AHC – Interesting Tips to Make Your House Senior-Friendly

As the population ages, developing senior-friendly housing is becoming increasingly essential to assure the continued safety, comfort, and autonomy of our aging loved ones. This article provides useful advice on how to make your home more senior-friendly by addressing issues such as the ease of access, the level of safety, and the degree to which it can be modified

Helping our older loved ones to keep their independence while also enjoying a higher quality of life is possible if we take a proactive approach to the process of creating a senior-friendly home design that is welcoming to seniors.

Improve Accessibility

• Construct ramps and install handrails: Ramps can be used in place of or in addition to stairs, making it simpler for elderly people who have mobility issues to move around the house and access different rooms. In order to provide an additional level of support, handrails can also be put throughout hallways and close to stairwells.
• Make the entrances wider: entrances that are made wider can accommodate walkers and wheelchairs, making it easier for elderly people to move around the house. If you want to add more width to your door without having to do extensive changes, you should think about installing swing-clear hinges or offset hinges.
• Adjust the heights of the counter tops and cabinets. Lowering the height of the worktops and cabinets can make them more accessible for elderly people who use wheelchairs or for people who have restricted reach. Installing shelves and drawers that can be pulled out might also make it easier to access stored objects.

Improve Safety

• Get rid of any trip hazards by clearing the floor of any loose rugs, clutter, or cables in order to lower the possibility of someone falling. Make sure the flooring is not slippery and is well maintained, especially in places that are prone to dampness like bathrooms and kitchens.
• Install Grab Bars: Installing grab bars in bathrooms, especially in close proximity to the toilet, bathtub, and shower, will give seniors additional support and stability.
• Make the lighting better: Proper illumination is essential for elderly people, particularly those who have visual problems. In order to improve evening vision, every room in the house should have energy-saving LED bulbs installed, and you should also think about installing nightlights in the corridors and bathrooms.
• Put down non-slip mats: To avoid the risk of slipping and falling while in the shower or bathtub, put down non-slip mats. These can be held in place using suction cups, making removal and cleaning much simpler.

Make Adjustments to Living Spaces

● Establish a Bedroom on the Ground Floor If at all possible, try to establish a bedroom on the ground floor to reduce the amount of climbing up and down stairs. Check that the room is large enough to accommodate any mobility aids, such as walkers or wheelchairs, and make sure that the room is accessible.

● Make adjustments to the bathroom. In addition to adding grab bars, you should think about constructing a walk-in shower or a bathtub with a built-in seat in order to make bathing more comfortable and safe. A bidet that is built into the toilet or a raised toilet seat are two options that can help seniors maintain their independence while also improving their personal hygiene.

● Go for appliances and fixtures that are simple to operate: Look for appliances with large controls that are simple to read, and think about putting lever-style knobs on doors and faucets so that they can be operated more easily.

Foster Independence

● Encourage regular exercise by designing facilities specifically for that purpose, such as a home gym or a walking path in the yard. This will help the individual become more self-sufficient. In order to preserve their muscle mass, balance, and overall health, seniors might benefit from engaging in physical activity.

● Make it easier for people to interact with one another in social settings by creating seating arrangements that encourage people to talk to one another, both among family members and with guests. Make sure that seniors have access to various forms of communication technology, such as smartphones and tablets, so that they may maintain relationships with their loved ones and friends.

● Encourage seniors to continue pursuing their hobbies and interests by providing the required materials and designated locations for activities such as gardening, painting, or knitting. This will encourage seniors to continue pursuing their hobbies and interests.

Implement Smart Home Technologies

The use of intelligent home technologies provides a variety of options for ensuring the health and safety of older people who wish to continue living in their own houses.

Monitoring for Falls and Attempts to Prevent Them

• Wearable fall detection devices: Accelerometers and gyroscopes can be used in wearable devices such as pendants, wristbands and belt clips to automatically detect falls. These gadgets are able to transmit notifications to carers, family members, or emergency response agencies in the event that the user has a fall. This allows for quick intervention.
• Intelligent flooring systems can detect falls or strange walking patterns by monitoring pressure changes on the floor. These changes can be caused by people walking in unexpected patterns. These systems can be combined with notification systems so that carers or family members are notified immediately in the event that an aberrant activity or fall is noticed.
• Video monitoring and analysis: sophisticated camera systems equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities may watch and analyze video material in real-time in order to detect falls or movements that are out of the ordinary. The system is able to send messages to carers or emergency services in the event that a potential fall has been detected.

Monitoring of the Patient’s Condition

• Remote health monitoring systems: These systems allow for the integration of several monitoring devices, such as blood pressure monitors and glucose meters, and provide real-time data transmission to healthcare practitioners or carers. It is possible to set up individualized alerts for aberrant readings or patterns, which enables rapid action to be taken when it is required.
• Sleep monitoring devices: Sleep monitoring devices can measure sleep patterns and quality, which can assist discover potential health issues or disturbances. Examples of sleep monitoring equipment include wearable wristbands and under-mattress sensors. These technologies have the potential to offer invaluable insights into the overall health of elders and notify carers to any issues that may arise.
• Smart pill dispensers: These devices can assist maintain medication adherence by delivering reminders and distributing the correct dosage of medications at the appropriate times. Smart pill dispensers are becoming increasingly popular. Some of today’s smart pill dispensers also have the ability to monitor how often medications are taken and notify carers when dosages are skipped.

Emergency Response

• Personal emergency response systems (PERS): PERS devices, which frequently come in the form of wearing pendants or wristbands, can be activated by seniors in the event of an emergency, linking them to a monitoring centre or directly to emergency services. In the event of a medical emergency, the pendant or wristband can be removed and the pendant or wristband can be worn. In the event that elderly individuals require quick assistance, these gadgets can give them with a direct channel of communication to the appropriate party.
• Intelligent smoke and carbon monoxide detectors: These detectors are able to transmit alerts to smartphones or monitoring centers in the event that smoke or carbon monoxide is detected. This enables a rapid response to any possible dangers that may be present.

Home Security and Access Control

• Smart door locks can be operated remotely through smartphone apps, allowing carers or family members to grant or restrict entry to the home according to the requirements of the situation. There are also keyless entry options available for some smart locks, such as fingerprint scanners and numeric keypads, which provide an additional level of both convenience and safety.
• Video doorbells: These systems can provide live video feeds of visitors at the door, making it possible for seniors to observe and speak with visitors without actually opening the entrance to the home. Video doorbells may also transmit notifications to cellphones, which enables carers to keep an eye on activities at home even when they are not there.

The process of getting older brings on a variety of difficulties, some of which include decreased mobility, lessened strength, and impaired vision, amongst others. Because of these changes, it is imperative that our living spaces be modified to accommodate the requirements of senior citizens better. You can establish a supportive and nurturing atmosphere that supports the well-being of seniors living in your home by putting these tips into action and creating a helpful and nurturing environment for them. Hence Athulya Home Healthcare offers a wide range of services for seniors at their homes like Physiotherapy at home, Nursing care at home. To know more about them, Kindly visit Athulya Home Healthcare