Arthritis or joint problems getting in the way of someone you love living independently? Worried that they will no longer be able to live alone if bending, stretching, climbing stairs, and even getting into and out of a tub becomes problematic if not impossible? You can help by buying and installing home aids that can help someone with decreased mobility compensate and live independently as long as possible.
Bath and Shower Options
Slip-and-fall accidents, which occur can lead to serious injuries or ongoing conditions that need treatment, happen most frequently in the bathroom (though other areas in the home can lead to such accidents). You can help someone avoid slipping and falling in the bathroom by installing a walk-in bathtub or shower.
You can choose from hundreds of options (in fact, in some places, the sky is literally the limit; if you can dream it, or if you want it, you can probably find it). You can choose from compact sit-in style baths to more classic full-length baths and showers. Both will come with leak-proof doors, so you don’t have to worry about water getting on the floor, which is also a cause of accidents in the bathroom.
Some shower options come with built-in seats, or you can ask for a seat to be added. Seats are a cost-effective way to help someone in the shower who may not be able to stand for lengthy periods of time. You can get a seat that adjusts to a person’s height, if more than one person with mobility issues will use the shower. Talk to your contractor about the best option for you and the shower. Good contractors will be able to tell you where to install a seat, if you want a seat installed.
You can also install a shower nozzle that is not permanently attached to the wall. By giving someone using the shower the option to move the nozzle as opposed to moving their body, the person’s overall mobility will increase, and you can reduce the chance of someone slipping and falling in the tub or shower itself. A removable nozzle may not seem like a way to aid someone’s mobility, but it does, and will.
Mobility Options
If someone needs to climb stairs to get around the house, you can get a home stairlift for as little as $3,500 (about twice as much if you need one that goes around corners or curves). A chair lift will not only ease the burden of climbing stairs, but also help someone stay in their home as opposed to having to move into a one-story home or an assisted living facility.
If you don’t want to install a chair lift permanently (which may hinder someone buying the home if they don’t need such an assisted-living device), some companies make these devices available for rent for a monthly or yearly fee. Look into the options available to you in the town or city where you live.
Walk-in baths and stair lifts and two ways you can help someone you love remain in their home and live as independently as possible.
