Fall detection false alarm issues

I have an Apple Watch Ultra with fall detection turned on because, well, I’m 70, so it seemed like a good idea. But today it resulted in a truly embarrassing situation and I’m really frustrated. I had just finished a lap swim in my YMCA pool and as I was walking across the pool deck the tip of my flip float caught on a floor mat. I stumbled slightly but caught myself with a quick two step. But by the time I took a seat in the sauna the Watch had started a countdown to send out an emergency alert. I tried to shut it off by pressing every button on my watch, but no matter what I pressed, I could not turn it off. Since I was in the pool area, I didn’t have my glasses, nor my phone; both were back in the locker room. Without my glasses I can’t read my watch face, so if there is a confirmation screen that required me to give a specific response, I couldn’t read it.

This is not the first time my watch false alarmed during a non-fall. The other time was when I made a fast stop on my bike to avoid a collision with a car that abruptly turned in front of me. Again, no fall, just an a sudden stop.

Today my Watch sent an alert to all my emergency contacts, including my husband and three kids. They called the YMCA and a search was conducted (no one thought to look for me in the sauna). The the aquatic director finally found me and handed me his phone to talk to my son who was transferred from the front desk. So the Y staff and my family were all ina panic all because I couldn’t shut down my sos. And I couldn’t read my watch face to text them an I’m ok message. I’m just glad emergency services didn’t show up.

So, my question is, do I have to completely disable the emergency alarm to prevent this from happening again, or is there a way to change the sensitivity of the fall detection setting to distinguish between a sudden motion and a true hit-the-ground-hard fall. Like maybe for a drop of at least 5 ft. My husband is so ****** he’s ready to throw my apple watch in the trash, but my kids want me to keep fall detection on but just figure out how to shut it down during the countdown. But, if I’m not wearing my glasses and there’s a multi-step process involved, that requires seeing, I’m totally screwed. Is there a setting that lets a side button on the phone deactivate the alarm? For now, my emergency alarm is deactivated until I find a workaround.

[Edited by Moderator]