Home Safety Equipment Tips After an Injury or Illness

by Tracy Turner, occupational therapist with INTEGRIS Home Care

If you or a loved one has had an injury, illness or some other health factor that makes it hard to move around your home, you might be concerned about home safety. Tracy Turner, an occupational therapist with INTEGRIS Home Care, offers some tips on the proper equipment you should have around your home to keep you or your loved ones safe.

Hi, my name is Tracy Turner. I'm an occupational therapist with INTEGRIS Home Care, and I'm here to talk to you today about safety and adaptive equipment in your home after you've had an injury or an illness.

We'll start off with the transfer tub bench. This is good if you have a difficult time getting in and out of your tub. What you do is you sit down on the edge of it, swing your legs over into the tub, and scoot over and shower safely. I like to use a handheld shower with those for the hard to reach spots when you're sitting down.

Next we have a shower chair, and notice how it has the adjustable legs. It's great for adjusting to your height for better safety in the shower. You could also include a grab bar. This one's a permanent one that needs to be attached by a plumber or a contractor, and this one is a suction cup grab bar, both to increase your safety in the shower.

Next we have a bedside commode. This is if you have a difficult time getting up and down at night and can't quite make it to the bathroom. It's a much safer bet to have one of these right at your side. It can also be used as a toilet extension or a shower chair.

We also have a toilet extension. It has a few extra inches to go on those low-rise toilets that are just a little bit too hard to get up and down from. I like the ones with the arms because it is a little bit easier to push up from.

In the bathroom, I like to recommend that you have a non-slip rug right in front of your shower or your tub. It just makes it a lot safer for you stepping out.

Please always carry a cell phone or a portable phone with you whenever you're at home alone, or go ahead and get one of those emergency response systems.

If you have questions of any of these equipment pieces, please contact your health care provider. Thank you.