Homepro Medical Supplies

There’s no doubt about it: the bathroom is the most dangerous room in a home. And while most of the 235,000 people that visit the emergency room after a bathroom accident are age 65 and older, bathroom accidents don’t discriminate by age.

Young, middle aged, old, handicapped and fully able people suffer bathroom accidents every day. It’s time to make bathroom safety a bigger priority in your home and the home of your aging parents. The first step in increasing bathroom safety is diagnosing the danger spots in your bathroom.

Bathroom Safety Danger Zones

There are six basic areas that can influence the safety of your bathroom: the overall space, lighting, flooring, the tub, toilet and shower. Let’s take a look at the dangers in each of these areas, as well as what you can do to enhance safety in each area.

• Overall space- create as much open space as possible in the bathroom. If someone in your home requires a wheelchair, the bathroom should be remodeled to fit their space needs. Remove clutter (any electronics, appliances etc.) that can crowd the space.
• Lighting- the bathroom needs to be well lit enough for any time of day. Using the maximum wattage of bulb your light fixtures allow is key, as is having a night light for better vision getting into the bathroom at night.
• Flooring- with most bathroom floors being tile or linoleum, non-slip rugs are vital for increasing the safety of your bathroom.
• Toilet- getting onto and off of the toilet is a challenge for some. Balance, coordination and flexibility are all required, as is strength for those transferring to a toilet from a wheelchair or other mobility aid. Solutions for greater toilet safety include commodes (including shower chair commodes) and toilet safety frames, both of which include armrests to help sit down and stand up. Raised toilet seatsare a great solution for those who lack the flexibility to sit all the way down on a standard toilet. Some models of raised toilet seats also have armrests to assist with sitting down and standing up off the toilet.
• Bath tub- getting into and out of the bath tub requires balance, coordination, strength and flexibility. The act of stepping over the edge of a tub one leg at a time poses a safety risk for many people. Installing grab bars or a tub rail creates an extra place to grab for support when getting into and out of the shower. Using a transfer bench or bath seat lifter chair helps you get into the bath from a safe seated position.
• Shower- shower floors are slick, and moving around on them is a severe hazard that can result in a slip. You can improve your safety by being in a seated position using a shower chair or bench. A hand held shower puts you in control of the shower head and can be combined with a shower chair for an extremely safe shower environment. Other safety equipment for the shower include shower chair commodes, grab bars and walk-in showers.

Take a look at your bathroom to see what risks are in play. Once you’ve diagnosed the problem spots, take a look at the bathroom safety equipment options Homepro Medical Supplies offers for your bath, shower and toilet.

You can order your products directly from our website. You can also give us a call at 1-800-437-3677 for more information on a product or to place an order today.