If you have an elderly loved one that you’re worried about staying safe at home, there are a few options that you can employ. If you don’t think that they can safely take care of themselves at home, moving them into an assisted living facility might be the best option. But if you think they can manage on their own with a few adjustments, making those adjustments as quickly as possible, especially in rooms that are most dangerous for the elderly, is vital.
To help you see how this can be done in the bathroom, here are three tips for helping an elderly loved one make their bathroom safer for them.
Get Help With Limited Mobility
As people get older, they often get very limited mobility. This can be because they lose things like balance but also because their bodies just lose some of their flexibility. As a result of this, you should make some changes in a senior’s bathroom to help with their limited mobility.
Some of the best changes you can make include things like making the bathtub a no-stop tub, elevating the seat on their toilet, and moving the items they use the most to very reachable locations. With these changes, your elderly loved one should still be able to take care of themselves when they are in the bathroom without having to put too much stress or strain on their bodies.
Make Floors Slip-Resistant
Because of the amount of water that is used in the bathroom, the flooring of this room can become very slippery for anyone, not just eldelry people. However, when elderly people slip and fall, the results can cause major injuries.
To keep this from happening to your loved one, you may want to take measures to make the floors more slip-resistant. This can be done by adding tape or other non-slip materials to the floor. You can also replace the flooring with tiles that are meant to be non-slip. Putting down mats with non-slip backing can also be helpful.
Give Them A Hand Where Needed
With weakening muscles and strength, your elderly loved one will likely need some help with an extra hand in the bathroom. But because you also want them to be able to maintain their privacy, what can be helpful to put in the bathroom are strategically placed grab bars.
If you’re able to install grab bars around places like the toilet or the tub and shower areas, your eldelry loved one may have a much easier time navigating themselves around the bathroom on their own without taking the chance of getting hurt or stuck in a certain position.
If you’re starting to worry about your elderly loved one staying safe while in the bathroom of their home, consider using the tips mentioned above to make some safety changes.