Health & Comfort is dedicated to providing all sorts of information, from useful products to nutritional advice. We noticed as we started getting a little older, that we really appreciated those things that made life easier or more comfortable!

Depending on whose figures you read, somewhere between a third and half of people over 65 suffer a fall in any given year.

The real causes of falls are many, and can be complex. Certain illnesses, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, bring an increased risk, as do some medications, notably antidepressants and diuretics, both of which are widely used in the most vulnerable age-group. Equally, there are many falls which could be avoided with a combination of exercise and commonsense. Exercise - and specifically gait-training - to improve strength, confidence and balance. Commonsense, to ensure that we remove hazards around the home (where most falls occur), such as rumpled rugs, trailing electrical flexes and general household clutter left in hallways.

You can read our guide to preventing and coping with falls in our reference pages.

Visitors to this site are expressing their interest in less stressful forms of research, with a growing enthusiasm for online, virtual events, where they can catch up with the latest news in the comfort of their own home, and at a time that suits them.The added driver for this rush into new technology is, apparently, the desire to stay in touch with grandchildren who probably don't live nearby as they did in earlier generations. Internet, email and mobile phones are therefore essential tools. Whatever the reasons, the over-65s now spend more time on the web than the 18 - 24s, making products and services of interest to this group a real growth area.

Carers have been very much in the news recently - and there are perhaps a few small signs that they are moving up the political agenda as well. Such a large group of people, who are estimated to save the country as much money as the entire NHS budget - £87 billion - every year, certainly should be receiving rather more attention. Already, ten percent of the population is caring on an informal basis for a friend or family member who can't manage alone: as increasing numbers of us develop diseases such us Alzheimer's, this percentage is bound to grow.

Caring for each other, gladly and without expecting recompense, is an important part of the glue that holds society together: as we see it become increasingly fragmented and dysfunctional, it seems ever more vital to cherish those elements that still work. Even if it was affordable, can you imagine anything more soulless than a world where all care was delivered professionally and in an institutional setting?