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Eldercare Review | Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Aging eventually reduces strength, balance, eyesight, and memory, adversely impacting a senior’s capacity to safely conduct day-to-day living activities.
FREMONT, CA: Like most seniors, your dear one also wants “aging in place” for as long as possible. Then think about how to do that safely. Aging eventually reduces strength, balance, eyesight, and memory, adversely impacting a senior’s capacity to safely conduct day-to-day living activities. Following are some of the most general “senior” accidents and ways to avert them from happening.
Falls
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Falls are the most general senior home accident. Unsteadiness led by medications can add value to falls and barriers in the home, like rugs, frayed carpet, furniture, uncovered electrical cords on floors, and doors that are laid open and block walkways.
The scariest room in the house is the bathroom, which is often wet and built with hard, slippery surfaces in a fairly small area. Two-thirds of bathroom injuries happen in the tub or shower. Here is what can be performed to make the bathroom safer.
Bathroom Fall Prevention
Fall Prevention In Other Rooms
Keep In Shape To Avoid Falls
A good manner to control falls is to boost your physical ability and strength. Even mild exercise along with movement can support. Walking and balance exercises are a good spot to start. Physical and occupational therapists can deliver therapy and instruction to enhance your ability to move securely in your home and accomplish tasks.
Get Help To Avert Falls
It is crucial to study therapy and, perhaps, the support of a home health aide if you have just completed a stay in the hospital and are undergoing weakness or residual pain.
Winter Hazards
Ice, snow, and cold weather present several issues to senior home safety.
Grabbing a shovel and clearing your steps or walkways when snow falls may be attractive. Snow and ice are dangers for anyone, but the results of falls are more severe for seniors. If you have a compromised immune system, balance issues, or a heart disorder, you are questioning deep trouble by trying the job yourself. Let a younger caregiver or neighbor acquire the shoveling duties.
If a wood-burning stove or fireplace warms your home, secure chimneys and flues are checked yearly to reduce fire risk. Space heaters should be checked for frayed cords and positioned no closer than three feet from anything that might catch fire.
Assure you have running smoke and carbon monoxide sensors in the home.
Know where your breaker box is positioned, and place a flashlight nearby with fresh batteries in case of a power outage.
As the body ages, it is less immune to the effects of the cold. Moreover, it is harder for seniors to identify when they are hazardously cold, so maintain the house temperature at least 68 degrees.
Again, keep an acceptable stock of groceries and all medications available, so you do not have to trip to the grocery store or pharmacy in bad weather. If required, hold a caregiver, friend, or neighbor to run errands for you if walking and driving situations are questionable.
Kitchen Concerns
Two key potentials for damage to seniors are discovered in the kitchen: fire and food poisoning.
Statistics reveal that seniors are far more probable to be seriously harmed by fire in the kitchen than any other age group because of physical and/or cognitive damage. Furthermore, the ineptitude to respond quickly, which medications may also drive, raises the risk of injury.
Avoiding Fire Hazards
The second kitchen danger is food-borne illnesses. Degrading vision may make checking freshness dates tough, and product labels can be disorganized. Caregivers can help by tagging food containers with large, readable letters that show when food should be thrown away. Again, set the refrigerator temperature at 40 degrees to extend shelf life.
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