Is Your Loved One’s Bathroom Safe for Them?
Unfortunately, many elderly adults fall in their own homes. One of the main rooms that elderly adults fall in is their bathroom. If you need to help care for an elderly loved one, you should make sure you do a safety assessment in their bathroom. You should make sure everything is safe for them to reduce their risk of falling. You can have a home care provider offer suggestions for the safety of your loved one, as well.
Home Health Care in Northbrook IL: Senior Safety
Nightlights
Does your elderly loved one have any nightlights in the hallways from their bedroom and living room to the bathroom? If not, they are much more likely to fall. If your loved one gets up at night, they need to be able to see. You should make sure there are enough nightlights throughout your loved one’s home to prevent them from falling.
Wide Enough Doorway
How wide is the doorway in your loved one’s bathroom? Are they able to easily access it if they need to? This is a problem for many elderly adults that have to use a walker or a wheelchair. If there isn’t enough room through the doorway of your loved one’s bathroom, you might want to hire someone to make the doorway wider.
Step-Free Shower
When you look at your loved one’s shower, are they able to get in easily? With many showers, the person using it has to step up to get into the shower. This could increase your loved one’s chances of falling. You should make sure they have a step-free shower. They will be much safer if they don’t have to step up when getting in their tub or shower.
Shower Door Material
If you want to increase the safety in your loved one’s bathroom, you should make sure their shower door is made from the proper material. For instance, if their shower door is made from glass and they fall, it could break and injure them much more. You should make sure your loved one’s shower door is made with plastic or safety glass. This will they will much safer if they fall or lean against it.
Non-Slip Surfaces
How are the surfaces in your loved one’s bathroom? Do they have a non-slip floor and shower floor? If not, you should get some non-slip mats, so they can have a lower risk of slipping and falling.
Bath Chair
Is your elderly loved one able to stand by themselves in their bath or shower? If not, you should probably get them a bath chair, so they aren’t risking their safety while in the bath or shower.
These are some of the ways that you can make your loved one’s bathroom safe for them. If you make these adjustments, you can reduce your loved one’s chances of falling.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Health Care in Northbrook, IL, call the caring staff at LifeCare Home Health & In-Home Services. Call (888) 606-4199 LifeCare serves all of the Chicago Metro Area.
Sources
Medlineplus.gov
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