7 Bathroom Safety Tips for Seniors

7 bathroom safety tips for seniors that will prevent injury in your Amite County MS home. The bathroom is one of the most dangerous places for seniors in the home.  According to the research done by National Institute on Aging, one out of four Americans over the age of 65 years have a fall annually in the bathrooms. This fall gives them serious damages and they end up in an emergency room of the hospital.

Bathroom safety is very critical for seniors. Injuries due to bathroom falls can range from mild to severe, but implementing a few bathroom safety precautions can save your loved one from falling risks.

7 Bathroom Safety Rips for Seniors

Why are Bathrooms Dangerous for Seniors?

Bathrooms contain sharp corners, small spaces, and hard surfaces. It includes a lot of sitting and standing and then turning around. This can create a loss of balance, dizziness, and a change in blood pressure, especially in seniors.

This is all needed for any person to lose control and fall on the bathroom floor. This is why it is very important to make sure there are different necessary protection and safety items available to make bathrooms as safe as possible.

Bathroom Safety Tips for Seniors

Replace the Bathtub with a shower

Having a bathtub might be a luxury for some of us, but for the senior generation, it is an obstacle in taking shower. Tubs are much harder to get in and get out and also to clean. Moreover, they increase the risk of falls for seniors. This is why it is best to replace the bathtub with a walk-in shower. These are far easier to access and also reduce the risk of falls.

Keep the Floor Dry

You might think about how to keep a bathroom dry all the time. However, this is a crucial task if you want to avoid any kind of risk to the seniors. Wet or damp floors enhance the slipping and falling issues for anyone and if you have seniors in your home, their bones are weak and thus more prone to damage.

That is why you have to make sure that there are bath mats to soak up water near the shower, sink and toilet area. Moreover, you have to keep an eye on the leaks. Always use rugs or mats with grips so that they do not slip away.

Install Grab Bars

Whenever someone is falling, they always try to grasp onto something and if there is nothing around them, they will fall. This is why it is always better to install grab bars in and around the shower so that the seniors have something to rely on.

The grabbing bars give the seniors a trustworthy grip when they enter or exit the shower or when they sit or stand. All of this can reduce their chance of slipping and can protect them against a fall. 

Install Shower Seating

The risk of falling in the shower can be reduced if a seat could be installed in the shower. Senior members can use this seat to shower and in this way, they can avoid the risk of falling while turning around during the shower. You can choose the seat according to your requirement.

Upgrade the Showerhead

Upgrading the traditional showerhead to a hand-held option can reduce the risk of fall, as seniors would be able to take a shower while sitting. They can sit comfortably and can take a shower.

Use Non-Slip mats

You can put on some non-slip mats in the bathroom to help seniors navigate the space more easily. This will make the floor less slippery and with the addition of grab bars, seniors will be able to move in and out easily. In this way, the walking surfaces can be made slip-resistant as much as possible and slipping can be avoided.

Make Sure All Essentials are Easily Accessible

Try to keep all the things in an easy reach of everyone. Use a convenient place where you can place all of your things and the seniors can access them easily. This will reduce the movement and turning around and eventually the falling and slipping will become minimal.

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