Home Safety Solutions

Following are a few safety precautions that will help make your home a safe place. For ideas and tips on assistive devices that can help you with everyday tasks click here.

• Remove throw rugs.
• Clear floors of all small objects such as bathroom scales or doorstops, to reduce the risk of slipping or tripping.
• Install additional phones to avoid tripping over extension cords.
• Avoid wearing loose or floppy slippers or shoes.
• Check all stairs and thresholds for loose hardware or carpet.
• Since most falls occur on the bottom step of stairs, make that step highly visible by painting it a different color or enduring that it is well lit.
• Hold onto railings. Install railings if you don't have them already.
• Keep a lamp beside your bed so you don't stumble in the dark.
• To prevent dizziness when you first get out of bed, sit and dangle your feet for a moment before standing up.
• Use electric heating pads with caution; you may misjudge the heat.
• Check the bathroom. Put adhesive-backed rubber strips in the tub or shower to prevent slipping. Buy soap on a cord and hang it around the faucet or your neck.
• In the kitchen, do not reach across a hot burner.
• Have a large, easy-to-read list of emergency numbers, including fire, police, relatives and friends, near the telephone.

Read Aging in Place: Tips for Your Home

Posted in Adapting Your Home, Aging in Place, Home Modification, Home Modification Room-by-Room, Home Safety & Fall Prevention, Supportive Homecare