Seniors are known to have a higher risk of slipping and falling. If there stairs in the home, the risk is tripled. If your senior relative still lives in their own home and it has stairs, it is important to take a few steps to ensure the safety of their living space.
- Lighting – A dimly lit stairway is as bad as a slippery stairway. Seniors have a difficult time seeing the difference between each step, making it very plausible that they will fall down them. Check the lighting in any stairway often, changing the bulb whenever necessary. In addition, you should ensure that there is a light switch at the top and bottom of the stairs to increase their level of safety.
- Clutter – One of the largest risks of stairways isn’t the stairs themselves, but the clutter on them. Many people routinely place items on the bottom steps to remind themselves to bring it up later. For a senior, unfortunately, they might not see the clutter, causing them to fall and get seriously hurt.
- Mats – If the stairway is slippery, especially if it is a wood surface; consider adding non-slip mats to the surface to make it safer for them. Even the mats should be inspected periodically to ensure their stability, replacing them whenever rips, wrinkles or other wear and tear is apparent.
Anyone that takes on the responsibility of senior care needs to ensure the safety of any stairways that the senior will come into contact with. Stairs are the culprit of many accidents that include broken bones, sprains, soft tissue injuries and sometimes even fatalities.
