National Bath Safety Month

Ten percent of those over age 60 have difficulty bathing…75% of slip-fall deaths happen to those 65 or older…there are an estimated 370 bath/shower injuries a day.

These statistics provide ample cause for declaring January National Bath Safety Month and increasing our awareness about how quickly bathing accidents and injuries occur.  If you are caring for a loved one (of any age) who is weak or has mobility problems, you know that bathing can be one of the most stressful parts of caregiving.  Those problems are compounded for elderly loved ones whose vision, balance, motor skills, and sense of touch may be decreased or impaired by age, infirmity, and some medications.

What can we do to make the bathing process less risk prone?

·        Stay close by throughout the bathing/showering process, offering all the help that is needed (and as much as an adult loved one will allow).  Home health aides can be especially helpful if your loved one resists your attempts to assist them.

·        Keep the bathroom door unlocked when your loved one is bathing/showering.  That’s a good rule of thumb for every family member, since all of us are susceptible to bathing accidents and a locked door impairs our ability to offer rescue and help.

·        Keep your bathroom as clutter-free as possible.  Provide as much as possible into and out of the shower and tub, keep clutter (including piles of magazines and newspapers away from the tub), and keep the number of bottles, jars, and soap bars inside the tub/shower area to an absolute minimum.  Consider everything near or in the tub a potential slip-fall hazard.

·        Keep your bathroom floors clean and dry, and encourage your loved one (and every family member) to wear non-skid slippers and socks in the bathroom.

·        Stow electrical devices away from the tub and sink.

·        Use non-skid bath mats inside and outside the tub/shower.

·        Set your water heater temperature of 120 degrees Farenheit, maximum.  Consider investing in a bath-water thermometer, but at the very least always check the temperature of the water before your loved one (or child) enters the water.  Some types of medicine and disease syndromes reduce finger-tip sensatory perceptions, making the risk of scalding greater

·        Use a transfer bench to help your elderly or mobility impaired loved one enter the tub or shower more easily, and use a shower or tub seat inside the tub.

·        Install grip-bars on the walls to increase mobility safety.

Physicians’ offices, senior centers, home health organizations, physical therapists, and pharmacists can suggest other helpful measures.  In the meantime, take a good look at your bathroom from a risk-spotting perspective, and develop a simple plan for alleviating those risks.