Updating Your Bathroom To Accommodate Your Elderly Parents: Tips For You
When you have parents that are elderly, you may eventually ask them to come live with you so that you can provide them with the support, care, and assistance they need in their daily lives and activities. However, in order to best accommodate your elderly parents and their needs, you may need to make a few changes and updates in your home. One of the areas of your home that may cause the most concern is the bathroom. Get to know some of the ways that you can update and improve the bathroom in your home so that you can be sure that you are doing everything possible to keep your elderly parents safe and comfortable.
Install A Raised Toilet Seat Or Taller Toilet
One of the steps that you can and should take to update your bathroom for your elderly parents is to install a raised toilet seat or even a taller toilet than normal. As your parents continue to age, their joints, bones, and muscles become weaker. This makes bending down to sit on lower furniture or commodes difficult (and standing up can from that seated position may be even more difficult).
A raised toilet seat is one option to combat this problem. Basically, it is a device that fits onto your existing toilet and builds more height onto the seat. They are usually plastic and have basic clamps that hold them in place. However, they can make cleaning challenging and may be awkward for anyone else who uses that restroom.
Another option is to install a new toilet that is simply taller than a standard toilet. These comfort height toilets make it easier for your elderly parent to safely use it, but will not cause the rest of your family discomfort. A toilet riser can also be installed at the base of a toilet to give it additional height as well.
Upgrade To A Walk In Tub
The bathtub can be difficult to navigate for your elderly parents as well. Standard bathtubs require the user to step over an elevated lip or edge that can be difficult for a person who is older. There is the issue of being able to lift their legs high enough to clear the edges as well as balance worries that could lead to slips or falls.
Bathtubs can be a real danger for the elderly. If you want to make sure that your parents are as safe as possible in your home, you will want to do away with this potential hazard by installing a walk in tub. Walk in bathtubs are designed with a door in the side of the tub.
To use the bathtub, the person opens the door and walks in, closing the door behind them. Then, they can fill the bathtub with water. These tubs also have seats in them so that the user can sit in the bathtub like they are sitting in a chair. Walk in tubs also often have better temperature controls and faster filling and draining that standard tubs to make up for having to get in the tub before it is filled (and get out after it has drained).
Now that you know a few of the ways that you can upgrade your bathroom to accommodate your elderly parents, you can be sure that you are doing everything you can to make your home safe and comfortable for your parents when they move in.
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