By Guest Blogger Jesse Earl Waugh
“The best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.”
~ Andy Rooney ~
Home safety becomes more important when parents or loved ones hit their senior years.
Oftentimes, at this point the elderly become more susceptible to accidents at home.
With their hearing and seeing faculties dramatically depreciated, the need to implement safety measures at home becomes all the more urgent.
Fortunately, while aging is inevitable, accidents, injuries and fatal mishaps in the household can be easily prevented.
Here are a few essential elderly home care tips to keep in mind to help make your place a safe haven for your elderly loved ones.
- Display emergency numbers in a conspicuous place
Always keep a list of emergency numbers should you need to call somebody for help.
In line with this, ensure you have the following emergency numbers handy:
- Fire department
- Police department
- Local emergency services
- Doctor’s office
- Poison control
- Family members, relatives and neighbors
- Provide an abuse-free environment
In most cases, seniors often become easy targets for intruders and other shady characters.
Ensure they remain safe from any likely attacks by implementing the following security measures.
- Make sure all doors and windows are always locked. Also, never let a stranger inside, especially late at night.
- Try not to be predictable. In other words, do not leave and return home at the same time. If you come and go at varied times, it will be difficult for strangers to predict when an elderly loved one is left home alone.
- Keep fire accidents at bay
As one gets older, there is also the likelihood of the five senses gradually deteriorating.
Suffice it to say, your senior loved ones won’t be as quick and agile as they used to be. Keep them safe from any fire hazards by keeping the following in mind.
- Have a smoke detector installed.
- Change any damaged electrical cords.
- Avoid putting too many electric cords into one socket.
- Put functioning fire extinguishers in the kitchen and in rooms with fireplaces.
- Ensure everyone in the household knows where the emergency exit is.
- Avoid smoking inside the house and do not leave candles burning, even for just for a short period of time.
- Fall-proof the entire house
A survey has reported that six out of every 10 falls occur at home.
Don’t wait until your elderly loved one becomes part of the statistics. Apart from fall proofing indoors and outdoors, consider implementing the following safety measures against falls.
- Let your loved one wear only non-slip footwear.
- Provide adequate lighting in all hallways, stairs and pathways.
- Make sure books, shoes and other items aren’t lying around.
- Ensure that rails and banisters are installed on the sides of the stairs.
- Place non-skid tapes on smooth surfaces including the stairs.
- Place non-slip rugs to make sure they don’t move when walked on.
- Avoid any kind of poisoning
When it comes to safety, it pays to have all the bases covered.
Guard your elderly loved ones from any type of poisoning by keeping the following safety reminders in mind.
- See to it that carbon monoxide (an odorless yet fatal gas) detectors are installed around the house.
- Make sure that all medications are placed in their correct containers.
- Install appropriate lightning especially in the area where your loved one usually takes his/her medications.
- Avoid combining ammonia or bleach together when cleaning as certain chemicals emit fatal gases when mixed.
Jane is an expert writer from Sydney, NSW with over 8 years of writing and proofreading experience. She writes for Daughterly Care, one of the leading privately owned agencies that offers live-in-care, respite care and home care assistance.
I would like to thank her for taking the time to write this blog on keeping seniors safe. While we can never be with our loved ones 24/7 we can try our best to keep them safe even when we can’t be with them.
Remember, LYLPT wants you to Live Your Life BEING SAFE!
Dr. Eva Norman
President & Founder
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Live Your Life Physical Therapy, LLC