Bed Rails

Bed rails and fall prevention safety, can bed rails really help prevent falls?

We will all grow older as time passes, we will all need to feel secure when getting in and out of our beds without the fear of falling. We all want to maintain our independence as long as possible. Bed rails could be what you’re looking for. Solid support at your bedside can be priceless for someone with a history of falling who simply wants to get in and out of their bed or to sit up in their bed. These seemingly simple tasks can be nearly impossible for someone with steadiness issues or one who has had a history of falling and fall related injuries. For someone who has multiple falls in their history they are most likely in need of 24-hour care. Their independence is now lost. For people who have the fear of another fall bed rails could very well be the solution to help prevent you from falling again.

Elderly individuals who fall have a high chance of breaking their hip. Once they break their hip they will have to undergo painful physical therapy to help rebuild their ability to walk again. The worst-case scenario from falling is death. Many seniors who fall end up dying from their fall related injuries. Unsteady or no equipment at all are the cause of many seniors falls over the country and the world.

Bed rails installed at your bedside can drastically improve your safety when getting in and out of your bed. A high percent of all fall related injuries and deaths happened near your bedside. Fall related injuries are extremely serious and you need to take the proper precautions to avoid you, or your loved one, suffering from this very real danger. The best way to do this is to make the area near your bedside as safe and as accessible as possible.

Quality made bed rails should be made of metal or preferably steel. You will need a product that is made to last. You, or your loved one, will be dependent on this rail to keep them safe. The last thing you want is a cheap knock off. Steel bed rails are a fantastic choice to provide your loved one with the most sturdy material available. Also some metals that are made similar to steel can provide enough support for your aging loved one.

Most websites today will have reviews of products you’re interested in. It is important to read as many reviews as you can to paint an accurate picture of whether or not a particular product is right for you. If a product has a high number of negative reviews than there may really be a problem with it. If the product received mostly positive reviews and the negative reviewers complaints don’t affect or bother you then you may have a winner. Many review sites offer a number of reviews so you can gt a good idea of what you are planning to buy. It all comes down to conducting an ample amount of research to get the right bed rails for you and your family.

We continue today on our series of posts regarding nighttime safety. We have already went over setting up some kind of automatic lighting or lighting that is easy to reach. This is especially important for caretakers that can’t be around all the time. Of course for those individuals that are at a high risk of falling then you will want to make sure someone is around all the time. Persistent balancing issues are also something that needs close monitoring and should not be left alone at night.

Now lets focus on removing any objects from your path to the bathroom and other things you need to get to such as the kitchen. If you are still able to prepare food make sure there is a clear path from the bed to the kitchen area. Remove anything that could potentially trip you at night. As we went over in a previous post you will want to make sure there is proper lighting to maximize your vision when making transfers. Make certain that cords and any other kinds of wires are not anywhere near where you will be walking. Even if the cords are on the floor and not sticking up they can still be a hazard when walking.

Last post we talked about nighttime safety and using lights at bed side to improve vision and mobility. Automatic lighting, as we discussed last time, is perfect for those who have trouble remembering and could very well forget to turn on a light even if it is at bedside. So if you think you or your loved one would benefit from automatic lighting “where can I buy lights that turn on automatically?” you may ask.

The best places to buy automatic lighting solutions are at your local home improvement / supplies stores or online. Of course you will have a wider selection online, but you may still want to search locally before making the choice to buy from an online store.

You should keep in mind however that buying your automatic lighting solution online will probably be the cheapest price. Although it won’t hurt to check out local selections so you can get an idea of what you would want most. Be sure to call ahead to the store you plan to visit to see whether or not they carry any kind of automatic lighting products.

At night there are dangers that you may not even have considered. Some of these things include, but are not limited to, things that an elderly individuals can trip on as they try to make it to the bathroom, or poor lighting causing a slip and fall, as well as lights not being turned on or forgotten to be switched on. Many elderly individuals will forget to turn on lighting before they attempt to get up. And the ones that do remember may not be able to reach the light switch. This can be extremely dangerous and can lead to yet another fall.

Solutions to lighting can include placing lights near bedside that are big and easy to find such as push lights. This will allow your patient or loved one to push the lights at bedside. Also automatic lighting can be an option that you may not of considered. This is especially useful for those that are taking care of someone who has short term memory loss and would normally forget to turn on a light switch.

