How to make Stairs easier for the Elderly
Written by Stannah
Helping seniors prevent falls and bringing many more benefits
Helping seniors prevent falls and bringing many more benefits
As we get older, we start to feel the effects of ageing. Our balance decreases, which has a negative impact on our lives. Before we know it, the stairs can become a real obstacle in our home. Using the stairs could be painful, dangerous and almost impossible. Help getting upstairs or downstairs is of vital importance for elderly people to keep living independently and safely in their own homes.
Stannah stairlifts are safe. We’ve been making stairlifts for over 40 years and safety has always been our top priority. Everything we’ve learned we’ve used to make our stairlifts safer and more comfortable. They’re designed to provide help getting up and down stairs, regardless of age, without fear, effort or the risk of falling.
Everyone should use their stairs easily and worry-free
Helping elderly downstairs and upstairs in a safe and comfortable way
Many people think that continuing to use the stairs will bring health benefits. However, while ‘keeping active’ is generally a good idea, straining to use the stairs can inflict lasting damage on our knee joints and increase the risk for falls. With more use comes more damage. Insisting on taking the stairs could lead to accidents, falls and injuries.
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, unintentional falls were the most common cause of injury in 2016–2017. Statistically, falls on stairs are the leading cause of preventable injuries, some of them being severe, especially for elderly persons. Among the most common injuries, responsible for the biggest part of the hospital’s stays, are: fractures of the hips, lower legs, and head injuries. With this scenario in mind, making the stairs easier for the elderly and in doing so improving stair safety is beyond a matter of having some peace of mind or improving seniors’ limited mobility – it is a matter of life safety.
Create a safe home environment for elderly people with safe stairs and steps
Our home should not be dangerous. Going downstairs to make a cup of tea shouldn’t be stressful. Neither should going up to bed. Falling is a sign that our home and stairs aren’t as safe as they should be. An elderly person could seriously injure themselves, which in turn could have a dramatic impact on their long-term plans for living independently in the home they love.
What home modifications can we implement to reduce the risk of falling and create a saver home for seniors?
- Reducing the risk of falling is essential to ensure elderly people’s home safety, and one way to achieve this is to make a few home modifications.
- Install or use mobility aids such as:
- Stairlifts
- Stair risers
- Walking stick
- Grab bar in the bathroom and wherever extra grip is needed
- Install visible and easy to reach light switches
- Place anti-slip trips on steps or wherever it’s needed
- Anti-slip stair nosing
- Use contrasting colors where possible to increase visibility
- Be careful with throw rugs as they can be a serious trip hazard
Stairlift benefits you may not have thought about
Help for the elderly living at home, aka elderly care, especially help getting up and down the stairs, is not that easy to find today. So, it’s only normal that when we find ourselves in a situation like that, we start looking for devices to help climb the stairs. We’ll soon discover that a stairlift is the safest and most practical stair assistance for elderly people on the market. Why? Take a look at the benefits below:
- They prevent falls. We want to ensure home safety. We might start to take precautions to avoid falling down the stairs, but none of them will be as safe as a stairlift is.
- They give peace of mind. The knowledge of knowing we’re safe on our stairs and in our own home. That’ll give us an added boost of confidence and just knowing we’re independent will make us feel freer.
- They give independence back. The energy we used to save for getting up and down the stairs can now be used on other things. Imagine what that energy could be used on.
- They’re installed quickly and easily. Stairlifts take less than a day to install, so you can have your whole house back in no time.
- They’re cheaper and easier than moving house, and offer more comfort than relocating to the ground floor of our house. One might think installing a stairlift will mean building work, mess and modifications to our home. The good news is, a stairlift is installed directly on the stair treads. Therefore, no planning permission or building work is needed in order to get our independence back.
- They don’t damage your house. All our friendly technicians have to do is drill a few small holes in the stairs and the stairlift is installed. No permanent damage is done and our technicians always clean up after themselves.
- They’re very affordable and economical. Running a Stannah stairlift costs less than running a kettle or coffee maker.
- They’re flexible. No matter what the stairs are like, if they’re straight or curved, inside or outside, we can install a stairlift that is specifically made to fit them. Not only that, but we also analyze personal needs, and recommend a chair that will suit them.
Find a Stannah dealer near you, give them a call and in no time, you’ll feel safer in your home.
Read More:
Stairlift Options
How to Buy a Stairlift
Price of a Stairlift
