Taking a bath or shower should feel luxurious, safe and comfortable. In fact, showering and bathing have been linked to improving mental health. This is because taking a warm shower relaxes your muscles and mind, reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. This could also be as it is a mindful experience; smelling different lotions and massaging the body returns your mind to the present moment.
Depressive symptoms reduce following a shower. If you feel unsafe in a shower or bath, you won’t be able to enjoy it as much. Not only this, but up to 80 percent of falls in the home occur in the bathroom.
There are so many benefits to making your or your loved ones bathroom safe and introduce bathroom safety equipment. In this blog we will talk about all the types of bathroom safety equipment available to make your bathroom safe with additional tips, so let’s get into it!
Bathroom safety equipment – Shower and bath seating
Some elderly people have balance problems which can make it difficult to stand in the shower. A seat can help them to wash with ease- not worrying about falling over. These chairs have antislip properties on their feet, so you can rest assured that the chair wont slip over. The size can also be adjusted, making it easy to make the seat higher or lower, so that the user is able to easily sit down. The chairs should be cleaned as you would clean the rest of the bathroom to ensure no germs develop.
Bathroom safety equipment – Grab Bars
Grab bars are useful for the elderly as they help the awkward and unstable moments between sitting and standing. The bars are great at giving extra support while sitting down, or to help them up when they need to get dry. You can easily buy grab rails on the internet to make your bathroom more accessible. Grab bars need to be fitted securely, so getting a professional in to fit the extra safety equipment is a must– they should also be placed in visible places.
Bathroom safety equipment – Thermometers
As you get older, you get more sensitive to heat, sometimes the water temperature can change in a bathroom, which means having a thermometer is a must for some people. This will tell you if the bath or shower is too cold or hot to avoid fainting, or getting shocked. Some people have dementia which can make it difficult to determine what the right bathing temperature is. A bath thermometer will ensure they are bathing safely at a comfortable temperature.
Bathroom safety equipment – Bath Mats
Everybody has had a slip in the shower- elderly or not. It is dangerous for everybody who doesn’t have a bath mat, especially with hard objects around a bathroom. At the end of the day, you don’t know how you will fall if you don’t have a bath mat, which is why they’re so important. If you want to reduce the risk of falling, a bath mat is your answer.
Other tips and tricks
We have only just scratched the surface on what’s out there for the elderly when it comes to bathrooms. There are businesses’’ which focus solely on fitting bathrooms for the elderly, fitting walk in showers and baths for a luxurious experience. It’s worth investing in, as it can be helpful for everyone; friends, family, yourself- even tenants!
A tip that people often don’t think about is making sure the bathroom is bright, so that the elderly can navigate around the bathroom and see where everything is. Alarms are also a must for a lot of elderly people, having this can be a great way to make somebody feel safe.
For elderly with poor balance and mobility, washing can be an unenjoyable part of the day. Nobody should feel like that, washing should be an enjoyable act of self care!
If you’re looking for bathrooms for the elderly and disabled, take a look at our website!
