Have a bath safely
Warm, relaxing and soothing. Who doesn’t love a bath once in a while? Surrounded by lovely scented bubbles it always seems like a treat. It’s that special “me time”, especially for carers. For elderly people, you care for you must help them have a bath safely too.
The bathroom is a room that many elderly people tend to fall in. The combination of wet surfaces and compromised mobility and balance make for a dangerous mix. So what can you do to ensure everyone can have a bath safely?
Don’t have a walk-in bath!
I wouldn’t recommend a walk-in bath unless you have a very warm bathroom. They can only be filled or drained when the user is sitting in it! I don’t know about you but I don’t fancy sitting there getting chilly while it does either!
I appreciate that walk-in baths also called easy-access baths have their benefits. You don’t have to climb in or out of them, they have an integral seat and seem like a good idea.
In Bath Lifts.
I am far more in favour of the many types of bath lifts that are available. I especially like the portable in-bath ones that lower you properly to the floor of the tub so you can relax and enjoy a deep soak. These lifts are brilliant. They are easy to operate using a waterproof hand control and they are easily charged using any home plug socket. This is my preferred product to help someone less mobile have a bath safely.
Useful if someone has fallen.
There is also an added benefit. These bath lifts can be used to help someone to their feet following a fall. They are not sold as portable lifting devices but are perfect for the job provided the person can shuffle backwards onto the seat. These bath seats offer a solid back and seat which the specially designed inflatable lifting products don’t. This helps someone feel safer as they are helped up.
There are many different options available with prices starting at the £200 mark. The one above is the Drive Bellavita lightweight reclining bath lift.
Cheaper Options.
Not everyone has the budget for a full bath lift and there are other options available to you. These are cheaper but also less user-friendly.
The bath seat below is the Aidapt Coniston Rotating Bath Seat.
A bath is meant to be relaxing not merely a way of getting clean and sitting perched on a plastic seat across the bath with just your feet in the water is not my idea of pleasure or relaxation. If you are still able to reach your feet it does mean you can wash them but you are not having a bath as such.
In Bath Seats
The seat shown below is a good compromise. You can sit in the bath and soak your legs and feet but not the rest of you. The seat makes it easier to get in and out of the bath safely & independently especially if you have grab rails fitted and a good bath mat in place.
This is the Homecraft Savanah Bath seat
Other ideas to help.
Bath steps
Some items may be available from Social Services free of charge, so it is always worth finding out this before splashing out ( couldn’t resist that one!) a fortune on equipment.
Happy Bathing!
Don’t forget your rubber duck.
