How do I prevent my mom from getting out of bed and falling in the middle of the night?

When my Mom was in long-term-care she kept climbing out of bed and would fall because she could not longer remember she couldn't stand or walk.

What the care center did was lower her bed and place "fall mats" on both sides of the bed. That helped somewhat, but Mom wasn't going to be stopped. Eventually the nurses/aides had to prop pillows around her which made it more difficult for Mom to climb out. Then came a time where Mom had to be given something to calm her down, that zoned her out big time... it was either that, or Mom getting hurt with her constant climbing.

I hope this will work for you, as being sleep deprived can cause future health problems for you :(

Get a Side rail that fits under mattress if u can. Attach old school bell to it.

CatyRay...is there a way that you could put a commode next to the bed. Would make it easier on you or the caregiver rather than trying to walk a sleepy woman to the bathroom. I just know how groggy I sometimes am..not to mention I sound like a popcorn popper when I walk with all the popping joints I have..that's enough noise to wake me up!

Thank you..I think this is a great idea. The fall mats will help her out , and on top that she had an appointment at the doctors office and her doctor gave her a prescription for some meds to help her sleep through the night. Hopefully this works and i can also get some sleep along with her and worry less about her falling so much. Again thank you for your advice.

I had a patient that did this and she ended up breaking her shoulder! The only thing that would stop her from getting out of bed unassisted was a hospital bed with rails that kept her in the bed. You can also try buying a bed rail. I tried this at first, but it wasn't very effective and a couple of times she managed to get around it. Have her doctor write a prescription for a hospital bed. Good luck!

The bed with side rails COULD work. It could also not work, if this woman is so eager to climb out of bed and thus, hurt herself. I like the person's comment of the medicine.

Why was she climbing out of bed during the night? My mother gets up frequently to use the toilet. She doesn't want to wet her Depend/pad (still has her pride) so she will try to get up. We have someone with her 24/7 at home when I'm not visiting. We got a side rail that has bars that fit under the mattress (as mentioned by a previous poster). She can hold on to that to pull herself up, giving the aide or me enough time to get to her to help with her walker and get her safely to the toilet and back in bed. Doctor doesn't recommend sleeping aid because that would make her dizzy if she got up during the night, increasing the fall risk.

My mom also forgets she cannot get up and do things by herself anymore and therefore risks falling to get up during the night. Fortunately, it takes her a long time to actually get herself up into a sitting position anymore, no less actually get up on her feet. I have a bed rail on one side of the bed but not on the other. Having a rail on both sides really upset her and made her want to get out all the more. So I place her walker right next to her bed, which is just a box spring and mattress on the floor, nice and low in case she does fall out in the process, and I tie two school bells on the walker at night. When she tries to get up, she invariably will kick or wiggle the walker in the process and I hear it through the monitor and can be in her room before she hurts herself trying to get up. We also have the portable commode right by her bed so nighttime toileting can be taken care of in a matter of just a few minutes and then we are all back to bed and right back to sleep. I do give her Tylenol PM, especially on evenings when her shoulder is particularly achy. It does not seem to make her dizzy or groggy but does help her sleep more restfully.

When my Aunt was in a facility in Las Vegas, they had rails on her bed. She just scooted out the foot. Right over the foot board.

The commode in the room is NOT stinky. As soon as it is used, I take the pot and dump it in the toilet and rinse the pot before returning it to the commode in the bedroom. If you do not want to use one, that's fine, but please don't imply something about those of us who find them helpful when you really don't know.