Bathing Solutions News

April 2008

Ideas for Safe Showers

12/04/2008

Some ideas for making a shower safe and accessible include:
Have a shower, or a bathroom, on the 1st floor. Advantages are no stairs to climb up or down.
Non-slip. Stick non-skid shower strips or rubber suction mats to help someone stop slipping.
Place mats or towels outside the shower area.
If you have to replace an entire bath, some have non-slip finishes.
Try a simple shower cubicle. In most cases, a stand-alone shower is far safer than one over the bath, because there is no climbing in and out.
Install a walk-in bath. Walk-in baths may cost a little more, but it is a great solution for those who would like a bath and a shower.
Attach grab rails on bath walls. This helps for better support.
Reset the water temperature. This reduces the possibility of scalding. A comfortable temperature is around 90-to-100 degrees F. Obviously, the right water temperature depends on the individual, (48.88 C).
Install a hand-held or flexible shower head. This helps people with less flexibility reach areas all over the body much easier.
Invest in shower seats. Simply sitting down during a shower may be a great relief to many seniors. Many showers for the elderly are supplied with a bench as part of the wall surround.
Bathing Solutions representative have years of experience so take advantage of our expertise.

Grab-a-rail!

04/04/2008

It is fact that you can enhance the safety and ease of use of your wet room, walk in bath or shower by fitting a grab rail. A grab rail is an attachment that is fitted on the wall of your bathtub or on the bathroom wall itself, whichever is more beneficial for your use. This device greatly reduces the risk of slipping while you are getting into the bath or getting out of it. The Disabled Living Foundation (DLF) recommends a rail be fixed approximately 20cm above the height of a seat to either help a person stand up or to allow wheelchair users to pull on it to transfer across onto the from the wheelchair. Bathing Solutions offer a number of grab rail options in wet rooms, showers and walk-in baths alike.

Electric Showers

04/04/2008

Instantaneous showering day and night for the whole family. That's the beauty of electric showers. They draw water directly from a cold water supply and heat it as it is used, so you don't need to have a stored hot water supply. Because they are easy to install in main and en-suite bathrooms and dedicated shower rooms, electric showers are extremely versatile. In fact, virtually every home - new and old - can have one anywhere...

Yale Study

01/04/2008

Top American University Yale Conneticut has conducted a study to both quantify the burden of bathing disability over time and to evaluate the relationship between disability in bathing and disability in other essential activities of daily living. (ADL’s)
The study was conducted by 750 community living older people aged 70+ who were non disabled. They were assessed every month over a period of 6 years in four essential ADL’s one being bathing. Bathing disability was described as the inability to wash and dry one’s body without personal assistance. Over the course of the six years 440 of the 750 had at least one episode of bathing disability and 266 had multiple episodes. This shows you how many elderly people bathing can become a challenge for. (Over 50% in this study.)
The conclusion of the study was that disability in bathing may serve as a sentinel event to challenges with other ADL’s but this is not always the case. They also noted that as well as programmes to prevent bathing disability but also the restoration and maintenance of independent bathing such as some of the solutions offered at www.bathingsolutions.co.uk.