Did you know that the bathroom is the most dangerous place in your home? Approximately 235,000 people each year over 15 years of age fall and injure themselves in their own home bathroom with more than 14% of those injuries occurring while getting and off of the toilet.
Bathroom injuries increase with age however, shower and tub injuries are most common among 15 to 24 year old people. Bathroom injuries that occur while exiting the bathtub add up to more than two thirds of all emergency room visits.
These are a lot of injuries from visiting your bathroom; however, these injuries can be prevented and lessened if grab bars were a standard in all homes. Placing grab bars next to the toilet and inside the tub and shower area can prevent up to 50% of these accidents from occurring.
As we age, our response time is lessened and so isn’t our strength. Women’s bones are not as dense as men’s and these result in many fractured hips and concussions while slipping and falling in the bathroom. There are many times that when we are sick, have had surgery and are living alone people need assistance in getting on and off the toilet as well as in and out of the tub or shower enclosure.
With grab bars being a standard in all home’s a person living by themselves will be able to safely use their bathrooms and prevent a terrible fall which may occur in a broken bone or head trauma. We have all been taught that safety is number one in the bathroom due to the water and slippery conditions. If we have grab bars installed in tub and shower enclosures the injury rates would drop.
Every person will need assistance at least once in their life getting in and out of the bathroom. The installation of grab bars will help those who are living alone to be more self sufficient in a potentially embarrassing moment. If you are on new medication and feel dizzy, faint or if you have a leg in a cast the extra help from using a grab bar next to your toilet or tub and shower will provide you with added safety.
Using towel racks and sliding glass doors for support while in your bathroom will only lead to more injuries. With a properly installed durable grab bar you will have the support that is necessary to aid you when you need it the most in your bathroom.
Prevent a serious injury from happening to your family or loved one and have a bathroom grab bar installed in your home. Safety should come first when it comes to your family. It would be a terrible thing to come home from work to see a family member lying on the bathroom floor all day when the fall could have been prevented.