| ooms are the site of most slips and falls in the home. | | | | with a model that sits higher. This will feel more |
| Most fall-related injuries are suffered by those who | | | | secure than a thick seat. There are also lift toilet |
| are 65 and older, so there's a special need for safety | | | | seats that operate much like lift recliners, and allow |
| features in a bathroom when there are elderly people | | | | the person to be lowered from a standing position to |
| in the home or people who use things like canes, | | | | a seated position and back, all automatically. |
| wheelchairs and walkers. | | | | People who may have trouble turning or reaching |
| Most people wouldn't balk at someone helping them | | | | enough to get properly clean after using the toilet |
| down steps, into bed or out of a chair. But | | | | can benefit from a hand-held device that serves as |
| bathrooms are places where people want to | | | | an extension of their arm. These devices are |
| preserve their independence and privacy as much as | | | | designed to let a person use the toilet paper without |
| they can. It may not always be possible for a | | | | stretching, and then drop it into the toilet without |
| disabled or elderly person to be alone in the | | | | having to handle it. Another option is a bidet toilet or |
| bathroom, at least not all the time. But there are | | | | bidet toilet seat that cleans with a small stream of |
| many bathroom modifications that can help a person | | | | water. |
| preserve some independence in this most private of | | | | Bathtub lifts can help people take baths more easily. |
| places. | | | | The user only needs to be able to sit on the seat to |
| The easiest modification and also one of the most | | | | be lowered and lifted in and out of the tub |
| effective is the addition of rails and grab bars. Have a | | | | automatically. Some of these can be used without |
| professional install these so that they're safely | | | | the need to step in the tub at all, by sitting on the |
| secured into the studs in the wall. Bars near the toilet | | | | side and swiveling around. Shower chairs allow a |
| and in the bathtub allow people to balance better and | | | | person to take a shower while seated, which is a |
| provide some leverage for getting up and down. In | | | | good idea for anyone with slight balance issues or |
| the case of dizziness or a slip, a grab bar that's | | | | who gets fatigued from standing. Walk-in bathtubs |
| sturdy and in the right place can prevent a | | | | are a great option for a more permanent solution. A |
| devastating injury. A safety frame that goes around | | | | person can walk into the tub and sit at about chair |
| a toilet provides bars on both sides to help a person | | | | height while enjoying a bath. This can reduce the risk |
| get up and down, and is a good option when there's | | | | of slipping and falling while getting in and out of a |
| no place to install a bar on one or both sides. | | | | bathtub. |
| Raised toilet seats can help people who have trouble | | | | From a simple bar to a walk-in tub, options for |
| lowering themselves to a standard height toilet. In | | | | independence in a bathroom are available for every |
| some cases, it may be better to replace the toilet | | | | type of mobility problem and every budget. |