Keeping Elderly Loved Ones Safe While Living on Their Own

As their body grows older, seniors become at risk for a serious injury due to an accidental slip or a fall. This can cause stress on children and family members especially if the senior decides to retain their independence and continue to live on their own. Luckily, with advancements in technology and improvements to their home, you can achieve peace of mind in their safety, well-being, and level of comfort.

Installing Safety Equipment

There are so many things that you can install in a senior’s home that’s relatively easy to promote a safe environment. If they have limited mobility, installing items such as grab bars, a raised toilet seat, hand-held shower in the bathroom and railings in the main hallways is a good place to start. In addition, an adjustable bed and a lift chair that fully reclines and provides a stimulating massage can help improve circulation and allow them to get in and out of the bed and their chair unassisted while remaining comfortable. You can search for the best lift chairs in your area by contacting a home health agency or a DME company that carries them.

Medical Alert Devices

Medical alert devices help to save lives. For the senior that wants to stay in their home, this offers a wonderful way to guarantee that in the event of an emergency someone will respond. These devices come in a variety of forms, however, all are compact in size allowing your aging loved one to wear them on a belt loop, inside a pocket, around the neck or on their wrist. While many now offer more services, they are still user-friendly. Plus, most of these devices feature 24/7 access to a helpline. Medical alert devices can also provide simple functions like a wake-up call to a life-saving alert that detects the presence of carbon monoxide or change in the home temperature. In most cases, all it takes is a quick push of the button to get help.

Medications

Many seniors take several different types of medication throughout the day. A wonderful and easy way to make sure that they are taking all off their medications is with a pill organizer. These containers are generally made of sturdy plastic and have an easy open and close lid. You can find them with large lettering and A.M. and P.M. printed on the lid tops for easy identification.

Keeping Room Entrances Clear and Visible

A concern for many children of aging parents is the risk of a trip or a fall due to obstacles. A great way to reduce this risk is to keep all entrances to rooms in the home clutter-free and unobstructed. If a room has a narrow entrance you may want to consider widening it. In addition to opening up the room and decluttering, you can also place small nightlights strategically to improve their visibility after dark.

Staying in Touch

One of the best ways to enjoy peace of mind is to remain in touch with your relative. A phone call each morning, during the afternoon and at night before they retire for the evening is essential. Purchasing a cell phone with large numbers designed specifically for the elderly makes it easy for them to contact you. Many also have high-tech features that are easy for seniors to use such as the ability to magnify objects from the phone camera, download an app for closed captioning and the option of transferring a call over to facetime.

It’s not abnormal for an elderly person to want to remain in their home. After all, it is the place that they feel the most comfortable. There are many options available for seniors and housing. So as long as your loved one is in relatively good health for their age and does not have severe limitations, making improvements to the home, getting a medical device and having a direct way to communicate day or night will improve their lifestyle and your peace of mind.