5 Important Home Safety Tips For Older Adults

As seniors age, they witness many mobility issues which restrict their movement, making it difficult for them to cope up with the surrounding. In order to take care of older adults, the home environment should be safe which is an essential factor for senior safety. It’s also necessary to have adequate elderly care at your homes. With a growing number of elders living independently and even at retirement homes, it’s increasingly important to make sure that they’re safe and secured where they stay.  It is not always because the home itself is considered unsafe, it could probably be due to lack of decreased mobility, instability issues and vision problems. So the need to implement senior safety measures at home becomes all the more required now. Fortunately, while aging is inevitable, accidents, injuries and fatal mishaps in the household can be easily prevented. There are a few things that elders and their families can have installed into their homes to make them safer.

TIPS FOR SENIOR SAFETY AT HOMES

1. Ensure You Have A Safe Bathroom

The bathroom is one of the riskiest rooms in a senior’s home. Falls and scalding often occur here due to wet floors. To ensure your loved one’s safety, make sure that you address the following issues:

1. Make sure you install grab bars in the shower and beside the toilet.
2. The thermostat on the water heater should not go higher than 120° F to prevent accidental burns.
3. Put rubber mats in the bathtub to prevent slipping.
4. Place a special bathing chair especially in the tub.

2. Keep Emergency Numbers In Handy

Consider a basic and easy-to-understand model. Seniors can find many options as confusing, costly, and completely unnecessary. Equip the feature for larger keypad numbers and a display window that will be easier to press and see. You can also set up a “call display” feature on a telephone. Aging brains can’t always remember emergency information. So make sure that they have the numbers logged onto their telephones.

3. Safety-Proof Your Home

Make sure all the rooms, hallways, stairs, and paths are well lit and clear of objects such as books, toys or shoes. Use rails and banisters when going up and down the stairs. Never place scatter rugs at the bottom or top of stairs. Tape all area rugs to the floor so they do not move when you walk on them.

4. Assess Your Lighting Properly

Aging in seniors leads to improper vision or hindered eyesight. Seniors have a chance to misjudge or completely avoid darkened areas in their own homes.

1. You need to replace any burnt-out light bulbs.
2. Install new and bright light fixtures.
3. Remember to install motion detection lighting inside and outside the home.
4. Test all lighting by standing in one corner of a room, look across the room, and try to see a clear path.

5. Check With Your Seniors Frequently

Lastly and most importantly, check for the safety of your loved ones. You, your loved one’s neighbors, and a professional caregiver can help to make sure they are safe. Make them feel secured, cared and show them you love them by continuously attending to their needs.

Your home is ticked senior-safe if all the above-mentioned points are already there in your home. If not, then you might want to consider it for your loved senior’s safety. We at The Chennai Homes have equipped our retirement homes with the most relaxed, calm, and senior-friendly atmosphere. Starting from in-house doctors and care-takers to installing grab bars in the toilet, we constantly strive to put our best efforts into making those golden years of utmost satisfaction and comfort. The moment you step into our community, you can never let go of the senior care ambiance. To know more about our facilities, call us at +91 99419 95555 for more information.