Not only a senior needs a comfortable bed and a barrier -free bathroom

If you are far from retirement and health problems are successfully avoided, it does not mean that you are out of the "senior and wheelchair cycle" forever. One day not only age will catch up with you, but perhaps also a sudden illness or injury that will cause problems with the musculoskeletal system.

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Then wake them up at home, because you suddenly have a problem in the bathroom (you can't get into the bath, and if you do, you don't get out of it), then in the toilet (you can't get up from it), also in bed (it pushes you and it's low) even in the living room (the designer sofa is beautiful, but even lower than the mentioned bed).

And what about the staircase (you won't dare to climb it without a handrail, or you won't be able to climb it at all)! In that case, you need to arrange your apartment in such a way that it meets you despite your handicaps.

The problems may not only concern you, but also your parents, who need a sufficiently safe and comfortable environment.

Stairs: Enemy #1

Living in a house without an elevator on a higher floor is not a good start to comfortable living. The basis is to get into the apartment at all, or, if it has more than one floor, to move around comfortably. This also applies to living in a family home. The acquisition of elevators is often impossible, either for financial or spatial reasons.

However, there is a solution. Anyone who has difficulty climbing stairs will benefit from either inclined or vertical stair platforms, which are mainly used in public spaces, and stair seats or chair lifts in the home environment.

For crooked and spiral stairs - the Starla seat rides on a rail made by hand to measure the staircase. The rail also serves as a handrail for others.

There are several types to choose from, from models intended for straight, narrow stairs to spiral ones, covered in soft vinyl, woven fabrics or wood. They are also made for use on long outdoor stairs or a few steps leading to the basement or garden.

Stair seats are installed according to strict safety rules so that the modified rail on which the seat rides is tailored to the given staircase. Unfortunately, if the specific installation location is not suitable, an alternative solution must be devised.

Important sleep

Good sleep in a comfortable bed is the basis of a quality life in old age. Choose a bed with a higher sitting position, which will ensure you not only an above-standard high solid structure, or even a self-supporting frame with a spring core, but also a mattress that comes on top. There are high mattresses on the market, suitable even for individuals with reduced mobility.

Sufficient height will give you a sense of security in bed, such mattresses are, for example, made of pocket springs or foam, supplemented with a memory effect. You can also buy mattresses designed specifically for seniors or ones that have reinforced sides to make getting up easier.

Grate like a toy car to control

Each mattress should be supplemented with a so-called topper, i.e. a mattress cover, which fine-tunes the stiffness and overall comfort. If you or, for example, your parents are bedridden for a long time, then it is necessary to purchase a special anti-decubitus mattress that is designed to prevent bedsores. However, you must turn the lying person regularly so that he does not stay in one position for a long time.

An electric adjustable grate is comfortable and will serve you well even in your forties, when retirement is a long way off. It can be raised in the head area, so you can comfortably read, eat or watch TV in bed. She also gets up well from a sitting position. Elevating the legs in turn prevents swelling, relieves the back and the like.

Grate double expert moto - massive lamellar grate with positioning, two electric motors, with remote control

Lotta mattress with reinforced sides. The luxurious, robust Tropico mattress is made of Flexifoam.

The best grates have winged or plate-like flexible surfaces, two electric motors, wireless control and perhaps even gas-liquid struts (like in the trunk of a car), which allow them to be comfortably lifted in the leg area and thus get into the storage space. However, a suitable mattress, most often foam sandwich or latex, must come on top of the adjustable grid.

Convenient washing

Not only old people, but also patients after hip or knee endoprostheses find it difficult in the bathroom. Especially if you only own a bathtub. It is best to get a seat for it, and a shower chair or folding seat for the shower corner. Then choose a shower head that can be manipulated, not one that is fixed.

Barrier-free bathtub Twinline 2. The 197 cm high door is made of polished aluminum profiles, the clear glass has a surface treatment that facilitates cleaning.

Those who want to invest more money can purchase a wheelchair-accessible bathtub, which is also produced in combination with a shower. It is entered through the bathtub door or the shower door. If you take a bath, you add water only afterwards. It is also possible to get a very low bathtub, the sides of which you can overcome relatively easily and when you sit down, you will not sink too deep.

Wheelchair users will certainly welcome barrier-free access to the bathroom and shower area, which has a wide door, a bathtub that is slightly pushed back from the wall to leave room for leaning on when standing up, a shallow sink with a lever faucet that you can drive under, and a tilting mirror above by him.

The bathroom, together with the toilet, is also one of the rooms in which you use the most grab bars, which you can lean on, but you can also hang towels on them. For the toilet, choose a raised combination standing toilet (normal height is 48 to 50 cm), then let the hanging one be built in higher, it is easier to get up. A plastic extension approximately 10 cm high can be used as a simple solution.

Even better seating

The reclining chair Santiago was designed for TON by René Šulc. The covers are removable and washable, the plywood of the removable table is easy to wash.

In the living room, forget about the low sofa and get comfortable armchairs with a higher, not too soft seating surface that you won't fall into, and with strong armrests that you can lean on when standing up. The chair should not extend below the knees to the ground, it is advisable to have free space in these places for putting your feet in when standing up.

For more difficult cases, comfortable upholstered wheelchairs (with a drip holder!) are also available, which can be used to transport the home patient around the apartment. Relaxation massage chairs are excellent, especially against bedsores.

There are also chairs on the market with electric positioning that can even lift you up, the seat slowly "catapulting" you up. They are even made in different widths, which people with more weight will appreciate. The Himolla brand is number one on the market in this assortment.

Thanks to electric motors, the seat lifts and tilts to allow the user to stand up easily.

In the kitchen

When cooking, pay particular attention to safety. If a wheelchair user moves in the kitchen, the minimum height of the worktop should be around 70 cm, and a person should be able to drive under it in some places. It is ideal to place the sink near the hob to make handling the water as easy as possible. There must be a storage area right next to the oven so that working with hot dishes does not endanger anyone.

The U-shaped stainless steel hinged handle is especially useful in the bathroom and toilet. Can be installed as needed. Length 81.3 cm. Price CZK 2,372.

The bathtub seat is placed on the bathtub, seat width 32 cm, length including handles 74 cm. Price CZK 2,299.

Small helpers

Nowadays, you can buy a lot of accessories, so-called compensatory aids, which make life at home easier in old age and in case of movement difficulties. These are, for example, variable nightstands and dining tables, a trestle above the bed, toilet chairs, bath lifts, special tools for the kitchen and when dressing, and for the more active even for the garden - a special hoe and a garden work seat for seniors are sold.

Compensatory aids can also be prescribed by a specialist doctor, in which case they are usually fully covered by the insurance company.

Have you suffered an injury? Has your health deteriorated? You can use the rental of compensatory aids - wheelchairs, walkers, canes and crutches, toilet seats, seats and chairs for the shower and bath, toilet attachments or mattresses.

It is also possible to rent a bed with electric positioning and a bar for easier getting up or an anti-decubitus mattress. However, only some insurance companies cover the rental fee.

The side table is used for dining, but also for working on the computer.

You can adjust the backrest and footrest electrically.

The height of the wooden armrests can be easily adjusted according to the height of the user.

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