Advanced Age & Safety Risks

Advanced Age & Safety Risks

Guest Post

If staying safe ourselves was not hard enough, we also now have to take care of those around us and care for their safety. Whether it is infants or the elderly, they are a part of our society and families, so we can not live on with our lives while we ignore them. Often people in an advanced age of 60+ have various problems to deal with, from physical disabilities to mental degradation, it can be difficult to manage the elderly. It can get even get frustrating, but we need to build our homes and roads in a way that facilitates the ones who are less capable of keeping themselves safe. A few ways to make our surroundings safe for the elderly are discussed below. These are easy changes that you can make in your lives without too much trouble.

Firstly, and most importantly we have to make our homes a safe place for the elderly people who visit us or those in our families. If you have a live-in member of the house who is of advanced age and has physical disability, in the sense that he or she can not walk too much without falling or faltering, then there are some changes that you can make. Reduce the number of steps you have in the house, by making an open plan house with a step-free zones for the areas used the most by them. This will reduce the chances of them tripping over.

Secondly, your house should be fire-safe and should have fire exits that the elderly are completely aware about and can reach as quick as they can. Often elderly people have slowed down pace which can be a real problem in case of emergencies like fires. Always have an active smoke alarm in your home which is constantly charged or the batteries recharged. Fire is an actual problem with the elderly in the house, because they begin to have forgetful minds and you do not want to take that risk . Plan an escape route with them and train them to leave the house as soon as they hear the fire alarm. For those with hearing impairments, you can switch on some lights that blink when the alarm goes of.

Thirdly, make their rooms and the rooms they use the most like the TV lounge or kitchen less scattered with as little furniture as possible. Make sure there are no loose wires that they can trip over or the floor is not made up slippery material that they can easily slip on in case they spill some water etc. making sure that the lighting is very bright is another way of avoiding them from losing their balance because people often start to have weaker eye sight as their age advances.

Another problem with elderly is that they find it hard to find their way around the house or if you feel they often feel dizzy or falter, you should install hand railing around the house so they can rely on holding these when then they feel they are not able to move without assistance. These can be especially helpful in places like the bathroom or TV lounge where they find it difficult to get up once they sit down.

It is important to be careful with elderly people around your house and proofing your house so that you can avoid any accidents. Being sure of their safety is better than regret, any day!

Author Bio:-

Carla Steve, as a motorcycle accessories analyst, loves to write feature articles on variety of topics related to motorcycle, specifically focusing on motorcycle accessories like open face motorcycle helmets .