Home Care in Greenfield, IN – Ensure that Your Senior Loved One’s Bathroom is as Safe as Possible

When you are providing home care for a loved one, or even if they are receiving home care from a professional caregiver, it is important to evaluate the potential dangers in their home. Specifically, the bathroom is one of the primary places that you should look at. Falls are the number one cause of accidental death at home among senior citizens. Many of these falls occur in the bathroom and there are some obvious and not so obvious reasons for it.

Below are five areas that you should focus on within the bathroom that can help to improve home safety for your senior receiving home care.

1. Grab bars.

Grab bars are usually installed in and around the shower or tub surround. These are special bars that are anchored into the wall studs and they are much different than towel bars. If you notice a towel bar has relatively small screws that go into the ceramic tile, tub surround, or just the drywall behind it. They may have anchors that they screw into, but if you place a fair amount of weight on them, they will yank free from the wall.

Grab bars are anchored directly into the wall studs so that it can support a lot of weight in the event that someone slips and grabs onto them to hold their balance.

2. The slippery floor surface.

When you walk into the bathroom, is there a bathmat in front of the tub? What about the floor not covered by the mat? Most bathrooms have either linoleum or ceramic tile floors that can be incredibly slick when they get wet. You can add sticky surfaces to help the senior gain traction when walking into the bathroom or stepping out of the shower.

3. A shower seat.

As people age, their muscles begin to weaken. As their muscles weaken, it can make it difficult to stand in a shower for an extended period of time. Adding a shower seat can improve safety for the senior in their bathroom.

4. Sharp corners.

If you look at the sink, is it a rectangular sink with sharp corners or is it rounded? If it is rounded, it still poses a risk, but for the most part sharp corners are far more devastating in the event that somebody slips and falls. They hit their head on a corner, it can create a severe gash and lead to excessive bleeding. There are corner covers for furniture available at most any hardware store, and they can help protect a falling senior from compounding the problem.

5. The area around the toilet.

Check to make sure the toilet doesn’t have a leak, that the floor remains dry and has proper traction around it, especially where someone will be placing their feet when they sit down or stand up. You may also want to consider installing grab bars around the toilet, similar to around the shower or tub surround.

Take a tour of your parent’s bathroom and look for any potential dangers. Prevention is the best form of protection from a fall in the bathroom.

The caregivers at Great Care are available to talk with you and your family about all of your home care needs. Great Care is an elder care agency providing quality and affordable home care in Greenfield, IN and the surrounding areas. Call (317) 595-9933 for more information.