Posts

Indoor Falls Among Seniors – Impact and Prevention

Image
Seniors tend to fall often due to the declining physical ability and unsteady gait which is a development of advancing age. These falls occur either at home or outdoors. There are differences in the consequences and circumstances of these falls. It is important to understand these differences for fall prevention in elderly. The focus of this article is on the indoor falls among seniors. In a study of 765 elders in the U.S., 598 falls occurred indoors as compared to 524 outdoor falls, over a period of two years. This article was published in the journal of American Geriatrics Society, bringing out the difference between indoor and outdoor falls. The following distinctions surfaced: Seniors who fell indoors had an inactive lifestyle in comparison to the seniors who fell outdoors. Indoor falls also resulted due to the higher level of physical disability of seniors as opposed to outdoor falls. Seniors who fell outdoors were in a better health condition. Seniors who fell outdoors ...

Benefits of Senior-Friendly Changes to Your Home

Image
Senior-friendly changes are recommended by occupational therapists and physicians for a better aging experience. What does ‘senior-friendly’ mean and how does it benefit our elderly? Senior-friendly is a term often talked about in the forums of design for aging. ‘Senior-friendliness’ can be said as the ability to empower seniors with independence while minimising the incidence of falls. Falls, in specificity, because it is one of the most common concerns in senior living. Needs of senior citizens at home are quite simple and straightforward. The setback lies in the need-fulfillers available to seniors. These need-fulfillers or everyday solutions cannot be easily used by seniors due to reduced physical abilities. Enter, Design For Aging . Senior-friendly home design elements involve careful observation and study of ergonomics of seniors. These geriatrics-prescribed house modifications or additions are easy to implement but have a profound impact on seniors’ wellness. Some...

Importance of Adequate Lighting at Home for Seniors

Image
Senior safety encompasses a lot of aspects. One of them is sufficient lighting in house plans. With advancement in age, when the chances of vision impairment are high , lighting plays an important role. Seniors are already subjected to deterioration in vision up to some extent. Arrangements at home must be made to enable navigation and vision. When we talk about lighting it is not just the number of lights or the power wattage. The placement of lights also need to be considered. Space planning, facilities at home that can accommodate The different aspects of lighting can be listed as follows: Strength of lighting – It may be misleading to say that good lights facilitate vision. Unnecesarily placerd strong lights can further damage seniors’ vision or obstruct view. Strong glares may affect the delicate eyes of elders. Natural lighting inside homes is another major consideration. Natural light not only helps elders see, but also takes away the feeling of confinement....

Best Out the Pests! And All You Need to Know

Image
Drive pests out of your home before they drive you crazy. An ideal home not only includes functional safety but also protection from health hazards such as pests. Commonly found pests include insects like roaches and other creepy-crawlies, rodents and mosquitoes and many more. The bane of such pests is not limited to causing ill-health, material damage is also one of the biggest consequences of infestation. Let’s tackle this giant of a task together. Senior-friendly home design involve using wooden furniture important for elders’ painless comfort and safety.  Wooden furniture are designed to prevent uneventful abrasions or wounds caused while walking by or using them. These are also hard to source and most often custom-made for seniors. Such implements of age other valuables like old books, rugs, clothes are put to danger when pests exist at home. Pest control eradicates all the pesky consequences along with the pests. There are various methods in which pest control can be...

Reasons Why should Living Spaces be Senior-Friendly?

Image
Senior members in every family need a comfortable and stress-life for their healthy existence. So it is important to create a safe and senior-friendly environment so that they can feel more confident and be largely independent in carrying out their daily-living chores in their homes. Old age ushers a plethora of physical, emotional, lifestyle and cognitive changes which impact the movement and overall living of the elderly. Performing simple things as reading sign-boards or getting through a narrow aisle can be tedious. Many seniors also have chronic conditions like Arthritis, Osteoporosis and Parkinson’s disease which hinders their free movement. Falling poses life-threatening impairments and injuries to the fragile body and bones of elders. So safety and security features must be in focus while making adequate measures for fall prevention and fall protection. The special needs of elderly persons who have physical impairments must be definitely taken into consideration in ...