Now that we have gone over how much of a difference a mat can do to provide slip and fall safety it is time to go over some more things you can start doing right away to prevent falling in the bathroom. Lets spend today’s post focusing on the tub area. If you are shaky or have trouble getting out of the tub with or without help then you could greatly benefit from a pole installed there. A stainless steel pole installed in the tub area would be the most ideal choice. Of course you may have to do some searching around to find a stainless steel manufactured one for your needs.

Stainless steel is important because you know it will be able to support you, and it will keep from rusting. You will of course need to make sure you or your patient is able to handle lifting themselves from a sitting position, as this can require a bit of strength to accomplish.

Now continuing on our series of tips to help you improve bathroom safety. Remember if anyone has a question or concern pertaining to bathroom safety tips please do not hesitate to contact us right away. We may even feature your question in an upcoming post.

So now that you are committed to getting your bathroom ready to be as safe as it can be you will want to consider more steps you can take to accomplish this. Besides grab bars, which we went over yesterday, what are some other steps you can take? We frequently go over the outstanding benefits that are achieved with installing bed rails at your bedside, but what else can you do?

A floor mat can make all the difference in the world when used in a bathroom that has slippery tile installed. It is surprising to some that a mat in the bathroom can make such a huge difference. You should look for a mat that was designed to not move on slippery surfaces. Usually you can find a mat such as this at a relatively low price if you shop around.

We have already gone over some ideas to help improve bathroom safety, but today we would like to go over some more. We will go over more tips this coming week. After all most of all falls happen in the bathroom. Falls can, in some cases, be unavoidable, but there are steps we can take to start making our environment a safer one.

Many people have found that a grab bar in the bathroom can greatly reduce falls. The reason for this is that a bar that someone can grab onto to help support them with getting up and out of the tub can make a huge difference. Also when a user begins to fall they will have the option of grabbing onto the bar to right themselves instead of falling. Some bars installed in the bathroom can be pricey, but you will want to but something that is made of quality made material.

Consider purchasing some carpet or a rug for your bathroom that will reduce slipping. Slip and falls in the bathroom can be extremely dangerous and can even lead to death from falling. Bed rails are just one of the things you can do but grab bars are a great idea as well to improve bathroom safety.

Make a conscious decision to upgrade your bathroom setup for maximum fall prevention. It may end up costing you some money but it will be worth it if you prevent even one fall. Search for stores that offer special footwear as well. These specialty footwear stores will help you make a custom option that is perfect for your unique needs.

Continuing our series on how to make your home more safe from falls and injuries related to falling at home. Today we are going to be going over how motion censored lighting can be your solution to turning on the light at night. Many people that get up during the night forget to turn on the light and have a high risk of falling because of it. A click light, what we went over last night, was one suggestion.

The problem with a bedside click light is that users that do not have a good memory and need to remember to push it will often times forget. This can result in dangerous falls or even death from falling. A motion triggered lighting solution might be exactly what you have been looking for. Motion triggered lights will switch on when an individual moves so that if they try to get up during the night they will be assisted with light. The user will not have to remember to push anything. After a set time without movement the light will turn off so they individuals can get back to sleep.

Today we hope we can shed a little light on as to what are some ways that may prevent falls in your bed room. Of course all falling and fall related injury’s can not be prevented, but we can certainly reduce falls from happening with proper care and attention to safety.

Over the next couple of days we will provide you with a number of tips we feel you may benefit from. First you can start with lighting. Proper lighting is essential for bed room safety because if you are unable to see when making a trip to the bathroom you are likely going to fall. Of course this is common sense, but finding a light switch in the dark can be tricking. you will want to make sure light switches are readily available so that they can be located when a trip to the bathroom is necessary.

Bed rails are a fantastic way to get into your wheelchair from bedside. Bed rails will help you sit up so that you can then move into position to get into a wheelchair or use a walker. Walker is not always the most sturdy option but it is used by many people across the nation. If you simply need to get into your wheelchair from your bed, and of course this really is not a simple task at all for someone who is weakened or sickly, then bed rails may very well be your answer.

You will need the strength to pull yourself up from bed to be able to use bed rails. With a rail at bedside this really is not very hard and if you even have a little strength you should be able to handle it. So consider a possibly bed rails in your future.