Budget Bathroom Design for Seniors

It can be frightening to think about some of the challenges that seniors face when they live on their own. Particularly seniors with mobility issues or cognitive challenges that make every day activities such as bathing difficult are at risk of serious injuries. If your aging loved one has made the decision to age at home, it is important to make modifications to the home to keep him safer. While you can do total renovations or remodels of dangerous rooms of the home such as the bathroom, this is an extremely expensive undertaking. Instead, making a few simple and accessible modifications to the existing room can make budget bathroom design for seniors possible.

Why Elderly Bathroom Design Modifications May be Necessary

Even the healthiest and most vibrant of seniors sometimes cope with mobility issues. Whether it is as a result of arthritis or another medical condition, or just symptoms of the effects of aging, many elderly people are no longer capable of moving around as well as they once did. This can be not only frustrating, but dangerous as well. Older people who have difficulty moving around are at risk of serious injury, especially in certain rooms throughout the home. Of these risky rooms, the bathroom poses the most danger.

Simply by merit of their design and usage, bathrooms can be frightening places for the elderly with mobility issues. Tile floors and bath tubs can be slippery, the step up into the shower can seem insurmountable, and the task of sitting on the toilet and standing back up can be nearly impossible without help. Seniors who live on their own may slip, lose their balance, and fall.  Even seniors who have the help of a senior care provider or family caregiver are at risk, and are also placing their caregivers at risk of being injured should the senior fall on them or pull on them while falling.  Making simple modifications to the elderly bathroom design will help to make the room itself as well as the experience of toileting and bathing easier and safer for everyone involved.

Ideas for Economical Bathroom Design for Elderly Adults

Though some people choose to make renovations to the home in order to make a safer bathroom experience for the elderly, this is not always necessary. There are many meaningful bathroom design modifications that can be made without a tremendous financial commitment to an existing bathroom. Some of these modifications include:

• Suction cup grab bars: grab bars are one of the most important additions to a senior’s bathroom as they offer both support and guidance. An elderly adult who feels unsteady on her feet can use the bars to feel more secure moving across the room. Grab bars are also valuable should a senior actually lose her balance and need something to catch in order to regain her footing. A senior who grabs a slippery sink edge or an unstable towel rod could experience an even more severe fall than if she had just fallen directly. Using grab bars that are attached by suction cups are less expensive as well as being faster and easier to install. They can then be removed without causing any damage to the walls.
• Tub mats: the bottom of a bath tub can be incredibly slippery. Something as simple as stepping into the tub to take a shower can be dangerous. Placing a non-slip bath mat both in and out of the tub will prevent serious slips and falls when transitioning into and out of the bath. You can also use non-slip adhesive cutouts on the bottom of the tub for grip that does not have as much impact on the level of the surface of the tub.
• Brighter lights: vision problems can make even minor tasks intimidating for seniors. By adding higher wattage bulbs to the bathroom fixtures you can improve the ability for your aging loved one to see. This prevents shadowing that can make it difficult to distinguish the edges of the counter, tub, and toilet. Brighter lights also improve the overall impression of the room, making it a more cheerful and less frightening space for the elderly.
• Higher toilet: you likely never really think about it, but the actual act of sitting down on the toilet and standing back up requires some careful maneuvering. Not only must you have the muscle control to actually get your body into the sitting position and then back to standing, but you must also have the balance to guide yourself effectively. This can be quite a challenge for seniors, and can result in serious falls, particularly onto their knees and heads. Raising the height of the toilet makes it easier and safer to navigate using the toilet and gives the elderly person a greater sense of security, which can help to limit the amount of help she needs.