Does your home support you as you age? Don't wait till you get into an urgent situation to start thinking about the adaptability of your surroundings. Does your home support you? Is it hard to climb stairs, or have you slipped and fallen on a throw rug? To live in safer surroundings, fall prevention specialist Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about environmental wellness, one of the eight foundational principles of senior wellness featured this summer in the Vitality Revolution podcast series. The conversation touches on various aspects of your home now and in the future, to consider what could happen. The better prepared you are now, the safer you'll be and more productive you can be in your home.
Dr. Shawn says, “I'll give an example of, actually, family members.They're very healthy, active people to start with. But now they're approaching 80, they're having some major health concerns now. 20 or 25 years ago, they had the wherewithal when they built their house to take care of it right there. The doorways are wide, it's all one level. They really designed their house thinking 20 years down the road, and not everybody can do that.
"But if you really are intending to stay put... those things have to be decided. If I want to stay home as long as I can, what can we do with the environment that will promote and serve me in that capacity, so that I'm safe and I can maximize my independence? Having a comfortable living space is really important. Look at the height of the furniture: can you get up and down? Do you have an uncluttered path through your home, to get to all the rooms you need to access? Do you have to use the stairs right now to get to your bedroom or your bathroom? And are you doing that very well? Do you feel unsafe with that? What about your toilet height? What about getting in and out of the shower? Is it a bathtub? Do you have grab bars in the shower? Can you reach things in your drawers? Can you reach things in your cabinets? Are you having to be on your tippy toes? Are you having to bend over all the way? And you get dizzy? All of those things you can start thinking about now and making modifications."
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