Senior Proofing Your Home: Why It Is Necessary

Senior proofing a home involves eliminating slipping and tripping hazards. Fire safety is a consideration. You may have to alter the living space to compensate for decreased cognition. Here is why time and money dedicated to making your home safer for an older loved one is well spent. Edmonton Home Care Services has some useful information for you;

Reduced Risk of Falling

There are 47 million senior citizens living in the U.S. Close to 16 million of those older citizens will fall this year. More than half of those falls will occur in the home and result in four million hospitalizations. One-quarter of older people who lose their balance will not survive their injuries. Senior falls will account for 40% of nursing home admissions and 6.4 million people losing their independence.

Reduced Broken Hip Risk

The majority of falls that result in a broken hip happen in the home. There is a 33.3% chance that a person over 50 will succumb to a hip fracture. Recovering from hip surgery places a senior at increased danger for blood clots, serious infections, including pneumonia, and loss of mobility. One hip fracture broadens the chances of another.

The good news is that senior home falls are easily preventable by clearing walking spaces of tripping hazards like furniture and other clutter.

• Securing loose rugs • Adding railings to stairwells • Brightening poorly lighted areas

While senior proofing your house, don't forget grab rails and non-slip mats or appliqués for the bathroom. It's also a good idea to place bathing and grooming items, so they are reachable without stretching.

Reduced Wandering Risk

Sixty percent of people with dementia will wander at some point. Failure to find a wandering senior within 24-hours reduces their chances of survival to 20%. More than half of dementia wanderings are not detected immediately. Alarming doors and windows help keep a senior loved one in cognitive decline safe at home. As a fail-safe measure, place a fence with a locked gate around the yard.

Reduced Risk Of Burns

A decreased sensitivity to heat and slower reflexes make seniors more susceptible to burns. Setting the water heater to 109° prevents accidental scalding. In the kitchen, create a 3' safety zone around stoves, microwaves, and other cooking appliances. Cook on the back burners as much as possible. On the front burners, keep pot handles turned inward. When frying, keep the pan covered to prevent splatter burns and possibly a fire.

Improved Fire Safety

Poor sight, diminished hearing, and cognition issues make fire safety extra crucial for seniors. Install smoke detectors in every room on every floor of your home and outside each bedroom. If your senior loved one has hearing issues, purchase a smoke detector with a strobe light. Place fire extinguishers near, but not too close to, potential fire hazards like stoves. Anti-wandering measures like safety locks and camouflaging doors may interfere with someone with dementia escaping a fire, making door and window alarms the better options.

Edmonton Home Care understands that these steps are necessary to senior proof your home, it will give you a peace of mind when you are away and enable your elderly loved ones to live independently and safely at home.