The bathroom has the notorious distinction of being the most dangerous room in the home. It’s not without reason that the bathroom has attained this ominous reputation. With its slippery surfaces and much-needed presence of water-using facilities, a bathroom is a high-risk area for slips and falls. This is not to say that people – especially those with mobility issues – should keep out of the bathroom. Certainly not. There are just a number of safety measures that should be practiced.
However, bathrooms are not the only rooms of the home where safety needs to be a priority. Especially when seniors live in your household, it’s imperative that all rooms are designed to keep your home’s inhabitants safe. The bedroom is certainly no exception. When you consider that many seniors spend a great deal of time in their bedrooms, it’s incredibly important to make sure that their rooms present as few hazards as possible.
“It’s easy for seniors to fall in the bedroom, especially when getting in or out of bed,” says Senior.com, “Or, when getting dressed. These, and other hazards, make the bedroom another room that would benefit from safety updates.”
Remove all tripping hazards.
Giving your elderly loved ones clear walking paths is of paramount importance. Because since most seniors tend to make numerous bathroom trips throughout the day, you want to make sure there is nothing to obstruct their paths to and from the bathroom. That means being mindful of picking up clothing and other items they may have dropped.
You also want to consider the type of bedding they have on their beds. “Avoid bedspreads, bed linens and draperies that reach the floor in order to keep feet from getting tangled,” suggests EasyRest.com, “Before getting out of bed look at the floor and make sure pillows or blankets have not fallen down onto your walking path.”
Keep the bedroom well-lit.
Your elderly loved ones should have easy access to lighting. Not only should all bulbs in ceiling lamps and tabletop lamps be in good working order, but a flashlight should be placed by the bedside as well. That way, even during a power outage, your elderly loved one can safely see where he/she needs to go.
Senior.com suggests using lighting methods that are of the very-easy-to-activate variety. “Make it easier to turn lights on and off by making any bedside lamp touch activated,” recommends the site, “Use removable mounting strips to attach the touch sensor in a convenient place.”
Install bed rails.
Helping elderly loved ones to safely walk in and out of their bedrooms is important. However, they also run the risk of injuring themselves in their sleep. The last thing you want is for your elderly loved one to roll out of bed in the middle of the night. A bed rail can help prevent such a mishap.
At Advantage Home Health Solutions, we’re proud to offer such accessibility products for the bedroom as super poles, grab bars, ceiling lifts, M-rails and bed rails. For more information, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 403-460-5438. You may also email us by filling out the form on our Contact page!
