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There are simple steps you can take right away to help yourself or an aging parent to be safer in their home. The simplest home safety modifications offer some of the biggest benefits. These steps enhance a senior's quality of life by enabling you to enjoy the full use of your home and maintain your personal independence.
STEP 1 - REMOVE TRIPPING HAZARDS
One of the easiest things you can do to make home safety modifications for the elderly is to remove tripping hazards such as rugs and runners that tend to slide, as they may cause a person to trip and fall.
A fall safety tip is to purchase rugs with slip-resistant backing. Some rugs are OK if they are secured firmly to the floor with double-sided adhesive carpet tape or rubber matting. Over time, tape adhesive and will wear and slip-resistant backing will become less effective. If you do use these ensure you check rugs and mats at periodic intervals to see if new tape or backing is required.
It is also important to remove clutter and arrange furniture so that it creates plenty of room to walk freely.
If you use a walking aid, ensure that doorways and hallways are large enough to get through with any devices you may use. Existing doorways of standard width can be widened to 32" by installing recessed hinges and removing stops. Offset hinges can add an additional 2" and removal of stops 1/2" on each side of a standard doorway.
Furniture should be positioned in low-traffic areas such as corners and sections of the room. Individuals with sight impairments or mobility problems may run into furniture more easily. Furniture should be stable and without sharp corners, especially in frequently traveled areas.
Consider the placement of barriers at the top and/or bottom of stairs. This may prevent individuals from falling or injuring themselves, especially those who have orientation or stability problems.
A walk around the home looking for hazards is a good start, some questions to ask are.
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Are lamp, extension, and telephone cords placed out of the flow of traffic?
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Does furniture placement allow a clear path between the bathroom and bedroom?
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Is there a comfortable chair in bedroom with arms to use when dressing?
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Is a telephone accessible at all times? Easy access to the telephone is important to prevent tripping when hastening to answer a ringing phone.
STEP 2 - LIGHTING AND COLORS
Reduced vision is very common among the elderly. The majority of seniors experience a reduction in depth perception making it difficult to judge the relative position of an object. On average an older person needs four times more light than a younger person.
Lighting and using contrasting colors are two of the easiest things (and two things that are often overlooked) you can do to make your home safer. Some questions to ask are:
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Are all areas, including stairways, well lit? Are switches easy to operate?
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Do outside lights illuminate entrances and exits?
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Is there adequate lighting throughout your house? Especially when getting up through the night to use the bathroom.
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Are nightlights used in hallways, bathrooms and bedrooms?
Using contrasting colors assists a senior in distinguishing one object from another. Contrasting colors are more easily recognized than closely related colors. Common areas to use contrasting colors are steps, distinguishing doors from doorframes, and light switches from walls . Yellows, oranges and reds are colors that are most easily distinguished by people with vision impairments. See article Low Cost Ways to Improve Lighting In the Home.
STEP 3 - DAILY CHECK-INS
One of the most traditional methods of improving home safety is to have a daily (or even more frequent) check-in with someone such as a family member, a friend or a neighbor. It's as easy a making a phone call at a set time of day. In the event you are unable to get to the phone, the absence of the call will let someone know that perhaps something may be wrong.
STEP 4 - HEARING THE TELEPHONE AND OTHER THINGS
Does your loved one have difficulty hearing the telephone ring?
Hearing declines are normal as we age, especially the perception of both high and low frequencies. This can cause difficulty hearing the telephone, doorbell, and home alarms. In the case of moderate hearing loss some suggestions are to turn up the ringer volume on the telephone or purchase a telephone that includes an adjustable volume.
If you have more advanced hearing loss, you may want to install a system of flashing lights and/or vibrators to indicate each time the telephone or doorbell rings or an alarm sounds.
It is important that a phone be handy and that in order to call for assistance in an emergency situation. It is also essential to ensure emergency numbers are posted on or near the telephone. Emergency telephone numbers (police, fire department, ambulance), and numbers for close family members and neighbor's number should be highly printed in large letters and with the phone. Telephones with large buttons and dedicated one button to push for frequent calls can also help.
Another strategy to make it easier to hear in your home is deadening a room's acoustics help to filter out background noise. Using absorbing materials is a common way to do this, floors should be carpeted, and windows should have curtains to minimize echoes and sharp noises. Insulating noisy appliances also helps.
See article on Elderly Medical Alarms and Elderly-Medical-Alarms.com for more information.
STEP 5 - STOP REACHING
Shelves should be strategically placed to limit reaching. Shelves should be low enough to avoid using a stepstool. Make sure that shelves well secured to the wall and store clothing, dishes, food and other household necessities within easy reach. All items should be at eye level in order to find them easily.
If shelves are not in easy reach, consider adding new lower ones that can be reached without using a step stool or chair.
STEP 6 - SAFER BATHROOMS
The bathroom is the most common location of falls. Many options are available for making your bathroom safer. For a general information on handicap accessible bathroom safety see Bathroom Safety for Seniors, a variety of other articles addressing specific bathroom concerns are: Walk in Bathtubs, Handicap Access Showers and Bathroom Safety Grab Bars.
STEP 7 - MOBILITY AIDS
Mobility aids such as Walkers, Canes and Wheelchairs are just as useful in getting around inside your home as they are when traveling outside the home. These medical safety products and equipment are often customized to the specific needs of seniors.
OTHER RESOURCES
A geriatric home safety assessment by an Occupational Therapist can be extremely helpful. An Occupational Therapist is a health professional that can identify ways to improve home safety, arrange resources and modify the environment to compensate for specific disabilities.
American Occupational Therapy Association Fact Sheet
You can get additional information from the Home Safety Council at:
Home Safety Council - Safety Guide
