In my line of work, there are two places that I have people come to me when they fall. Either the ice in front of their home…
Or the bathroom.
You are surrounded by very hard surfaces that may be wet and slippery, oddly angled or sharp surfaces such as vanity counters and large amounts of breakable glass (if you have a walk in shower, etc.) make this area a very unforgiving place in your home.
Often loved ones with balance or safety issues can get themselves into some dangerous situations in the bathroom but there ARE some easy ways you can make it a safer environment.
Remove the Throw Rugs…Yesterday.
This is the first thing I tell families when I do an in home assessment for safety. They might look cute and may feel nice to step onto when getting out of the shower, but they present a very high tripping/fall risk when in the path of a loved one with balance/safety issues.
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Removing this ASAP might be the difference maker between Mom or Dad tripping and hitting their head hard on the sink and ending up in the hospital!
If you are concerned with wet floors after you remove the rug there is something you can do – there is something like a grip-tape-sticker you can place on surfaces in your bathroom to improve the traction and decrease risk for falls as well!
Shower Chair vs Tub Bench
Depending on what your bathroom setup is like, getting something for your loved one to sit on while washing up in the shower can be a game changer.
If you have a walk in-shower – great! Putting a shower chair is quick, easy and allows Mom/Dad to safely sit and get washed up without the risk of losing their balance and falling over in the shower.
If you have an older home you likely will have a tub with a shower in it, which can present a challenge for your loved one to step over the side of the tub to sit down in a chair for the shower.
The solution to this is the tub bench – it straddles the side of the tub, allowing you to have your loved one sit down on the bench and slide over into the shower without needing to step in/out of a slippery tub.
I cannot emphasize how important this is in minimizing danger to both you and your loved one! And on the plus side, both the shower chair and tub bench are quite affordable – much less than a trip to the hospital!
Grab bars – get a “hold” on the situation
With balance issues and difficulty with mobility present in a large portion of the elderly population, getting the proper set up with grab bars can make a huge difference in being able to safely utilize your bathroom. They allow a safe point to hang on to without needing to worry about having a grip slip from pulling up on the sink, ripping the towel rack out of the wall or falling over in the shower.
I recommend placing at least one in the area of the toilet to be able to pull up from, and if standing up from the toilet is difficult then the combination of grab bar + raised toilet seat is a winning combination.
Another placement along the wall in the shower gives a stable grip to hold onto while standing and washing some of those hard to reach areas. If you are pretty handy yourself, you can easily install these yourself, but if unable to there are companies that specialize in installing things such as these that can put them in with minimal disruption to your bathroom! The main thing to remember if you do this yourself is to anchor it into the stud in the wall, not just screw it into the drywall.
The bathroom can be one of the most dangerous places in your home for your loved ones – but if you follow the steps above you will have gone a long way towards making it significantly safer. And a safe bathroom is a happy bathroom!
