In later life, a priority for many over-60s is their personal wellbeing at home. It is important to know that you are safe and secure to reduce the risk of injuries. One of the most common causes of injuries in the home is falls. However, there can be other hazards. Therefore, you should take the necessary precautions by following our safety tips.
Most Common Accidents at Home
The home is usually considered one of the safest places in life. For many people, the home is a sanctuary. Unfortunately, however, accidents can happen, especially if you are living with health conditions or mobility impairments.
1. Falls
Most accidents in the home involve falls, usually because of a slip or trip. Falls can lead to serious injuries, such as fractures. It has also been established that 1 in 3 over-70s will experience a fall every year.
2. Burns
At home, we often use several items that produce heat. This is especially true in winter. However, items that produce heat have the potential to cause burns. According to Government consumer safety research, someone is burned every 1½ minutes.
3. Cuts
The third most common type of accident at home is cuts. Most of these are likely to occur in the kitchen. However, there is potential for cuts to happen anywhere in the home. All it takes is something to be broken or damaged.
Fortunately, there are some simple safety tips you can follow to support your independence at home.
Home Safety Tips
There are several ways to make the home safer, especially for people who may struggle around the home. Some are simple and require only minor changes. Others can involve significant adjustments but will be worthwhile to improve confidence and safety.
Remove Trip Hazards
With falls being one of the most common accidents in the home, removing trip hazards can drastically improve your safety. Steps and low objects such as coffee tables are common examples, but there are other hazards you may not think of. For example, even a rug on the floor can be a trip hazard, especially if it is old and has curling corners. You should also be mindful of electrical cables. If these are untidy and trail onto walkways, they could cause an accident.
Install Handrails
It’s important to stay mobile, especially in later life. Moving helps keep muscles strong and healthy and can help to fight certain health problems. However, some people may not be willing to walk around their homes in case they have a fall. By installing handrails around the home, you can use these for support, taking some weight off your legs and helping you steady yourself. If you do experience a fall, a handrail could also make it easier to get back on your feet. Handrails can be installed anywhere in the home, but two of the most popular places are stairs and bathrooms.
Purchase a Personal Alarm
Sometimes, extra reassurance is the most important thing to improve home safety. Personal alarms, such as those provided by Telecare Choice, enable you to call for help by pressing a button. This button is usually worn as a pendant or like a watch. When the alarm is activated, the Monitoring Team arrange help for you by informing emergency contacts or the emergency services that you have had a fall and need support. With a personal alarm, you have the confidence to continue living independently.
Ensure Fire Safety
When thinking about safety tips, it is important to remember that homes should be fitted with effective fire safety measures. Fire blankets and smoke detectors should be essential features in your home. It may also be worth having a fire extinguisher, though you should be mindful of the types that are available and what they are used for. Extinguisher Advice provide an overview to ensure you use them correctly.
You can also order a smoke detector alongside your personal alarm. Our smoke detectors pair with our alarms, alerting you and our Monitoring Team if they detect smoke.
Use Specialist Cutlery
If you are living with conditions that impair your movement, such as arthritis, you may benefit from cutlery with larger handles. These can make it easier to grip cutlery and utensils when eating or preparing a meal. What makes this one of our safety tips is that specialist cutlery can make it safer to prepare meals. This is because a specialised knife, for example, is less likely to slip out of your grasp and cause an injury.
Consider a Key Safe
Though it’s important to stay mobile, rushing to answer the door can increase your risk of falls. If it is a loved one or carer, it may be easier for them to have access to your home. Instead of going to the trouble of getting multiple keys cut, one of our safety tips is to consider a key safe. A key safe is a small box installed on your outside wall that contains one or more keys. Your loved ones or visiting carers use a unique code to open it, which then gives them access to your key and home.
At Telecare Choice, we provide a range of key safes to ensure your safety at home. If you own a key safe, supplying us with your code enables us to pass it on to the emergency services if support is required.
Keep the Home Well Lit
It is important that you can see potential obstacles around the home. Keeping walkways well lit makes it easier to move around without worrying about bumping into objects or tripping over. If the main lights in your house don’t reach everywhere, consider buying a lamp or two – just be sure to follow our other safety tips and keep cables out of the way. Alternatively, you can buy motion-sensitive LED lights that can be stuck to walls or skirting boards.
Use a Grabber Tool
Bending over and reaching up can affect balance, leading to falls. Older people may also experience pulled muscles. By using a grabber tool, you can pick up objects from the floor or from the top shelves of cupboards. This reduces the need to bend or stretch, making you safer around the home and reducing the risk of injuries. Simple grabber tools can be bought at a low price from retailers such as Argos.
Wear Sensible Clothes
This may seem an unusual inclusion on a list of safety tips, but the clothes we wear can make a major difference to our wellbeing. Suitable footwear with good grip can reduce the likelihood of falls, helping you stay steady on your feet. Similarly, you should ensure any trousers aren’t too baggy around the ankle or extend beyond the sole of your foot, as this could result in a trip. Another thing to be mindful of is your sleeves. Baggy sleeves could catch on door handles, affecting your balance, or may rest on hot hobs whilst cooking, creating a fire risk. By being mindful of your clothing, you can improve your safety at home.
Our Mission
Telecare Choice provide personal alarms for elderly, disabled, and vulnerable people so that they can remain safe and secure in their own homes. A personal alarm allows you to request help at the press of a button. When the alarm is activated, our Monitoring Team speak to you through the loudspeaker to find out what support is needed. They then inform emergency contacts and, if necessary, the emergency services.
You can find out more about Telecare Choice alarms by reading our quick guide. Order your Telecare Choice personal alarm today.
