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There's no place like home
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Make sure your house is a haven, not an accident waiting to happen
By Gillian Fish
For older people “Home Sweet Home” can be a difficult reality. As we age, many things affect how easily and safely we can remain living at home. Physical ailments, such as sore and stiff joints, weakness or problems with balance, can combine with everyday hazards in the home to create a challenging situation. Fortunately, a lot can be done to make home a sweeter place to be.
First, objectively review your home layout and how it enhances or detracts from your ability to perform daily activities. Review it yourself, pull in a family member or, where safety is a major concern, turn to a qualified health-care professional, like an occupational therapist.
The bathroom is often the most dangerous room in the home. It’s not hard to imagine why. When wet, the bathtub can become dangerously slick, and our unclothed bodies provide little resistance on such surfaces and even less protection if we fall. Reduce the potential hazards of bathing with a well-placed grab bar or two. Be wary of using the soap dish or shower rod as a handhold; both will give under the weight of a human body. An inexpensive nonslip mat, available at any department store, will prevent slipping in the bathtub. People who feel safer sitting to bathe often prefer a bathseat and handheld shower.
The toilet is a potential source of difficulty. For many people, toilets are made too low, hampering their ability to get on or off. One solution is a raised toilet seat, which lifts the height of the toilet by roughly four inches. An additional source of support on or around the toilet enables people to use their arms to assist them, like a grab bar attached to the wall or a solid cabinet, or a versa frame, a set of bars that attach to the toilet. Again, toilet paper-roll holders and pedestal sinks aren’t designed to hold weight.
Check the height of surfaces throughout the home, not just in the bathroom. Is it difficult to rise from or lower onto the bed, couch or chair? Add blocks to their legs and raise them. Sometimes all that’s needed is an extra seat cushion on the couch or rearranging the bedroom furniture so the bedside table can act as a support.
Simply moving from one room to the next can lead to accidents. Help prevent falls, perform a quick check of floors and stairways. Are scatter rugs taped down? Is the lighting sufficient to see potential hazards? Are high-traffic areas free of clutter? Are stairs level, and do they have a steady railing?
Lastly, check out the kitchen, and in particular, the stove, for accidents waiting to happen. Aside from the danger of inadvertently leaving stove elements turned on, access to the on/off knobs can pose problems. If it’s a stretch to reach them, use a stool to keep the burners as far from personal contact as possible. A wire potato masher comes in quite handy to turn those dials.
Consider buying an electric kettle with an automatic shutoff, or a whistling kettle, and don’t worry about getting distracted from waiting for that water to boil. Also, check all electric cords of appliances and discard or replace any that are frayed.
Conserve energy and limit bending and reaching, place the most frequently used items in easy-to-get-at cupboards or on top of the counter. If you must use items in higher shelves, use a stool or a reacher. Sit to prepare your meal: We save one quarter of the energy expended on a task by sitting to do it.
If you have difficulty holding utensils for either preparing or eating a meal, check your local kitchen store for special utensils with a wider handle — “Good Grips” is a particularly helpful product line. There’s a wide range of gadgets out there to hold pots in place, allow one-handed slicing and dicing, and ease the removal of lids from jars. Start thinking about ways to make life easier and safer at home.
Sometimes, though, the changes we make ourselves aren’t enough. Sometimes outside assistance is required to help someone remain at home. Home support services are available in every province, although the specific services offered vary. Informally known as “Home Care,” it’s a government-funded program that provides supports like nursing or homemaking to help with personal care, which can include bathing, dressing or household chores. Some provinces provide occupational, physical or speech therapy. If there are serious concerns about how you’re managing at home, an assessment should be completed and support services put in place. Ask your doctor for a referral or contact your local health unit for more information.
Gillian Fish is an occupational therapist at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ont.
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