Aging-in Place With The Best Bathroom Aids For The Elderly
We are all likely to experience a near slip in the shower or from a wet floor in the bathroom but unlike myself and (hopefully) you, we can for the most part stop ourselves from getting injured from a near miss.
But as we age, naturally, we just don’t have the physical capability or dexterity to “catch” ourselves or position ourselves to stop getting hurt. That’s why you should equip your bathroom or your aging parent’s bathroom with the best bathroom adis for the elderly.
You’re likely reading this post because your elderly family member may have already had a fall in the bathroom, and you are now looking for answers on how to make it safer. Or, perhaps, you’re doing some forward planning and looking at ways to mitigate hazards around their use of the bathroom as you’re seeing issues of safety.
The good news is there are ways to address your concerns that better support their deteriorating coordination, balance issues, and overall mobility issues.
You can look at simple improvements with support aids to bathroom modifications to customize it to the requirements to improve their safety.
You will learn ways to address this below.
Table of Contents
What Are The Best Bathroom Aids For The Elderly?
The easiest and most cost-effective way to provide an increased level of safety and comfort in the bathroom is by looking at support aids. These can be easily purchased and personally installed by yourself or their carer. For detailed information about the support aids, you can check here.
Medline Shower Chair Seat
Aging parents have difficulty standing for any length of period, so they may not be able to stand long enough while taking a shower. A simple solution to this is to use a shower chair. This shower chair from Medline is designed with the comfort and safety of seniors in mind. This chair comes with an adjustable height setting and can easily fit into every type of bathroom.
Key Benefits
- This easy-to-assemble chair offers comfort to the elderly during their bath time.
- It comes with a padded backrest, armrest, drain holes, and non-slip feet.
- This chair can easily hold up to 350 lbs of weight.
- It comes with a six-level adjustable height feature with 16 inches to 21 inches height adjustability.
Pros
- Designed as per the needs of the elderly
- Made from aluminum material that makes it sturdy and won’t rust.
Cons
- There are no such drawbacks.
We recommend that if you are unsure of what shower is suitable, first get an Occupational Therapist to complete an assessment of your aging parent’s needs and they can make a recommendation on what will be most suitable to their needs.
Carex Raised Toilet Seat With Handles
The raised toilet seats provide increased stability, comfort, and independence, along with reducing the stress on joints when sitting on the toilet. The Carex raised toilet seat is a great option. This toilet seat is easy to install and increases the height of the toilet seat.
Key Benefits
- This toilet seat comes in two options: elongated bowl size and round or standard bowl size. Customers can choose as per their requirements.
- This raised seat adds up to 3.5 inches of height to the toilet.
- It has removable padded handles for better grip, extra support, and comfort.
- This raised toilet seat can easily hold up to 250 lbs of weight.
- The toilet seat’s handles are 19 inches apart which gives plenty of room to sit comfortably.
Pros
- Provides extra support with padded handles and it is quite comfortable to use.
Cons
- The installation process may be challenging for some people so you might want to hire a handyman to get it in correctly.
- Some may consider it expensive.
KVANT Grab Bars
Grab bars provide additional assistance to the elderly when moving around to the bathroom. Whether it is getting up from the toilet seat or getting into the shower area, this is an essential addition to the elderly bathroom. KVANT grab bars use suction to stick on walls and, for that, each has two suction cups. The curved design of grab bars offers enough space to hold the bars with a firm grip. These grab bars help in providing a safe bathroom for elderly.
Key Benefits
- The pack comes with two grab bars, and each has two suction cups to hold on the walls.
- These 12-inch grab bars are quite sturdy, stable, and safe to use.
- It also has a lock-unlock switch to place it or remove it from the wall.
- It is quite easy to install and can be easily placed anywhere in the bathroom.
- These bars can be easily applicable to smooth tiles, glass, metal panels, marbles, and lacquered wood.
Pros
- Strong suction cups make these bars sturdy and stable.
- Easy to install – don’t require installation or structural installation into the tiles.
- Cost-effective.
Cons
- It only can be used on tiled surfaces and does not apply to any porous surface.
- Not suitable to take the full weight of a person, as its max weight limit is 88 pounds.
MAZ-TEK Motion Sensor Light for Bathroom
Motion sensor light is one of the essential bathroom safety products for seniors, as it can help avoid stumbling or falling during nighttime. Since this light comes with a motion sensor it will automatically turn on as soon as you enter the bathroom. This energy-efficient light comes with great features and is perfect for the bathroom. Perfect for those nighttime ‘toilet breaks’.
Key Benefits
- This light is quite easy to install and produces a white warm light. And it provides bathroom elderly safety during night time.
- It comes with three lighting modes, on mode, off mode, and auto mode. On mode, keep the light on during night, off mode keep the light off.
- While in auto mode, the light automatically turns on whenever it senses motion up to 15 ft. and turns off after 30 seconds when there is no motion detected.
- This device features a brightness adjustment switch with the help of which one adjusts the brightness of light from 0 to 25 LM.
Pros
- Adjustable brightness to different modes.
- Suitable for any standard-sized bathroom.
