Senior Bathroom Safety Under $10

If you don't count common little nicks, cuts and stings in the kitchen, the bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house, especially for a senior. For seniors, a bathroom accident can have life-changing consequences.

While there is nothing you can do to completely eliminate all risks for older people in the bathroom, there are several low- or no-cost things you can do with very little effort or expense. For under $10, and sometimes at no cost at all, you can make a bathroom safer for everyone who uses it:

1. Get rid of the clutter. Clothing and towels on the floor are invitations to a trip and fall. Cluttered shelves lead to things falling onto the floor. When older people have to bend down to pick items up they are at a high risk for a tumble.

2. Store things where they are reachable without bending, stooping or stretching. As we get older we tend to also get shorter, not to mention we can develop arthritis and other problems that reduce our flexibility. Give your senior the middle shelf and you take the high and the low shelves or cabinets.

3. Senior eyes need more light to see clearly. Increase the amount of light by using the strongest possible bulbs in your bathroom fixtures. Install an inexpensive light in the closet if you don't have one.

4. Take everything up off the bathroom floor, including those decorative rugs and mats. Even the best rubber-backed rugs can catch a foot and cause a fall. Hang your bath mats between uses. If the floor is cold, buy your elder a nice new pair of slippers.

5. If your tub or shower floor is white, invest in a colorful non-slip rubber mat. Seniors with vision problems such as cataracts or macular degeneration will have difficulty seeing white against white. It is easier to judge distance with a colored mat that stands out against the white background.

6. Get rid of all glass in the bathroom. Even decorative items such as candle holders or perfume bottles can fall and shatter, especially on a tile floor. You don't want anyone picking glass shards out of their feet.

7. Install a night light with a battery backup in case of a power failure. Alternatively, hang a flashlight on a convenient hook. Put a few strips of luminescent tape on the flashlight so it can be found in the dark.

8. Make sure the hot water temperature is set to no more than 120 degrees so that no one can ever be dangerously scalded by hot water straight from the tap.

9. If your bathroom door does not have the kind of locks that can be opened easily from the outside, remove the door locks, or turn them around so that your elder cannot be trapped inside a locked bathroom.

10. Keep an extra roll or two of paper within easy reach at all times.

Just these ten simple and inexpensive things will make your bathroom safer for the older people in your family. For that matter, the bathroom will be safer for everyone who uses it, from two to 102.

You'll find more ideas about making a bathroom safe for a senior in the Eldercare Team Bathroom Safety Series at http://www.eldercareteam.com/resources/articles/safe-bathrooms.htm. The Eldercare Team is your best resource for all things related to elder caregiving. Join us at http://www.eldercareteam.com