Many of us
have aging or disabled parents who want to retain their independence. They want to remain in their own familiar homes where they have built their memories. They
do not want to move into a small apartment in a retirement center or a single
room in a nursing home As their children or grandchildren, though, we notice
when they begin to have difficulty with balance and mobility. We worry that
could be injured if they fall. A fall in the bathtub is especially worrying,
but there are two options. You can install grab bars and purchase a shower
bench, or you can install an easy access tub like a walk-in tub.
Grab Bars and
Shower Benches
Grab bars are
bolted to the wall, while one end of a shower bench sits outside of the tub and
the other end sits inside the tub. The bench has a handrail on each end, a slip
resistant seat, and rubber tips on the legs. It may have a depression for a bar
of soap. Your parent will sit down on one end, lift his or her legs over the
edge of the tub, and scoot across the bench into the tub. However, your parent
may have difficulty lifting his or her legs high enough, and the bench could
tip with your parent. It's also possible that the grab bars could pull free of
the wall. In addition, the surface of the tub is still slippery.
Walk-In Tubs
Walk-in tubs,
such as those offered by RemodelingContractor.com have a wide, leak-proof door
with a low threshold that your parent can easily step across. The safety
handles are a strong, integral part of the tub, as is the comfortable,
slip-resistant seat. There is no danger that the safety handles could pull free
or that the seat could tip. Some of these tubs have temperature controls for
the water, water jets that ease arthritis, and power seats that lower your
parent into the water and then raise them up again when they are done bathing.
However, while payment plans may be available, purchasing and installing a
walk-in tub represents a large investment.
Grab bars and
a shower bench are an affordable option, but the safety and features of a
walk-in tub make it a worthwhile investment to consider.
Image credit: By Mediaprizm - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47884563
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