Cons
- To completely switch off this motion sensor light you have to unplug it from the switchboard.
Vive Toilet Safety Rails
These toilet safety rails from Vive offer comfort and safety during bathroom routines. These rails are secure and easy to install and designed for the bathroom elderly safety. These are most suitable if they just need a hand to get up and off the toilet and don’t require the seat to be raised.
Key Benefits
- These toilet safety rails are made of aluminum material that makes them lightweight and durable.
- This set of safety rails is quite easy to assemble and install.
- These safety rails are height-adjustable, customers can adjust the height from 18.5 inches to 21 inches.
- These compact rails come with padded handles that provide a firm grip.
- This set of rails can hold up to 300 pounds of weight.
Pros
- Lightweight, durable, and comes with padded handles.
- Adjustable height as per the user’s need.
- Allows enough space between both handles and sitting
Cons
- Some customers might find the price on the high side.
Drive Medical Tub Transfer Bench
Tub transfers allow for easier ingress and egress into and out of the bathtub, reducing the risk of falls and trips. Drive Medical’s tub transfer is the perfect option. Extremely durable, and comes with features like height adjustment. This particular chair may be useful for people who have a shower over their bathtub.
Key Benefits
- This tub transfer comes with a backrest, a padded handle, and drainage holes on the seat.
- To keep the bench safe and sturdy during use, the legs of the bench are provided with suction cups for a strong grip. It also features a tab release for easy removal of the bench.
- It also features a height adjustment as the legs of the bench can be lifted or lowered from 17.5 inches to 22.5 inches.
- It is durable, non-slip, non-skid, and a safe option for the bath time of seniors.
- This bathtub transfer bench can hold up to 400 pounds of weight.
Pros
- Made of plastic and aluminum which makes it durable.
- Has a padded handle, height-adjustable backrest, and extendable legs.
- Easy to assemble and install with the bathtub.
Cons
- Some customers may find this chair expensive. Overall this is a great pick considering bathroom elderly safety.
GetSafe Medical Alert System
As the bathroom is a risk area for falls, this product could be an investment to assist with medical emergencies. The medical alert system provides a direct live to medical help as quickly as possible.
This alert system provides 24/7 medical monitoring which comes with GPS and app support. So that you as their loved one and caregiver can also stay connected with them.
Key Benefits
- This medical alert system comes with multiple units including a base station, voice-activated wall button with pull-cable, standard wall button, wearable button, and mobile help GPS button.
- With the above accessories, there is every possible way to reach for help in case of emergencies. These ways include voice – support, pushing the button, and pulling the cables.
- This medical alert system is very easy to set up and offers 24/7 medical monitoring.
- This medical alert system works along with multiple alert system packages. It offers three packages, customers choose any package as per their requirements.
- This alert system performs on a 4G LTE network. It is an essential support item to the bathroom for aging parent care.
Pros
- Quick medical responses
- Monitored 24/7.
- Caregivers can easily check on users to see if they are safe.
- Comes with several accessories to provide every possible way of safety.
- They offer three different packages that you can choose from based on your needs and budget. For each package, you must pay equipment cost upfront and a monthly monitoring fee.
Cons
- May be considered expensive for some people. Some accessories may be included in the package but you will have to pay separately for other accessories.
How Can Bathroom Safety Products For Seniors Benefit Them?
Moving from room to room for the elderly with various physical limitations can still be reduced but the bathroom is a place where everyone has to go for their routine-related tasks. It is then appropriate for the elderly to use support products and aids to increase bathroom safety. And it has many benefits which are as follows –
- First and foremost, these support products offer them independence and comfort.
- Help in reducing risks of falls or tripping.
- Offer convenience to seniors so that they can easily do their routine tasks smoothly.
- Simple provision of these assistive devices in the bathroom will give you peace of mind knowing that they are safe and give you immediate information when needed.
A Buyers Guide: How We Conducted Our Research?
The selection of support products for elderly bathrooms is done based on my extensive professional experience in the area of in-home care for elderly people.
I have worked in this field for nearly 7 years and have collaborated with many occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and clinical nurses who have all provided valuable information on what is the most common need for our aging community. Based on this I have looked at the following features:
Price: During research, we have selected those products that are often more budget-friendly without compromising on the features.
Features: While choosing any product, we have also paid attention to all its important features to solve the various problems faced by the elderly in the bathroom. We have tried to select all the products that meet the needs of the elderly balanced with your budget in mind.
Support and Refund: We have also considered after-sales services while selecting the right products. So, that you can get 24/7 support and a refund in case of discrepancy.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, adding the best bathroom aids for the elderly to your aging parent’s bathroom helps increase safety in the bathroom. Along with that, these items can greatly enhance their independence, safety, and overall quality of life.
From grab bars to shower chairs, there are a variety of options available that can be customized to your parent’s specific needs. Always take time to research to find the right set of support items for your elderly parent’s bathroom.
And from the time you take to do your research, they will have a safer and more accessible bathroom space while also maintaining their dignity and autonomy while aging in place.
Remember, every little bit of support counts!