Four Things You Need To Do To The Stairs In Your Elderly Parent's Home

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As your parent ages, their needs at home are going to change, especially once their health begins to diminish, which often leads to falls, especially in one's home. To help make your parent's home a bit more accommodating, you will want to do these four things to the stairs:

1. Handrails on Both Sides: The first thing you are going to want to do is install handrails on both sides of the stairs. This is going to ensure that your parent has something to grab to on both sides to stabilize themselves if they start to fall. This is especially helps with a wider stairwell since you want to be sure that if your parent is walking further to one side, they will still be able to hold onto something for stability. 
2. Install Lighting: You want the stairs to be as lit as possible, so it's important to install more lighting. Ideally, there should be lighting underneath each step. If this isn't something that can be done, then you at least want lighting at the top and bottom of the stairs. However, there are simple lights that you should be able to install at the bottom of each step that are battery operated, so they don't have any need for wiring. 
3. ​Paint the Edge of Each Step: To make each step more clearly defined, you might consider painting the edge of each step a bright color. If the stairs are carpeted, you can even place a bright colored piece of tape at the edge of each step. With clearly defined steps, your parent can better see where each step ends and begins. 
4. Get Rid of Clutter: Finally, you want to be sure that your parent does not have an excessive amount of clutter on the stairs. In fact, the stairs should be completely free of anything at all to prevent accidental trips. This is important to check up on each time you visit your parent's home. 

Making changes, such as these to your parent's home is going to help your parent live safely in the comfort of their own home even into their elderly years. To assist even further, you might consider the help of in-home care, such as from Satori Senior Care. A professional in-home care nurse can help you make these changes to the home, as well, which is especially helpful if you have a busy life and can't check up on your parent's home as often as you would like to. 

19 September 2017