We will be learning about senior living, guidance and costs when looking for key pieces of equipment. Also, when taking care of people that have all kinds of challenges. Saftey is a huge concern. To help protect someone from themselves is thought provoking. It’s a must to understand some basics as to thinking ahead for the person you’re caring for. Weather you’re looking into creating ease of living for your loved one or the caregiver; you must consider every room in the home.
How to pick a walker, wheelchair, body hiost and comode.
1. Walkers: There are many types of walkers. The most common is called a folding walker. These are usually made of alluminum and are folding. They have four legs to offer stability. You can get them with the 2 front legs utilizing wheels and you would drag the back 2 legs (sliding). Also, you can get the with baskets and even a seating acessory to take a break and sit where you are.
2. Wheelchairs: There’s a very large variety of wheelchairs available. They come manually driven, light duty, portable and electric. There are wheelchairs that can climb stairs and ones that can take you from a seated position to standing.
3. Body Hoists: These are great tools to have when needing to move a person from a bed to a chair and back. They can take up a lot of space, but are a necessity when having to move a person around that cannot move themselves. They come available as manual lifting or electric. Also, they usually come with a material you would put under the person you’re lifting. This material would have atleast 4 straps to attach to the hoist in order to lift the immobile person.
4. Comodes: As a person becomes more immoble; getting to the bathroom can be difficult. Having a comode that can either slide under a person while in bed is a good tool. If the patient can move a litle or stand, the better option is to have a comode the person can sit on. It would look similiar to a metal/plastic chair with a removable bowl that the patient would sit over. After the patient has done their business; the bowl can be removed for cleaning. A simple addition would be to buy bag liners for the bowl. So, when the person is done going number 1 or 2; you simply close up the bag on the bowl and throw out the bag.
How to improve on safe proofing your home.
A variety of options are available to do some light duty to heavy duty saftey around the house. You could use some foam around tables, chairs and edges/corners of walls. Also, you can use walking rails attached to walls or free standing for support for the patient walking. Chairs that can go up and down the stairs electronically can be very helpful. These are called stair lifts. Additionally, installing many grab bars in the bathrooms and places within the home for stability.
What’s the best furniture to buy
Having options for furniture to help live life easier is always good. There are many choices for power reclining chairs.
They’re for people who have difficulty sitting down and getting back up again. Wether it’s due to an accident, operation, illness, or anything else. They have the ability to give heat to your back, massage, lift your legs up and have the entire chair lift up to get you into a standing position.
Looking to improve bathroom use and saftey
Going to the bathroom for a elderly person can be difficult. Also, using a shower can have it’s challenges. You can put grab bars in key places in the bathroom and in the shower. In addition, you can use a toilet seat riser. This wil help get on and off the toilet easier. These risers can come with an alluminum framing that has arm rests to aid in sitting and standing to/from the toilet. Another nice bathroom accessory is a shower chair. They can come in wood or vinyl. They come as a single seat for people who can still get into the shower easily. You can get them as a bench style seat that can be partially in the shower and partially out of the shower. This a good tool for people who cannot get into the show easily by themselves. Some of these bench seats have a sliding section of the seat that positions the patient directly under the shower head. There are more alternatives to explore later on.
Conclusion – Things to remember and think about
Taking care of a loved one is always challenging and stressful for the caregiver and the patient. Always keep an open mind when looking into ways of better care for the patient and the caregiver. There’s not a clearcut answer to any of this type care. The goal is always to keep pain, discomfort and stress down for the patient and caregiver. When considering any purchase of items to improve care; the idea of being able to be consistent with the level of care is important. The caregiver needs to be safe and injury free all the times. In order to provide attention to the patient at all levels and all times. Never forget to look at whatever you’re doing or purchasing from two perspectives. One being the patient and the other being the caregiver. It’s easy to get caught up in just thinking about the comfort of the patient, but without a healthy and happy caregiver. The patient will have some discomfort and may suffer a bit.
As a side note, it’s always a good idea to draw out a plan of what you would like to purchase and where you would put the various items. Medical equipment can take up a lot space quickly. Also, the costs of medical equipment can add up. If possible, price out what you would like to buy in stages. This way, you will not become overwhelmed with the rising costs of taking a person in your home. Be well and take care of each other. Bless you all.
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