5 Tips To Increase Home Safety For Your Loved One
It’s very important that your elderly loved ones have a safe environment where they can develop all their routines since, as people age, they are more prone to injuries. When we care for an older person at home, we must try to adapt the spaces at home to ensure greater comfort, safety, and autonomy. Especially if the relative lives alone, we need to help adapt their environment so that their home is comfortable and the possible risk of accidents is minimized. Their homes should be their place of comfort and safety, not somewhere where they are at risk. To avoid this, here are some tips that can help your loved one move freely and feel secure around their home.
5 Home Safety Tips for Your Aging Parents
- Eliminate the risk of falls.
Although at first, it may not seem like a danger, there are several objects that can cause your loved one trouble while moving. It is very easy to avoid all of these with certain security measures.
One of the most important things would be to avoid placing rugs in places with a lot of traffic for your loved one; they can often trip over them. Another option would be to secure or glue the rugs to the floor so they don’t move much. Avoid having cables on the floor by putting them behind the furniture or using ducts to carry them attached to the walls and thus avoid falls. Incorporate safety grab bars and bath chairs in the bathrooms and showers to prevent accidents. Last but not least, be sure that your loved one always wears appropriate and comfortable footwear.
- Remove fire hazards from the house.
Fires in the home are another very important thing to avoid. Consider installing smoke detectors in all of the rooms, the kitchen, and near all of the electro domestics ahead of time.
Another essential piece would be fire extinguishers; make sure you have one on each floor of the house and, if possible, another in the kitchen. It is critical to ensure that any gas-powered appliances are turned off and the electricity is turned off.
- Make stairs easier and safer to use.
Stairs are a high-risk area for falls for people of all ages, but especially for older adults. Since falls can be very serious, it is important to take the initiative and adopt preventive measures to mitigate the risk. Some advice may be to put an anti-slip strip on the surface of the stairs, make sure they have good lighting so that your loved one can see better, it is preferable that the steps are not too short to avoid falls, and most importantly, make sure that the stairs have a useful handrail.
- Implement a smart home security system.
Having a good security system will not only give your loved one more comfort and a feeling of safety, but it will also give you peace of mind since having one of these will allow you to check if everything is closed and turned off or if someone is outside of the residence. They are also very useful to facilitate communication with a family member, friend, police officer, or ambulance in case of an emergency.
- Keep a list of emergency numbers visible and accessible.
For an older adult, it will surely be difficult to find an address book in case of an emergency. That is why having a visible and detailed list for them will make it much easier to communicate. The best thing you can do for them is to leave everything close at hand so they don’t have any kind of inconvenience.
Remember that it is not only about creating a safe environment for your loved one but also about generating confidence and tranquility for you and other family members.
Caring for a loved one can be difficult. It takes an emotional toll and sometimes a physical toll on the caregiver. At 24/7 Nursing Care, we care about your loved one and seek to provide them with the best attention and care they deserve. We also seek to help you reduce your stress by referring them to the care that the individual needs.
There are a variety of options available for an in-home care referral for your loved one.
Contact us for a free in-home consultation to learn more about the options for your unique needs at 786-518-3622 Miami-Dade, 954-949-1332 Broward.
