this poem I started wondering how you avoid a fall. I seem to remember that he had learned to fall safely at martial arts classes, which are very popular in Singapore, and taught to all ages in the Community Centres in every area.

I have spoken to many people who train for marathons. In the months ahead of a triathlon, they practise running, plus swimming or cycling. 

My husband, when we lived in Singapore, used to run down and up the stairs to our flat on the 12th floor of a skyscraper. Good practice for a marathon, or if the lift fails. 

But what about falling?

I asked AI for advice on falling.

Advice On Falling

Minimize the impact and protect vital areas of your body using specific physical techniques:

Protect your head: 

Tuck your chin firmly into your chest immediately to prevent your head from whipping backward and striking the ground. Wrap your arms around your head to shield it from debris or hard surfaces.

Roll with the fall: 

Avoid keeping your body rigid. Instead, try to curve your back and roll along the fleshy parts of your body (such as your shoulder, hip, and thigh) to distribute the impact over a larger surface area rather than a single point.

Avoid breaking falls with straight arms: 

Never extend your arms stiffly. Also don't lock your elbows to catch yourself, as this often results in wrist breaks and hairline cracks, dislocated shoulders, or broken collarbones. If your hands must hit the ground, keep your elbows slightly bent.

Fall sideways if possible: 

f you feel yourself losing your balance backward or forward, try to twist and land on your side. Landing flat on your back can knock the wind out of you or injure your spine. But falling directly forward risks injuring your face, mouth and teeth area.Keep joints loose: Allow your knees to remain slightly bent rather than locked straight to help absorb some of the shock.

Sources Of Information On Safe Falling

I asked where Gemini got the information on falling.  

Gemini took the essential points from Mayo Clinic on Fall Prevention, and Medical Guardian on How to Fall Safely. Gemini rewrote the information without technical terms, without long words such as velocity. Gemini also left out advice on clothing and furniture.

I have further edited Gemini's text into simpler, everyday language, leaving out such terms as kinetic energy, trauma, dental, while, fractures. This helps me to grasp the facts at a glance, as well as helping all my readers in countries such as Singapore, whose location is listed in my blogger's Google analytics pages.

I have recorded this advice, firstly for my own benefit. Secondly, I am sharing it with you so that you can send me corrections or updates, and to save you time so you can start your own research if you or your family might need more information, or more accurate information.

This is intended to entertain and provide information so you can be informed and prepared when asking professionals for help relative to your own personal situation. This is not a map, just a signpost to places with maps. Please check the latest up to date expert information from sources in your area and relevant to your needs.

No wonder doctors are concerned about building bones and preventing falls.

Falling is the leading cause of injury-related death among older adults aged 65 and older.

The most authoritative and reliable sources tracking these statistics include:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): The CDC tracks mortality data and emergency department visits through its National Center for Health Statistics. Their tracking shows that falls among adults 65 and older cause tens of thousands of deaths annually (with figures surpassing 43,000 deaths per year in the U.S.), making accidental falls the number one cause of injury death for this demographic. You can explore their datasets and reports directly on the CDC Older Adult Falls Data page.

• World Health Organization (WHO): Globally, the WHO reports that falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide, noting that older adults suffer the highest burden of fatal falls globally. Their global estimates and risk factors are detailed on the WHO Falls Fact Sheet.

• National Council on Aging (NCOA): The NCOA compiles extensive research from federal health databases, highlighting that roughly one in four older Americans falls every year, cementing falls as the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for the demographic. Their summaries can be found via the NCOA Falls Prevention Resource Center.

Look after yourself. Happy holidays, and stay safe, fit, and healthy!

Useful Websites

https://fyldeclinic.co.uk/products/adcal-d3-chewable-tablets

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Travelling With Pills

 I take Thyroxine pills daily. When I travel I have several challenges. 

1 Remembering to pack them.  

2 Where to keep them handy. 

3 Knowing if I have taken the day's pill. 

4 Not getting arrested for taking in mystery pills, or forbidden pills, pills which might be for sale rather than personal use.  

5 Keeping pills cool in a hotel room in a tropical country when the hotel bedroom has no fridge.

6 Explaining what pills I want to a chemist shop assistant who speaks no English, eg Vietnamese. 

7 Finding pills in pockets or suitcases years later and not knowing if they are out of date. 

8 Having an extra pill to take first thing on an overnight flight home.

9 Having a pill at home when I get off the plane on a weekend or bank holiday.

10 Losing pills in delayed or lost luggage.

11 Finding foreign chemists cannot supply pills unless I have a doctor's prescription.

Now you are aware of the challenges, you can find suitable solutions.

Here's what I have done in the past. This is my reminder to myself. You must do what suits you and what your pill instructions and doctor advise.

Angela's System - Self Reminder

1 Place empty pill boxes in suitcases. When you pack, this reminds you to take the pills. If you forget to pack the pills, you can show the box to the pharmacist at the destination, or airport.

Write pills on the top of our packing list.

2 Keep pills handy in your jacket pocket, bag, or hand luggage.

3 Travel with a pill organizer. 

Options:

Write in your diary each day when you have taken the pill. Place inside each box the person who takes the pill, the type and/or brand of pill, vital reminder (eg not with grapefruit, one hour before eating). In case you leave the pill box in the suitcase and find it later and don't know how old the pills are, add the expiry date, which you can tear off the packet, and place inside one of the pill compartments, or sticky tape to the pill box.

4 Have a bottle of water on your hotel bedside table with the pill box beside it. Take the pill on rising, if the instructions tell you to take the pill half an hour or an hour before taking food. (That's so the pill is absorbed into your bloodstream, not carried out with the first churning of food out of your stomach.)

5 Take a copy of your prescription, showing that the pills are for you, and that a doctor has prescribed them. The cardboard pill box from your drug store might show your name and address, even if you have decanted the pills into a plastic pill box.

6 If there's no fridge in the hotel or conference bedroom, you could ask the reception or catering manager if you can store your pills in a food fridge or wine fridge. Label the box with your name, the date, and your room number and phone number.

Happy travelling.

You will find pill containers in the drug stores all over London.

Calcium & Vitamin D Chewable Tablets!

In a branch of Boots by the exit on the Baker Street side of Baker Street Station, I found chewable vitamin D tablets. Not my usual brand which are disc shaped.

These were vanilla flavoured. I still have my tubes from the other brand, and the tubes are a better shape for my bag, although longer, they are long and thin and less bulky.