Ensure Your Safety With Bathroom Grab Bars
The Importance Of Bathroom Grab Bars
Bathroom grab bars should really be viewed as a necessity for any modern bathroom. They can be quickly, simply and conveniently installed, and from thereon in offer safety and protection against accidental falls. The typical grab bar should be situated near the bathtub or shower. While they can be easily self-installed in any bathroom, bathroom grab bars are most frequently found in the homes of the physically handicapped, or those of elderly people living alone.
- Bathroom grab bars come in many styles, types, and materials – you’ll find them in chrome, stainless steel, and even bronze.
- The variety of styles available nowadays ensures that even the most persnickety homeowner is sure to find a grab bar to suit their personal taste, or the aesthetic of their home.
- For those who lend more weight reasonable pricing and reliability, simple white plastic grab bars will probably suffice.
For those who really can’t do without their grab bars, travel grab bars are now available. These, obviously, are not mounted permanently to the wall like traditional grab bars, but are either of the clamp-on-tub or suction cup type. Both designs have survived rigorous safety testing, and are approved by government associations to be used for their potentially life-saving purpose.
Installing Bathroom Grab Bars
If you live alone, or if you have any condition that makes you particularly prone to falling, it may be a good idea to install a bathroom grab bar in your bathroom. This is really an extra precaution that everyone should take. Even perfectly healthy young adults can slip and suffer severe falls while getting into or out of the bath. If you’re knocked unconscious with a locked bathroom and apartment, it may be hours or days before you receive medical attention – and if you’re left for that long, well, it may just be too late. Accidents of this nature are actually fairly common, and can, in 90% of cases, be prevented by the self-installation of bathroom grab bars.
Certain conditions that make adults prone to falls include
- muscular dystrophies
- orthostatic hypotension
- and, in some cases, something as seemingly benign as an electrolyte imbalance
Do you occasionally feel dizzy or light-headed after standing up too suddenly? If so, you may have orthostatic hypotension. You should probably consult a doctor, and it would definitely be wise to install a bathroom grab bar in your home, especially if you live alone.
Bathroom Grab Bars For The Elderly
Finally, installation of grab bars is strongly encouraged for the elderly, or homeowners who have elderly persons living with them.
- Falls during activities that wouldn’t trouble a younger person are among the most common accidents affecting elderly people, typically resulting in an extended stay in hospital and subsequent loss of mobility.
- It doesn’t matter whether the elderly person is living alone or with you, as such an accident can occur any time an elderly person uses the bathtub or the shower.
- Because of the fragility of their bones, elderly people are prone to serious hip fractures, complications with which range from infection to avascular hip necrosis and even death.
These are just a few important reasons you should consider installing bathroom grab bars in your home. Modern grab bars are easily installed, come in a variety of designs, and may help to prevent you or your family suffering due to unnecessary accidents.
