Home Safety for Seniors-An Easy Guide to Avoiding Accidents

Home safety for seniors is a great cause for concern because according to statistics many seniors land in the hospital due to accidents in the home.

Many accidents that happen to seniors are avoidable and can be prevented if they aware of the following senior senior home safety tips.

There are many reasons why seniors experience accidents living in their own homes. The factors contributing to these accidents are due to declining health problems like poor eyesight and poor hearing, arthritis, and dementia.

Other factors that can lead to accidents in the home are side effects from medicines they may be taking. These are all contributors that are difficult to control. However, what can be controlled are factors found in the home.

To help the elderly live life normally and avoid many accidents here are easy home safety for seniors tips that can be implemented in your home or the home of a senior.

How to Make The Home Senior Friendly

Those with poor eyesight need extra illumination in their home. Provide illumination in critical areas such as stairways, hallways, their room, the bathroom, and the outdoor steps.

If it is possible provide light switches at both ends of hallways or stairways so they can still turn off or turn on the lights as soon as they reach the other end.

Keep stairs and pathways free of clutter and furniture, as this is the cause of slips and falls and broken hipbones. If a part of the stairs need repair it must be done immediately.

Another cause of accidents in the home is loose rugs and carpets. Have those changed immediately with non slip rugs or remove them altogether.

If your senior has arthritis or other health issues that affect balance the installation of handrails in the bathroom and hallways will give them something to grab on to should they slip.

To those seniors who are unable to stand in the shower, install a provide a shower seat and shower hose. If they can use a bathtub, provide a non-stick mat to avoid slips.

Locate a nightstand in their room that they can easily reach. The nightstand is where you should put their glasses, flashlight, medicines, and other personal necessities.

Sharp edges of tables, nightstands, and shelves should be lined with soft material such as felt to reduce injuries caused when the senior accidentally bumps furniture like this.

Senior Home Safety Tips In The Kitchen

Appliances should have timers and signal lights to help those who have hearing problems.

It is best that the “off” position for kitchen appliances be clearly indicated so that those who have eyesight problems will easily see how to turn off the stove or any other appliance.

Set water heater temperature to the most tolerable level so that seniors will not scald their skins accidentally.

Provide fire extinguishers for the senior’s home and of course teach them how to use it. Additionally, you can tack a “How to Use” instructions written in the simplest terms near the extinguisher so that they can refer to it in case of emergency.

Smoke detectors are a great help in setting off an alarm to help the senior escape immediately if a fire breaks out.

It is better that kitchen utensils are placed in drawers where seniors can easily reach them rather than up on cupboards where they will have to use a tool to help them reach the item and risk losing their footing and falling on the floor.

Balancing Aids for Seniors

To be safe not only requires a friendly house and a safe kitchen. Health concerns should also be looked into.

Get your senior to have regular health exams and have their medications check whether it is interfering with their sense of balance. If balance is affected by medications then have the doctor change those to something else.

The last home safety for seniors tip is to see a doctor or a physical therapist if you feel that the significant seniors in your life need walkers or canes or other tools to keep them balanced and standing upright. A physician will help with the proper fitting of those balance aids.

How Seniors Can Protect Their Home From Intruders

Safety in the home for seniors also means preventing intruders from breaking in.  One of the least costly and effective means to prevent intruders is to use a barking dog alarm.  These plug into an outlet and sense motion outside a door and window.  When motion is detected the very realitic sound of a barking dog is triggered.  The would be intruder thinks there is a dog inside and will generally move on to another house.