The home is a place of belonging, comfort, security and safety of everyday living. The truth is that the home is where many of today's elderly population are being injured, especially bathroom related accidents. The bath can be a dangerous place in the home without safety precautions. Here are some startling statistics:
- "About one third of the elder population over the age of 65 falls each year, and the risk of falls increases proportionately with age. At 80 years, over half of seniors fall annually."
- "About half (53%) of the older adults who are discharged for fall-related hip fractures will experience another fall with in six months."
- "Falls are the leading cause of death due to injury among the elderly 87% of all fractures in the elderly are due to falls."
- "Falls account for 25% of all hospital admissions, and 40% of all nursing home admissions 40% of those admitted do not return to independent living; 25% die within a year."
- "55% of all falls take place inside the home."
- "There are nearly 200,000 bathroom accidents per year. That's 70 percent of all home accidents, according to research from home care products company Aurora in North Ridgeville, Ohio.
- According to the National Center for Health Statistics, there were 34 million people over the age of 65 in 1997, and that will double to nearly 70 million by 2030."
Inside the home, the bathroom is the most dangerous for the likelihood of accidents. The bath is slippery when wet, and without proper safety, a fall can happen in an instant. Safety should come first. There are precautionary measures that one can take in the bathroom. Thanks to the National Ag Safety Database (NASD), we can provide a bathroom safety checklist:
___The bath or shower has non-skid mat or strips on the standing area, Safety from falling on slippery surface.
___The towel bars and the soap dish in the shower stall and bath are made of durable materials and are firmly installed.
___Bathroom has even lighting without glare.
___The light switch is located near the door of the bathroom.
___The bathroom door opens outward.
___The bathroom has a safe supplemental heat source and ventilation system.
___The outlets are ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) that protect against electric shock in the bathroom.
___Grab bars are installed on the walls of the bathroom by the bath and toilet.
Keep your home the place of belonging, comfort, security and everyday living, especially your bathroom. Make safety a number one priority. A little bit of time spent installing safety precautions in your bath can ensure years of accident free living.
WARNING: ONE PERSON DIES EVERY DAY FROM USING A BATHTUB/SHOWER IN THE UNITED STATES
Protect yourself from slip and fall accidents especially in the bathroom.
Order Bath Safety Products
Order SecureMount Grab Bars
Portions of this information are from
http://www.learnnottofall.com/content/fall-facts.jsp, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0VCW/is_16_25/ai_55781804, "Bathroom safety becomes priority", Home Channel News, Sept 1, 1999 by Monica Toriello, and http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d000101-d000200/d000139/d000139.html
To the best of our knowledge, the information contained herein is accurate. However, neither Binson's, or any of its subsidiaries assumes any liability whatsoever for the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein. This information is for educational purposes only.
