Saturday, September 17, 2011

The Importance of Handicap Bathroom Accessories and Fittings Part Ten

Of course you might be thinking that you don't need handicap bathroom accessories because you're still able to wash yourself. This however is not the best stance to take on the matter because it can be a risk and can be quite dangerous if something goes wrong. You might feel fine and be able to wash yourself in the shower, but even a perfectly healthy individual can slip in the shower and in fact many do. If you don't have shower seats which are common in handicapped showers, then you might well slip up and fall and because of your existing disability this is more likely – even if it's just because of a twinge of pain that distracts you or a mis-stepping. Then, because you suffer from your disability and can't lower yourself more gracefully, any damage you do do is likely to be more severe than it otherwise would be. You are sure to need a handicapped shower at some point, so the sooner you get it the more likely you are to prevent yourself having a serious accident.

The Importance of Handicap Bathroom Accessories and Fittings Part Nine

It's very easy to put your back out when lifting someone in order out of the bath, and at the same time it's very easy to accidentally drop the other person and cause them to hurt themselves that way.

Another thing that many people don't consider regarding handicapped showers is that they allow someone who is disabled to still enjoy showering. For most of us a shower or bath is not merely a practical activity but one that we also enjoy.

If you've had a long day, then relaxing in a hot shower or in the bath is a great way to feel human again and it will instantly help you to relax. The act of showering or bathing itself is also very good for you and helps you to exfoliate your skin, to rid yourself of toxins, to improve circulation etc etc. Likewise just de-stressing this way is very good for you and can help lower blood pressure – particularly important and useful if perhaps it was a stroke or a related condition that caused your current handicap. However if you don't have your own handicapped shower or handicapped bath tub, then you won't be able to relax and take your time in the bath and it will instead become just a chore.

The Importance of Handicap Bathroom Accessories and Fittings Part Eight

This also means that you're very reliant on the carer getting you up in time and helping you to wash if you don't have handicap bath accessories. This then means that undoubtedly sometimes they're going to have other appointments or to get stuck in traffic and that will mean you're left unable to wash or going to bed late.

It also means that in some cases you will have to ask your friends and family to help you wash and even though you have facilities in place to get washed there will be occasions that you are asking your family to shower you if you don't have a handicapped shower. Even if your carer washes you all the time, it still means having someone who is essentially a stranger seeing you naked, washing you down and generally it can all be quite uncomfortable.

And one more reason not to let your friends and family bath you is that without a good understanding of how to wash another person/experience it will be possible for your family to either hurt you or themselves.

The Importance of Handicap Bathroom Accessories and Fittings Part Seven

Obviously the first reason is that it's not pleasant for either you or whoever is helping you to have to wash you. This can be something that is quite embarrassing for both parties and you might find that they feel awkward doing it or even request not to. At the same time you yourself will likely find it to be an unsettling experience and something that makes you feel more disabled than you necessarily are and takes away some of your self dignity and autonomy.

You will probably try in most cases to use a carer, but doing so will mean that first of all you need to wait for your carer to get to your property. Usually they will come around all the locations in your area on a rotor and will attend to you each in order. This then means that you will be helped to shower at a set time daily and this can be very restrictive – it means you won't be able to watch what you want to on television, it means that you won't be able to attend parties and social events (or that you'll have to be back in time if you do), it means you won't be able to stay at another person's home and it means you are forced into a body clock you don't necessarily want.

The Importance of Handicap Bathroom Accessories and Fittings Part Six

If you are not familiar with the 'MRSA' bug, then it might be interesting to learn some other statistics about this problem. The bug is caused by the bacteria 'staphylococcus' which causes tissue damage when it infects an area. This then also causes the immune system to suffer more, makes the patient feel ill and suffer from flu symptoms and can develop into other infections such as cellulitis.

The surprising thing about the staphylococcus virus however is that it actually exists on the skin of healthy adults – 1 in every 3 healthy adults in fact. These people are carriers and completely unaware of the bacteria until it manages to get inside an open wound or hair follicle where it will start to do its damage. It's far more likely to cause a problem though if you have a weakened immune system, so as someone with a disability it is important to use a walk in bath tub or handicap shower.

One other option is to get others to help you wash – helpful family members for instance or friends – or even a partner. However there are many reasons why wheelchair accessible showers are the far preferable option.

The Importance of Handicap Bathroom Accessories and Fittings Part Five

Another reason you need to have a barrier free shower so that you will also be more susceptible to becoming ill as you will be likely to have a lower immune system than you normally would. If you are suffering from chronic pain in particular, then your immune system will be fighting to prevent this chronic pain. At the same time if you are taking any medications then these can leave you more susceptible to a range of illnesses and that will mean you're more likely to be attacked by bacteria.

This is one reason that the MRSA superbug is so prevalent in hospitals – because all the patients have low immune systems this means that the bug is able to be transferred very easily from one person to another and so infect the entire hospital in a short amount of time – normally someone with a healthy immune system would be able to fight the infection and thus avoid becoming ill. Thus washing is even more important when you are handicapped or ill than it was before – so wheelchair accessible showers are an absolute must.

The Importance of Handicap Bathroom Accessories and Fittings Part Four

This is unpleasant for you and will certainly be unpleasant for guests – and it can even start to affect the smell of your property.

Another reason it's important to have handicap bathroom accessories though is for your own health and there are a lot of important health aspects of being able to use walk in bath tubs and roll in showers.

