Top 8 home Safety Tips for seniors
What is Home Safety?
House safety refers to the overall knowledge of hazards, education about risks, and possible threats these risks may provide within and outside a home. These risks might cause physical harm, accidents, or even deaths to those who live in or close to a home’s physical structure. It encompasses recognising, assessing, reducing, and preventing unwelcome threats utilising acknowledged norms of applications and procedures, research, and testing. If you have a senior relative living alone or if one has relocated in with you, making sure they are safe at home should be your top priority. We all understand they need nothing less, so keeping them secure and content will guarantee they spend their glory days in peace.
Home Safety Rules
At home, abide by the following rules:
- Steer clear of sharp objects such as knives, blades, razors, etc. Utilise them in the sight of any seniors if it is required.
- Avoid using matchsticks for games. Use them very carefully in the sight of any seniors, and wait to get them fully extinguished before throwing them.
- Keep a lit candle safe from your body, clothes, and hair. Never place it next to any plastic or clothing
- Improper usage of electrical devices can seriously injure us. Avoid contacting them with moist hands. Always operate them when wearing slippers. Never mess around with exposed plug ports or cables.
Importance of Home Safety
The importance of home safety is directly correlated with the value of practising safety. You may avoid common mishaps like falls and safeguard against emergencies like fire home safety by keeping your house secure and free of hazards. To keep yourself and those you love safe and secure, adopt some healthy behaviours around your home.
Hazards – The following are risks that frequently exist in homes:
- Fall: Regarding domestic accidents, falls are the leading cause of death, and they cause a quarter of all deaths. This kind of accident mainly affects seniors of age 65 and above.
- Fire: Home fires can severely threaten your safety and the security of the individuals you live with and your possessions. Ensure your home has functioning smoke alarms that are periodically checked and a fire strategy with safety procedures in place.
- Carbon monoxide: This is a highly poisonous gas and kills without being heard, it has no color, odour, or taste.
- Small kids who have a propensity to put small things in their mouths run the risk of choking.
- Sharp Things: Every household has several required sharp objects that can be fatal in the hands of very young children.
- Allergies: The humidity in your house directly affects mould growth, which develops when water vapour condenses on surfaces like walls & window frames. A few signs of a mould allergy are sneezing, itching eyes, and headaches.
- Slippery surfaces: It is possible that slippery surfaces during household activities might cause a fall and injury.
Top 8 Home Safety Tips for Seniors
1. Trip Risks
You may already be acquainted that falling is one of the main reasons for injuries among senior folks. It would help if you lessen your senior’s danger of falling by remodelling your home to accommodate them better. Rugs, debris, extension wires, and electrical wiring are just a few examples of the various sizes and shapes that trip hazards can take.
2. Look over Your Furniture
Check your furniture frequently for microcracks or other indicators of deterioration. That will ensure the safety of your senior family members while they are using them. Any shaky or damaged furniture must be replaced or fixed as soon as you discover them.
3. Show Emergency Phone Numbers
Keep the emergency line prominently displayed in your home in large fonts. These may be printed, pasted on bulletin boards, or even affixed to refrigerator doors. In the case of an emergency, one of these numbers can be called.
4. Make Your Home Fireproof
By eliminating all known fire dangers, you can defend your property from the possibility of accidental fire. Ensure functioning smoke alarms. Some seniors still prepare meals by themselves, although they frequently forget. You must be informed immediately if children leave the oven on and a fire breaks out.
5. Systems for Medical Alerts
Medical alert systems instantly connect your loved ones to someone who can aid in an emergency with an easy button push. Most of these systems are made to be installed and utilised in houses, however, some offer wearable security for your senior family members.
6. Ensure Bathroom Safety
Not only for seniors, but the toilet is also one of the most hazardous spaces in the home for everybody. Remove loose blankets or mats from your bathroom and replace them with rubberised equivalents to address safety concerns.
7. Get a New Bed
Seniors won’t have any back, neck, or hip aches if you switch out their soft, sagging mattress for one that is firmer and more supportive. Today’s market is flooded with supportive mattresses that are stiffer and taller than regular beds since they are specifically made for seniors.
8. Security Options
You may install some simple security devices to keep your loved ones secure if they spend the entire day at home alone. There are security systems in addition to the medical alert system stated earlier that can be easily installed and utilized by the senior family members.
Emoha App
With the Emoha app, you get access to 24/7 emergency support for non-medical & medical emergencies alike that can be availed from any place in India within seconds. You also get exclusive benefits like trip booking assistance, special discounts on travel & medicines, a helpdesk for daily support, and much more. You can also read exclusively tailored blogs for seniors on various topics, including health and well-being and entertainment. Download the Emoha App from Google Playstore or iOS App Store.
Conclusion
Focusing on the safety of your senior loved ones is the first step in taking care of them. By improving the home environment for senior citizens, these suggestions will assist you in preventing the majority of accidents.
FAQs
When climbing and descending stairs, hold onto railings and fences. Throw rugs should never be placed at the top or bottom of the steps. Tape all floor rugs to prevent them from moving as you walk on them. Never attempt to put out the fire in your house. Once outside, dial 101. You must know at least two escape routes from your home or apartment.
Make your house more secure by:
1. Ensuring that all stairways, halls, and walks are well-lit and free of obstructions like books or shoes.
2. When climbing and descending stairs, use railings and fences. Throw rugs should never be placed at the top or bottom of the steps.
3. Securing the floor with tape to prevent area rugs from shifting when you step on them.
Home safety is being aware of risks and potential dangers in and around your home. Home Security gives you a place to unwind, have fun, and enjoy family time at home.
Fortunately, despite several significant safety risks in the typical house, most of these issues are relatively simple to resolve. Make sure you are taking all reasonable steps to ensure the most significant level of safety at home.
Read more:
7 Innovative Health Safety Gadgets for Senior Citizens
