One of the most detrimental things that can happen to an active senior is a debilitating injury.
But what we have observed over the years is that a good number of accidents can be prevented. While this is certainly not an exhaustive list and it is not guaranteed to prevent all injuries within your home, it can certainly go a long way toward improving the likelihood that your older loved ones will stay safe and healthy for longer.
First, you need to be aware of the areas of the home that are the most dangerous. Stairs and the bathroom tend to be the biggest areas of concern. Ensuring that handrails and other holds are in place is a big first step toward creating safety. Keeping things off the floor and all walkways tidy and free of trip hazards also helps. If slipping in the shower is a concern, no-slip surfaces should be installed. Additionally, if it’s needed, there’s no harm in getting a shower chair so that washing can be done without the extra danger of falling.
This is just a start. There are always things that can be added to the home that can make getting around easier and safer. For example, there are recliners and armchairs specifically designed to assist seniors with mobility issues. There are even smart devices that can help with the detection of a fall or even detect if someone hasn’t gotten out of bed when they typically do. All of these things could warrant their own blog post, but if you’re unaware that these things exist, this could be a good starting point for you.
About one in three older adults will experience at least one fall event as they age. If these tips can help to reduce this number by even a little bit, this will be a big victory when it comes to the health and safety of the senior community.
This is something that I can attest to. I’ve written about this before, but my grandmother was injured in a fall while she was at the grocery store several years ago. She ended up having a life altering hip and leg injury, and she spent the rest of her life needing intensive nursing care. Prior to this, her health was beginning to decline, but in-home care was more than enough to meet all of her needs. She had extra supervision during the day, allowing my mom and myself to keep our jobs and know that she was safe. Her in-home caregiver ended up becoming a close family friend.
We hope that we can help you and your family achieve the same thing. Having an extra set of eyes and hands in the house is often all that is needed to ensure that your loved one is safe in the home and has the immediate help that they might need if something were to occur.
We’d be happy to help out in any way that we can. If you have questions about in-home care and how it might be able to help your loved ones to prevent injury around the house. We offer free consultations so you don’t need to worry about spending extra cash just to get some information. Finding senior care can be overwhelming, but we certainly don’t want to make it expensive, too. Please give us a call to get your informational session scheduled.
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