Living alone for the elderly comes with multiple benefits: they can maintain their independence, continue caring for themselves and carry on meeting with friends or doing activities they like without any sudden changes to their living situation. Living alone does come with several safety and health hazards, so follow these tips to make their homes a safe space.
Stay Healthy
A little exercise and a good diet will go a long way and can help build strength, keep energized and minimize health risks for your loved ones who are living alone. They should also drink enough water every day to ensure that they are not dehydrated as it will cause dizziness and nausea.
Remain Connected with Family and Friends
While it’s important for the elderly to feel independent, they do not have to feel isolated or lonely when they are living alone. Feelings of isolation may negatively impact mental health, contribute to depression, and impair cognitive function. Maintaining a social life and adding a few social activities with their friends and family a week will help with emotional and mental well-being and ensure that they have people to call on when they need help.
Get an Alert System
As technology advances, more systems have come to help the elderly live alone at home. Life alert and other systems may help in the event of a fall or injury so that they can call and receive the help that they might need.
Install Handholds and Bars in the Bathroom
Water and slippery floors pose a threat for your family members who live alone as they might lose their balance and fall. Therefore, they should take extra care in the bathroom. Accidents may happen and they should consider installing bars and handholds in the bathroom around the toilet and shower for extra support so that the likelihood of falls is lower.
Add a Peephole to the Main Door
If the door doesn’t have a peephole, it’s a good idea to install one. With a peephole, you can take a peek at who’s knocking on your door before deciding to open it. There are a lot of scammers and thieves who target the elderly so having this added feature in the home may prevent a dangerous situation.
Lock Windows and Doors
Theft and burglary can happen to anyone so it’s best to minimize this risk by always keeping the windows and doors locked. This will prevent any break-ins and will help your loved ones to feel safe at home when they’re alone.
Consider a Home Security System
A home security system may help your loved ones feel a little more secure while they are out and also allows family members to check in around the house to monitor any suspicious activity.
Have Enough Medication
There should always be extra medication at home. Running out of medication may be a dangerous situation. To prevent any mishaps such as the misplacing of medication, some extra medication at home will solve any issues.
If your loved ones follow these tips to make sure that their home is a safe space to live, elderly people living alone at home can be a positive thing that improves their lives and helps them maintain independence and autonomy about how they would like to live.
