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Equipment to Help Seniors Stay at Home Longer
By Christina Mulberry
As we reach middle age, many adults find themselves transitioning their time from the care of children to the care of elderly parents. The goal for nearly everyone of course is to assure than an aging parent is able to stay in their own home for as long as possible and as independently as feasible. For many elderly, health issues from arthritis, to a minor stroke, or just general weakness may make performing daily tasks more difficult or put them at risk of injury. While difficulty with tasks such as bathing, dressing, or cooking can certainly reduce independence, an even greater risk is the chance of an injury due to a fall, a burn, or something similar. Anyone in the role of caregiver, needs to be alert to such issues to help adddress them as they arise. Certainly, therapy can help and should be investigated. In some cases, even when therapy isn't indicated either a supervised exercise program or home program might be beneficial. In any event, an assessment of the home environment to determine where the risks lie and what adaptations can be made is wise. Occupational therapists can often perform this evaluation. Of course, there is a lot of equipment that can be considered to help a senior along who is struggling with certain daily activities. -- For those having difficulty with bathing and showering, there are sponges and scrubbers with extended handles to help them reach their back and other areas. If there's difficulty getting in and out of the tub there are a few options to consider. Tub benches that sit in the tub and eliminate the need to have to get up from such a low position also provide good stability. Generally, a handheld shower is used in conjunction with these benches. Of course, when stepping in and out of the tub is a problem, grab bars can be installed. In other instances avoiding the tub altogether is a better option. In these circumstances, a walk-in shower is a better choice. These showers usually have little or no step up. A shower chair is a often used here along with a hand held shower for easy control. At a minimum, it's important to create a no skid surface with decals. -- For a senior having difficulty getting on or off the toilet, a raised toilet seat can assist. These elevate the seat making it an easier task and provide arms for stability. -- If getting dressed is a problem, numerous dressing aids are available. There are sock aids to elimnate the difficulty of reaching the feet and opening the sock to don it. Long handled shoe horns are useful as well. Fasteners can be problematic for many elderly individuals as well. There are button hooks and zipper pulls but when possible caretakers and seniors themselves can opt to purchase clothing with no fasteners, or easier ones. Velcro is of course one possibility but certainly pull on pants and tops that slip over the head are another option for some people. Certainly there are shoes with velcro fasteners as well as slip ons, but be sure to choose those with a no-skid sole. -- In the kitchen, keeping items on lower shelves can be a good idea and having special jar openers can eliminate a lot of frustration. For the faucet, extended handles can be easier to reach and turn on a faucet. For those with weakness or a mild tremor, weighted utensils and rocker knives can be good as well. You can also transfer products into special bottles with easy on-off lids which can be purchased separately. -- Around the house there are a number of other things to consider. Reachers are great for helping to retrieve small items from the floor or from up high. Key turners are small, grippable pads that slip over a key to make them larger, and easier to turn. Stairs in general can be a problem for some seniors. Moving any necessary items to the main floor of the house is important but building a ramp can also be wise in many circumstances. Some blinds have pulls that are too high, check them and get extended handles when indicated. -- Being able to communicate over the telephone can become difficult for any elderly individual who experiences a hearing loss. There are a number of good amplified phones on the market, many with a speaker phone function that makes their use even more convenient. Of course there are also flashers that you can get which will go off when the phone rings to be sure they get to the phone even when in another room. -- For many seniors fear of a fall or other emergency is exacerbated if they live on their own. Many have concerns about the ability to get help quickly if anything happens. Probably the best way of addressing this, short of moving into an environment with closer supervision, is to consider a home medical alert system. The majority provide a monitored system that allows an elderly individual to summon help with the push of a button via assistants who act much like a 911 dispatcher. There is a low monthly fee for the service. There are however, other systems that require the purchase of a more automated call station that performs a similar function but which is not monitored; it therefore carries no monthly fee. There are many hundreds of products on the market to assist the elderly in staying independent in their home despite some of the common health related issues that may arise. The equipment above provides just a few examples for seniors and caregivers to consider and most can be purchased in pharmacies, home health equipment stores, or online. A complete assessment of the home environment by an occupational therapist however, is the best way to identify all of the risks and possibilities. |
Amplified Phones
| How to Choose Medical Alert Systems
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This intel was contributed by mulberry
mulberry
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May, 2012
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