If you do not wash you will start to smell as mentioned – but what is causing that smell is actually bacteria and this bacteria can obviously be harmful. Likewise you pick up bacteria from table tops, the floor – even your wheelchair. One surprising statistic estimates that there is ten times as much bacteria on the average hand compared to the average toilet seat. So when you rub your face that's actually worse than rubbing your face on the toilet seat. Quite shocking!

In other words you need to be able to wash your hands regularly, and you need to be able to wash your body regularly and this is why walk in bath tubs are crucial.

The Importance of Handicap Bathroom Accessories and Fittings Part Three

If you used to take pride in the way you looked and in always being well turned out, then having to exist unshaven and with disheveled hair can be very upsetting. Bathrooms are not only for showering and washing so it's not just wheelchair accessible showers you need. You also need to make sure that the sink is accessible and that anything you need to use to shave and do your teeth is within reach. This way you can ensure that you stay turned out and that way retain a sense of pride over the way you look. You'll find that people are especially impressed if you manage to keep your appearances up under the circumstances and it's a really great way of actually assuring everyone that you're still okay and that you're adapting well – if you let yourself go then it can look like a cry for help.

Another thing you'll want to consider, and another thing that makes roll in showers so important is smell – and you don't want to find yourself starting to smell because you are unable to wash yourself.

The Importance of Handicap Bathroom Accessories and Fittings Part Two

This then means that you aren't sitting waiting for a family member or carer before you can go in the bath and that in turn has many advantages.

First of all, if you are disabled, then you will likely find that particularly at first, being unable to wash is one of the most stressful aspects. Often if you are wheelchair bound you can find yourself feeling dirt, feeling itchy and getting greasy hair – and this is a very unpleasant feeling on top of any pain and the general upsetting nature of any disability. The ability to use walk in showers with a or wheelchair accessible showers is one that you will greatly appreciate at this point and being able to wash yourself whenever you need too is something that you won't take for granted again. If you've ever broken a limb that's left you unable to wash then you will be familiar with what a difference this should make.

Likewise just because you are handicapped doesn't mean you won't want to take care of your appearance. In fact you probably will be even more sensitive to it.

The Importance of Handicap Bathroom Accessories and Fittings Part One

If you have a handicap of any sort, even if it's just a result of natural aging, then it is highly important that you get handicap bathroom accessories in order to help you wash and generally get around your bathroom without incident. There are many different types of handicap bathroom accessories and disabled bath accessories that can make washing a lot easier and safer. At the same time it is possible to get a range of fixtures and appliances in the bathroom that can make it easier and more accessible and especially for those with disabilities.

Here we will look at why disabled bath accessories are so important and why it's so important to ensure that you rig your bathroom in this way and have all of the necessary facilities.

First of all, it is important to have disabled bath accessories because it will enable you to wash whenever you need to, without help, and without it taking too long.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Showering and Bathing Safely for Those With Disabilities Part One

If you are disabled, or if someone in your home is disabled, then showering and washing in general can provide a somewhat awkward but more importantly dangerous series of problems. When one washes the desire of course is to wash alone and this of course is something that we should respect whether or not there are disabilities present.

However the problem is that this then means that those who find it difficult to stand are left alone in the bathroom, where no one can see them and where several things can go wrong. By using things like a handicapped shower and walk in bath tub it is highly possible to make this much easier to use and thereby reduce the chance of problems while also reducing the awkwardness. Because if you can make your bathroom safe enough to use without supervision and help, the you nor your visitors/residents will have to go through the embarrassing process of having to get changed and washed in full view.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

When Should You Get a Handicapped Shower (For the Elderly)

As you reach older age, many of the things that were once easy and that posed no challenge become a struggle and something that requires a lot more careful concentration. If you are suffering from chronic pain, or if you have a restricted range of movement (or both) then this can make a simple task you once would have taken for granted into something quite difficult. For instance showering becomes a lot more difficult – here you will be standing in a shower cubicle on a slippery surface while washing your hair and body. This involves balancing for a long period of time, moving carefully so that you don't slip and all while blinking shampoo out of your eyes and contorting yourself to reach the more difficult to access areas of your body.

Thus as you get older and your balance goes and your bones become more brittle you might encounter friends and family suggesting that you get a handicapped shower. This handicapped shower will likely be a shower with a disabled shower seat in it. This disabled shower seat allows you then to sit down while you wash and this means you don't need to balance, it means you don't have to stand on one foot to reach your other foot and it means that you can enjoy the shower for longer without it taxing your endurance.

Right away this is a good thing and it can make the whole showering experience more pleasant – even for someone who enjoys their shower. This is because it will let you relax while you shower and that means that you can just let the water wash over you as though you were in the bath.

More importantly though, disabled shower seats and other disabled showers work to make showering much safer for you. Now you don't need to worry about the threat of slipping up or falling over, and you don't need to worry about getting tired when you're in there for a long time.

Deciding to make the change though can be difficult. Sometimes it can feel like you're 'admitting defeat' by getting a handicapped shower – that as soon as you get a handicapped shower you are 'fully' disabled. This of course has no merit, but it can feel that way.

The real way to judge when you need to get a handicapped shower is that as soon as people start suggesting it, or as soon as showering feels like a chore – you should go for it. As mentioned a disabled shower seat benefits even someone who is not disabled, so from that perspective it is good for anyone. Further though, even if there is a slim change of you falling that's still a chance and you'll still benefit from minimizing this possibility. And if you think about it, then as you get older you are only going to get more unsteady on your feet – so at some point you will need a disabled shower. The sooner you invest in it, the more prepared you'll be and the more use you'll get out of it.

Getting a ">handicapped shower can help you in many ways and is advisable as soon as possible. Follow the links for a http://www.gfmstepnbath.com">disabled shower seat and other accessories.