Enhancing Home Safety Tips for Elderly Family Members and Older Adults -

Older adults are involved in more than 2.3 million accidents at home each year. While many older people prefer to live independently, most housing is not designed to meet their needs. Due to physical and functional changes that occur during the ageing process, such as decreased vision, hearing, touch and smell, and loss of bone density, older adults should take additional safety precautions. These factors increase the risk of injury in the home.

What measures can you take to reduce the risk of injury to yourself or your loved ones?

Treatment may include strengthening, balance training, energy saving techniques and unaided walking practice on different surfaces and stairs and retraining to bathe and dress safely in different positions. Therapists also provide suggestions for a safe home environment. Enhancing home safety tips are part of the care services planning process for Anvayaa Care Services for the elderly in India, often including visits from caregivers to assess safety issues. Typical safety recommendations range from general to room-specific, focusing on reducing the number of accidents in the home.

Tips to get you started:

Even the smallest of the things that you might not even think about could be a reason for harm to your loved ones. Here are some small check list you can run through to ensure that your elderly’s everyday life become a little more manageable, easy and most importantly safe.

Improve Lighting:

Make sure all areas of the corners of the home are lit
Install additional lights on stairs, in hallways and where a walkway turns
Place a lamp next to your loved one’s bed
Install a night light to make it easier to get to the bathroom in the dark

Check the floors and furniture:

Move the items so that they can reach/access them more easily
Arrange the table/furniture in such a way that there is enough space to walk around comfortably
Scrutinize the floors in each room and see how slippery they are
Ensure rugs are tucked in at the bed level and have no corners or edges to trip over
As needed: apply non-slip tape to carpets and remove uneven and frayed carpets
Add non-slip mats wherever the floor is often wet like bathrooms and kitchens
Improve traction on stairs by adding rubber mats, carpets etc and ensure there is no room to trip and fall

Make your kitchen safer:

Install protectors on the sharp corners of countertops and glass corners
Never underestimate the risk of home fires: install smoke and fire alarms, check your home’s batteries regularly
Consider installing stoves and ovens that turn off automatically
When replacing other devices, please choose those with the power off function
Check how your kitchen is furnished
Store dishes, glasses and other frequently used items in easy-to-access drawers or cabinets for convenience and safety

Set up a medical emergency system:

Consider using a medical alert device: You can buy a mobile alert for your loved one to use in an emergency. All they must do is press the button on the device, and the emergency service response is alerted.

Prevent accidents in the bathroom and toilet:

Add grab bars where your loved one needs them, like in the shower or bath or next to the toilet
Place non-slip mats around the shower and sink. Install a shower chair if you think it will help
Consider installing a raised toilet seat to help seniors get on and off

Keep emergency numbers handy:

Make a simple, easy-to-read list of significant numbers for you or your loved ones and keep them handy.
Include the numbers of other family members, neighbours, and emergency services

Be sure to check your smoke detectors:

Check smoke alarms at least twice a year and replace the batteries if necessary

Do not wear loose clothing when cooking:

Wide sleeves are flammable and easily catch fire. So, when you go to the kitchen, ensure your sleeves are buttoned or tightened enough
Also, ensure you never smoke in bed, as this is the cause of most house fires worldwide. Do not leave candles burning before bedtime or when leaving the house

If you are looking for help at home and are unsure what you need or cannot do, there are companies you can hire to do it for you – like us! When you opt for Anvayaa’s senior care services at home, our team makes sure to check on all the safety measures in-house and lets the family members be aware of any changes that has to be made to ensure maximum elder safety. For more senior citizen safety tips, get in touch with us.