Avoiding Falls and Spills in the Home

People of any age can have trouble getting around the house – a teenager recovering from a sports injury, a baby boomer in rehab from a heart attack or surgery, an elderly person with arthritis or balance problems. Whether your limited mobility is temporary or permanent, there are many things you can do to make your home safer and your life easier.

Modifying your home can be as simple as rearranging some furniture or putting in a few handrails in strategic locations. But it also includes more substantial measures that can be worthwhile if you have long-term mobility issues.

Preventing Falls: Make a Smooth Entrance

Building entrances can be safety hazards, especially in bad weather. And when it’s difficult to get around, even a step or two can seem like a mountain. Make sure the path from the street to your front door is well lit and clear of objects.

If you have stairs, make sure there’s a sturdy handrail -- on both sides, if that helps. Adding a second banister on the other side can make a huge difference, especially if one side of the body is more impaired than the otherEven if there’s just one step that is difficult to negotiate at the front door, consider installing a grab bar. You can also rent a ramp for walkers and wheelchairs if you need a temporary solution.

Home Safety: Be Creative in the Kitchen

Use simple solutions that minimize stretching, bending, lifting, and carrying:

· Don’t leave things hanging. Put pans on a countertop rack -- or simply leave them out on the stove -- instead of hanging them or putting them in a drawer. Store plates, bowls, cups, and other heavy-use items in a single, easily accessible drawer or shelf, not spread around the room. Try to reserve high shelves for things you don’t need often.

· Invest in a reacher. These clever, inexpensive tools have multiple uses around the house. You can retrieve items from the floor without bending over and from high shelves without using a footstool, which can be a safety hazard. In the kitchen, you can use a reacher to wipe up spills while seated or standing.

· Stay seated. Put sturdy chairs with arms in strategic kitchen locations so you can sit when you cut vegetables or do other kitchen tasks

· Let shelving do the heavy lifting. Slide-out shelving or a Lazy Susan -- a round, revolving tray -- in corner cabinets and refrigerators can make things easier to reach. A wheeled cart such as a tea cart is a little more of a financial investment but can provide extra storage and help move heavy items safely and easily. For example, use it to move a pot from the refrigerator to the cooking range.

· Keep the floor dry. Kitchen floors are prone to spills. Have paper towels and a reacher handy for cleanup.

Keeping Balance in the Bedroom

Your bedroom is your sanctuary. To keep it that way:

· Make your bedroom easily accessible. Going up and down stairs can be exhausting -- and dangerous -- if you have impaired mobility or balance problems. Consider converting a room on the main floor of your home into a bedroom if your bedroom is upstairs. Then move your bath and grooming products to a downstairs bathroom.

· Make your bed comfortable. Extra pillows can help if joint pain makes it difficult to get comfortable in bed. If you have trouble getting in and out of a bed that is too low, put it on risers to make it easier.  If it’s still tough to get up, add a bedside grab rail.

· Keep essentials handy. Put drinking water, pills, a flashlight, a telephone, and important phone numbers on a nightstand -- on your side of the bed. If it might be necessary to summon help from a caregiver nearby in the house, keep a bell on the nightstand, too. Or buy an inexpensive wireless doorbell if the person is farther away. Just knowing that it’s possible to get help in the middle of the night can be very reassuring.

· Be ready when nature calls at night. If you usually wake at night to use the bathroom, install a night-light or two to help you get there safely. If you’d rather not venture that far at night, it may be worthwhile to purchase a portable commode for your bedroom. An even more convenient and less expensive option for men is a plastic urinal -- an appropriately shaped container with a lid -- which can be used in bed.

· Make dressing easier. Sitting in a sturdy armchair to dress and undress can be more stable than sitting on a bed or standing. And you can use the arms to steady yourself when you sit down, reach, or stand up. Use a long-handled shoehorn to put on shoes without bending over. A dressing stick – essentially a stick with a hook at the end – can help you pull on pants or skirts, take off socks, and reach clothes that are hung up high.

Making the Bathroom a Slip-Free Zone

Bathrooms are hot spots for falls and injuries. Fortunately, many bathroom safety measures are simple and inexpensive:

· Don’t rush in the bathroom. Hurrying can make you less careful. Don’t wait too long before going to the bathroom.

· Install skid-free mats. Low-pile, non-skid bathmats can prevent falls on wet and slippery floors.  Non-slip mats or appliqués are also helpful in the tub or shower.

· Put in extra seating. If your bathroom is big enough, put a sturdy chair by the sink so you can brush your teeth and groom yourself while seated. Safety chairs designed for use in the shower may be helpful.

· Don’t bend and stretch. Bending over to pick up a shampoo bottle or soap is another hazard. Instead, put in a bath organizer, shelf, or wall-mounted dispenser for shampoo, conditioner, and liquid soap. A long-handled scrub brush makes it easier to wash feet, legs, and other hard-to-reach places. A standing toilet paper holder can help if it’s difficult to reach a wall-mounted holder.

· Make it easy to get up. A toilet seat riser or toilet safety rails (with or without a toilet seat) are helpful if you have trouble getting up or down from the toilet. A grab bar or two next to the toilet is another option.

Our Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapist can assist you in making your home safe. Call Shepard’s Crook Nursing Agency at 806-665-0356 or 800-542-0423 and we can assist you with equipment needs or home modification ideas to meet you changing health needs.