When "falling over" becomes "having a fall"

[FatherFintanFay]

I tripped and fell on the pavement outside my office this morning - twisted my ankle, bruised my wrist, took all the skin off one knee, wrecked my tights, the works. I administered first aid to myself and mostly just felt very stupid and embarrassed, but I was interested by the reaction of a colleague who was nearby at the time. He said I'd "had a fall", and it just occurred to me that you usually hear it phrased that way when the faller is a bit elderly and frail. Everyone else just falls over.

I'm 40 - am I now officially in the category of people who need to be fussed over if I trip over my own feet, lest I break my hip?

I also thought you could only 'have a fall' once you'd hit 75. I thought it was a way of expressing the significance of the risk and potential injury.

If someone aged 35 told their mother (who could be anything between 50 and 80), had 'had a fall', I would picture the 80yo, who possibly needed hospital care as a result, and I would react with concern.

If they said 'fallen over', I would picture a fit 50yo, grazing her knee, empathise with the embarrassment, and laugh (in solidarity).

My parents are at the stage where 'having a fall' is a constant worry. I think for me the difference is that if they fall over, they are unable to get up again unassisted, and could sustain serious injury. They have both had falls in the past few years, and on one occasion my mother was lying on the floor for hours before getting help. They now both have emergency call buttons on them at all times.

An otherwise fit and healthy person tripping over an uneven paving stone and scraping their knees etc can happen at any age - it doesn't sound like you are in the market for a personal call-out alarm button yet.

I definitely could have got up again by myself, but did accept my colleague's proffered hand out of politeness, and because there was a dignity issue to consider, since I was wearing a skirt.

It's funny, isn't it. My parents are in their 70s and have all the usual age-related health niggles, but they can both walk for hours and aren't remotely frail. I wouldn't even think of saying that they'd "had a fall" if one of them tripped in the street. But I guess people are living longer, and staying stronger, than they used to - I can remember my grandmother at 75 and she was tiny, shrunken with osteoporosis, and would probably have snapped in a stiff breeze. That was in the 80s!

I was wondering the same thing last week when 86 year old DF stepped back and fell into a trug and couldn’t get out. We laughed but he just fell over as normally he would get up on his own.

DMilL had a fall because we would need help to get her up and there was no chance of her getting up unaided.

You definitely tripped and fell. (I'm nearly mid40's and was given a seat by a twenty year old the other day in a bar. I was mortified.....I'm not quite 45 and he thought I needed the seat.more than him!!!!) You definitely did not 'have a fall'.

I always associate 'having a fall' with falling over due to being elderly, frail and unsteady on your feet.

You tripped and went flying, so somewhat different.

Ouch! I hope the cake helped.
We tease DH fairly relentlessly about having 'a bit of a fall' after he tripped up a kerb and fell flat on his face.
Having a fall (or even a bit of one) sounds much more trouble than generic falling over, as in over the kids' toys or when playing sport, or suchlike.

‘Having a fall’ code with my narc dm for ‘give me attention’

Told her to get one of those alarms you wear round your neck or phone dsis

OP - you have my utmost sympathy. I slipped on the ice (walking to work in the snow) during the winter and broke my wrist. I took a perverse pleasure in correcting some people that I SLIPPED on the ice and no, I did not HAVE a fall.

It is just so patronising.

I hope you are feeling better and not too bruised and sore.

I’m recently 50 and fell over something in my kitchen 6 weeks ago and broke my kneecap ... I’ve been told ‘I had a fall’ because I’m
An old
Lady 😂

Hope you're feeling better now op. I remember an incident in my 20s when I was going down the slope at E. Croydon station one rainy day to catch the train after work. I slipped and fell onto my bottom, and not only did no-one help me up, they were jumping over my outstretched legs and carrying on running to get their trains! Must have thought I was young enough to cope with falling over.

@bellinisurge I have balance issue, and have drop attacks when my illness is bad. I think people forget that I’ve always been clumsy and panic that I’m ill when I’ve actually just tripped over the cat/ uneven floor/ my own feet.

Haha yes there is a definite change of life stage when you start having falls instead of falling over. I predict the cold calls and leaflets for stair lifts will start trickling in for you soon

Watcher I had an incident when I was in my 20s involving a slippery slope... I was going out to where my car was parked one morning, when it had been raining all of the previous day and the overnight temperature had dropped to -5°C. My car was in a little private car park which had a steep path leading up to it, and obviously the whole thing had frozen solid - it was like a ski slope. I just couldn't get any purchase on it and after I'd inevitably gone flying, I couldn't even get back up again. I was just flailing and slithering about helplessly on the ground, but also laughing hysterically because I could see how funny it would have looked to anyone watching. I managed it in the end by crawling up on my hands and knees.

But that was definitely falling over and not any of the other things on Heron's sliding (literally in this case) scale.

Hope you're ok now, @FatherFintanFay. I'm 52 and I feel that if I fell over/had a fall now, I would need two big blokes to help me up again. I fell over outside college (mature student) a couple of years ago. I was stood on the kerb, craning my neck to see if it was safe to cross, my heavy bag of books swung forward and I ended up on all fours in the gutter, while cars full of people swished past, staring at me with mouths open. The only person to be remotely helpful was a young lad of about twelve who enquired 'You alright, love?' I felt at least 100 as I hobbled away...

My ankle seems to be resprained (but it's unstable and it turns over very easily these days) and I haven't had such a fine example of a skinned knee since my age was in single figures, but my pride is what's sustained the worst damage. Perhaps I did have a fall after all!