After a Fall How Does Personal Care Assist Your Mom?

Name: TenderHearted Home Care and Samaritan Healthcare
Address: 130 N Arlington St, Suite H, Salisbury, North Carolina, 28144, United States
Telephone: (704) 612-4132
Price range: $

By TenderHearted Home Care, LLC | August 3, 2022 |

Bathroom falls are twice as likely to lead to injury as a fall in a bedroom or family room. Harder surfaces like toilets, tile floors, and bathtub sides are all reasons that the risk of injury is greater. Plus, one study found that of the older adults who fell once in a year, 62% fell more than once. Some fell more than four times in a year.

Your mom fell in the bathroom. Her confidence diminished after that fall, and now she’s scared to shower if you’re not there. The problem is that you have a full-time job, so you can’t always be there. It’s time to address bathroom safety and the importance of ensuring she doesn’t fall again.

Add Grab Bars to Bathroom Walls

Personal Care at Home Salisbury, NC: Seniors and Safety

Grab bars offer support while your mom is stepping in and out of the shower or bathtub. It’s a good idea to install them inside the bathtub or shower wall. Placement should be on each wall. If you don’t want to drill through tub or shower walls, look for the heavy-duty ones that suction to tub and shower walls.

You also need to add grab bars to the wall outside of the bathtub. The final area for them is to the side of and behind the toilet. Imagine where she would end up if she fell. Try to put grab bars in those areas to ensure she’s able to find a bar to hold for support in these different situations.

In addition to grab bars, look into the benefits of having caregivers helping your mom as she transfers in and out of the shower. She’ll have the support she needs to avoid a fall.

Invest in a Shower Seat

When your mom fell, was she in the shower trying to balance while shaving her legs or washing her feet? It’s not uncommon to find older adults falling while trying to complete these tasks. Invest in a shower seat to ensure your mom can sit down for these care needs. Or, hire someone to help her with foot care.

Caregivers can help your mom clean her feet, trim nails, and apply foot cream. They can help your mom shave her legs if needed.

Hire Personal Care Aides

Many older adults who fall once go on to fall again within a year. Hire personal care at home attendants to be in her home while she showers. She has a caregiver to hold onto while she gets in and out of the shower. Her caregiver stays with her while she dries off, applies skin lotion, and gets dressed.

Protect your mom. Hire personal care at home to help as she showers and gets dressed. Don’t risk another bathroom fall. Call a personal care at home advisor to get started.