Making Your Bathroom Safe For The Elderly

by Bathtime Mobility on January 13, 2015 Comments Off on Making Your Bathroom Safe For The Elderly

A fall anywhere in the home can be dangerous, but a fall in the bathroom is often much more unforgiving, meaning that you, or someone you know, are less likely to escape unharmed. It is also much more likely, with slippery surfaces and fewer reliable places to hold on to.

By including such features as Non-slip Mats, Grabs bars or bath lifts for the elderly, you can improve the accessibility of your bathroom by a huge margin, and massively reduce the risk of serious injury whilst in the bath room.

Making Your Bathroom Safe

Even simple things, like storing your toiletries within easy reach, or ensuring that your surfaces are kept clean of soap scum, can have an effect on the safety of your bathroom. Installing specific safety features in the best locations is the optimum way of stopping bathroom injuries.

By placing non-slip mats in strategic places, such as beside the bath, and installing grab bars in easy to reach locations, such as in the shower or close by the toilet/bathtub, can easily lower the risk of an elderly relative damaging themselves.

The easiest way to massively decrease the risk of injury when getting in or out of the bathtub is to install bath lifts for the elderly, which also help to improve an older person’s independence and self-sufficiency. By making the process as easy as possible, an elderly person needs much less help to wash themselves and can begin to enjoy taking a relaxing bath, instead of constantly worrying about the act of getting in or out.

Four Bathroom Safety Tips

  1. Ensure That You Have Proper Illumination – Luminous lighting or strategically placed LEDs can greatly reduce the risk of accidents for elderly people, or people with unclear eyesight.
  2. Don’t Use Slippery Floors – Choosing textured tiles instead of perfectly smooth alternatives, or positioning mats, rugs or anti-slip adhesive strips around the room can hugely increase the room’s accessibility.
  3. Add Safety-Bars For Additional Support – Be sure that the safety bars you choose are easy to grip, especially if the hand is wet, or the bar itself is coated in condensation. Using bars with a rubber grip can be more secure than one that is wholly metal or plastic. Ensure that they are attached tightly to the walls, and will not come away if a person’s weight is sharply placed upon them
  4. Install Bath Lifts For Elderly People – Bath lifts are designed for the ease and comfort of elderly or infirm people, and the right bath lift can hugely increase the pleasure an elderly person takes from bathing, along with decreasing the risk of any damage. Entering or leaving the bath tends to be the most dangerous point in the bathroom, whether young or elderly, and the installation of a bath lift takes this danger out of the equation.

Bath Lifts For Elderly People

At Bathtime Mobility, we are dedicated to ensuring that everyone, no matter their age or health, can enjoy a safe and relaxing bathroom atmosphere. By utilising our specialist bath lifts for elderly people, you can ensure that your bathroom is safe and accessible for any age.

We pride ourselves on offering relevant, helpful advice regarding home mobility and maintaining independence.

For more information, to request our free colour brochure or for a free home survey on how to increase the accessibility and safety of your bathroom, visit our website, call us on 0800 292 2110 or use our online contact form.

Bathtime MobilityMaking Your Bathroom Safe For The Elderly