In Home Care Safety Tips For An Elderly Parent
An eldery parent living alone who is dealing with bad eyesight, arthritis, poor balance, short term memory loss, confusion, and/or other health problems puts him or her at risk for accidents in the home. Below are some in home care safety tips to follow.
* Put a 911 reminder near the phone or designate one button for 911. keep a clearly written, large print list of other emergency phone numbers by every phone, or program them into the telephone's memory. It is also a good idea to alert local police and fire department that your parent is elderly and lives alone. Ask if there are any special precautions you should take.
* Make sure that chemicals, harsh cleaners, insecticides, medications, paints, ect. are all labled with big, clear letters. If your parent gets confused easly, put them out of sight completely.
* Check to see that smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors all work. Your parent's waning sense of smell makes a smoke detector that much more important. It is best to check all detectors every month, and they should be located on every floor of the house, and in bedrooms.
* Buy a small fire extinguisher that is easy to handle and put it in a clear visible place, preferably in the kitchen, where fires often start. Make sure your parent knows how to use the extinguisher.
* Have at least two flashlights, with working batteries, ready to use and easy to find if the lights go out. Put one by your parent's bed and one on the kitchen table. If there is a blackout, several large flashlights are safer than candles.
* Because of their thinner skin and slower reactions, elderly people are at risk for scalding. Set the hot water heater so the temperature of the water doesn't rise above 120 degrees F.
* An elderly parent living alone should have an emergency response system. The ERS provides your elderly parent a help button which can be worn as a pendant or a wrist band. At the response center your parent is identified by a code. If he or she falls, has chest pains, or needs help for any reason, he or she pushes the button which triggers his or her telephone to automatically dial a response center. The center will then send help immediately.
Source:
"How To Care For Aging Parents" by Virginia Morris