Every eleven seconds—this is the average time that a senior is treated in the emergency room for a fall. What’s worse, a one-time fall increases their risk of falling again.
According to the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, the bathroom is the second most hazardous place, after the stairs, for seniors to use.
Thus, as your trusted provider of home care in Wilmington, Delaware, we at Greater Works Companion Care, LLC went ahead and listed down some of the ways you can make the bathroom safer for your senior. Among these include:
- Be mindful of the riskiest parts and use of the bathroom including:
- Wet floors
- Getting in-and-out of shower or bathtub
- Lowering and/or standing from the toilet
- Unstable handrails
Better yet, enlist our companion care in Delaware to ensure that they will be assisted when they need to be.
-
- Remove hazards
These include everything that can potentially cause tripping or falls such as:
- Mirrors (especially for seniors who have dementia)
- Non-rubber mats
- Unnecessary clutter such as random clothes that should have already been in the laundry basket, empty bottles, decor, and other extra things that can obscure your senior’s vision or sense of space.
-
- Install preventive measures
These refer to any modifications you can do to ensure that no falls will happen as they attend to their hygiene and personal care.
- Put up enough lights
- Install a raised toilet seat with handlebars
- Use a hand-held showerhead for ease of use
- Strategically place grab bars