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Caring for an elderly parent or loved one at home isn’t easy, but it can certainly be rewarding if you have the right support from elderly care products. Depending on your loved one’s level of function, you may need additional help in daily care tasks.
For patients who retain a high function level late into life, that assistance is often little more than comfort devices and cooperation. For patients with neurodegenerative decline or advanced illnesses, it can be as complex as at-home nurses and mobility devices. In either case, elderly care products make it easier to achieve your care goals for a more comfortable, satisfying, and independent life.
We’ve created this checklist to help you connect with the most helpful elderly care products for caregivers and their patients.
1. Bath Safety Products
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) reports that falls are the number one risk for elderly patients still living at home.
The vast majority of the falls our elderly loved ones experience happen in the bathroom, where slippery floors and water can create a treacherous minefield of dangers. That’s exactly why bath safety products should be a must in all houses with residents over the age of 40.
Exactly which bath safety products matter most? That depends on your situation, how much mobility your senior loved one retains, and just how much safety you want to achieve. Start with these items:
ADA-Compliant Safety Bars
Safety grab bars provide stability and actively prevent falls in the bathroom regardless of age. They can also increase independence and confidence, allowing your loved one to maintain dignity and privacy longer into late life.
Be aware that not all grab bars are robust enough to use for safety purposes. A standard towel rack, for example, may look like a grab bar, but it isn’t strong enough to support a person. All grab bars — be they for towels, tub sides, or toilet — should be ADA-compliant and made from high-strength materials to prevent accidental breakage.
Non-slip Bath Mats and Rugs
Also worthwhile for any bathroom in any home, regardless of occupant age, are non-slip bath mats and rugs. These items increase safety by providing friction and stability over and above slippery wet floors. Upper materials should be absorbent, but all mats should have at least one layer of rubber, plastic, or some other high-friction material that stays in place underneath. From there, you can choose whichever colors, styles, or textures work best with your bathroom decor.
Adhesive Tread Stickers
Most bathtubs have a smooth, slippery surface that makes them easier to drain and clean. Unfortunately, it’s this surface that makes the bathtub so dangerous to begin with. Waterproof adhesive tread stickers attach to the floor of your bathtub, usually in strips or dots, to reduce the floor’s slipperiness when standing or sitting. That tiny bit of additional friction is usually enough to ameliorate most slips and falls altogether, but you should always use these stickers in tandem with other safety devices.
Handheld Showerheads
If you provide in-shower or in-tub support as a caregiver, handheld showers make it much easier to provide that assistance without struggle. Handheld showerheads also let patients who must sit to shower cleanse themselves without needing to stand throughout the shower, significantly reducing the risk of falls.
Depending on your elderly family member’s condition, using a handheld shower may also prevent the need to bend down or lean over to reach certain areas of the body.
Many hand-held showerheads feature variable speed and pulse settings. Though these features don’t address safety, they are therapeutic in cases of chronic pain, arthritis, and circulation issues. This is an added bonus for elderly patients.
For multi-occupant homes, choose a handheld shower that sits in an attachment like a regular shower when not in use. Each family member can use the showerhead as needed without limiting options for other residents.
2. Comfort Care Products
Conditions like arthritis, serious illness, joint degeneration, post-stroke weakness and diabetes can make it very difficult for your elderly patient to achieve comfort. That’s why medical supply pharmacies also stock comfort care products that work with the special needs of seniors specifically. This categorization of elderly care products includes:
- Memory foam cushions for chairs
- Special high-comfort, high-support beds
- Adjustable beds and mattresses
- Moist or dry heating pads
- Massage seat attachments
- Special massage furniture
- Bedside foam fall pads
- Bolster or position pillows
Most elderly patients (and even their families) can benefit from these products. Though you should check with the patient’s doctor, nearly all of these elderly care products can be used on an as-needed basis to achieve improved comfort throughout the day and night.
3. Emergency Assistance Products
Emergency assistance products provide an extra layer of precaution in the event that caregivers are unavailable, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to respond appropriately. This category of products includes:
- Life alert necklaces and bracelets
- Smartphones connected to specialized emergency services
- Handheld intercom services
These products provide the most benefit for patients who are a fall risk and/or at risk of sudden acute illnesses, especially if they are alone for part or all of the day. If a patient falls or can’t be roused, either you or the patient can use the emergency assistance device to call for help — whether that’s dialing a doctor or calling for 911.
4. Incontinence Products
Most experts (including the CDC) agree that incontinence is an increasingly common problem for elderly patients. Average rates sit at somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of all Americans with the number rising steeply with age. Although some patients never experience incontinence, others do; caregivers should treat accidents and struggles with as much dignity and patience as possible.
There’s a common misconception that the only real incontinence products available are diapers. Although adult diapers certainly are incontinence products, they certainly aren’t the only option. Other elderly care products for incontinence include:
- Washable underwear
- Overnight incontinence briefs
- Belted washable fabric undergarments
- Pads, guards, and shields for men and women
- Special wipes for cleaning up accidents
- Skin-soothing barrier and moisturizing creams
- Waterproof sheeting for beds and other furniture
Incontinence is highly embarrassing for most adults. Seniors may resist using incontinence products at first. If the patient you’re caring for resists their use, offer products at the least intrusive level available (e.g. waterproof sheeting, but not diapers). Escalate use with decline in function as the patient permits or when healthcare providers suggest it’s necessary. Incontinence products really do make preventing and handling accidents so much easier.
In Conclusion
Caring for your elderly loved one is truly a labor of love. Though it may be difficult to navigate the Golden Years while preserving independence and freedom for as long as possible, trust that your loved one recognizes your desire to help. If you have questions about any of these elderly care products, or if you need to address a special patient issue, connect with a pharmacist for advice.
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