When is the last time that you thought about bathroom safety for your elderly family member? If you’re like most family caregivers, this might be a room that you’re honestly not thinking much about on a regular basis. But those stories about the bathroom being the most dangerous room in the house are not an exaggeration. Your senior’s bathroom is a room that can hide a lot of danger for her, so it’s important to focus on helping her to be as safe as she can be. Here are a few tips for improving safety, and how home care assistance can help.
Make Sure the Water Heater Is Set Properly
One issue that is easy to forget all about is the temperature of the hot water in your senior’s home. Check what the temperature setting is on the hot water heater itself and lower it if it’s above 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Lower temperatures won’t dramatically affect your senior’s ability to shower or use hot water for other purposes, but this change makes it less likely that she will burn herself. Another option is to add anti-scald devices to each faucet.
Add Assistive Tools and Devices
Your elderly family member might also benefit from some other assistive tools in the bathroom. For the shower, transfer benches, shower chairs, and non-slip mats are all great ideas. There are other tools, too, like longer than usual shower wands and grab bars that help her to stabilize herself. Outside of the shower, consider more grab bars as well as non-slip mats that keep her from falling.
Do a Safety Assessment
If you haven’t already, it’s time to do an official safety assessment. Take into account what your senior needs and what situations might cause her to injure herself. Even small changes that you make can improve safety levels for her in a major way. If you’re not sure what all to address, talk to your senior about what makes her feel unsafe in the bathroom, if anything does. It’s a good idea to perform these safety assessments at least a few times a year to help you stay on top of anything that might have changed for your elderly family member.
Hire Home Care Assistance
Senior care professionals are another major safety feature to consider. Your elderly family member might feel reluctant to have someone helping her with bathing, toileting, and other bathroom needs, but they’re not there to make her feel bad or to remove her dignity. Home care assistance can ensure that your senior has supportive help in the bathroom while she is at her most vulnerable. They’re only there to offer the exact assistance that she needs in order to be safe. They can also help you to spot anything that might be making the bathroom less safe for your senior.
Bathroom safety is nothing to ignore. Your elderly family member needs all the help that she can get to stay as safe as possible while she is in her bathroom every day. Making even small changes in the name of safety can protect her from a serious injury.
Source
https://www.ahs.com/home-matters/lifestyle/how-to-make-bathroom-safe-for-elderly/
If you or an aging loved one is considering home care assistance in Elizabeth, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY Home Care of Parker. 303-953-9924
