The danger zone

Today’s column title might ring familiar as the theme song from “Top Gun,” but unlike Tom Cruise who loves to perform his stunts, the danger zone I refer to is a place where many people end up performing involuntary stunts or serious accidents.

Do you know what the top three most dangerous or accident-prone areas in people’s homes are? According to stats, your toilet or bathroom ranks top on the list. And the injuries acquired therein are avoidable and preventable.

The second most dangerous is the kitchen for various reasons such as sharp knives, cuts, burns, fires, accidental poisoning and slips because of oil and soap on the floor.

What surprised me was that the garden is the third most dangerous, considering that is where many of us go for peace of mind, creativity and nature. But then again, gardens are notorious for stings, cuts and bites, not to mention falling branches, coconuts or chance encounters with snakes, frogs and lizards.

Instead of useless politics, I am focusing today on “defensive preparations” intended to protect you and save your life in the bathroom or the toilet where you could fall while in the shower, bump your head or face in the dark as you go to pee.

Early July, I suggested to my wife that maybe we should install grab bars in our bathroom as a safety precaution. The suggestion was not well received because my wife believes in staying strong and not depending on tools designed to assist the elderly.

But a few weeks later, my wife’s PT suggested the same thing because she had signs of osteoporosis and strongly believed that “prevention is better than cure” and it is better not to let pride come before the fall!

The hard truth is that when people reach their senior years, their probability of losing their balance, falling, breaking bones or cracking skulls grow higher, healing takes longer and death or high medical bills are no longer a remote possibility.

This time, my wife received the suggestion positively and placed grab bars on my shopping list. As I looked where to buy them, my friend who works at Home Depot suggested that I write on the topic because many elderly people have serious injuries in the shower and in the toilet.

And so, I did. I looked for a grab bar that fits in our shower and paid around P3,500 per piece at Home Depot. I chose the L-shaped one because of its dual purpose for standing or seating. In addition to the grab bar, I went in search of a safe and practical chair or bench for the shower.

Bear in mind that balance and strength diminish with age and there is no reason why you should not have a decent chair in the shower to sit on. The Japanese have long used stools but those are too low for modern day Filipinos in general.

The added advantage of having a “bathing chair” is that you can leisurely and safely soap or scrub yourself in a very relaxed state without fear of falling.

A word of caution to the frugal or “nag titipid,” please avoid buying cheap plastic stools or chairs that are flexible because they splay or split and can cause a serious fall.

The most ideal would be to have a built-in bench in your shower or find something similar. You don’t necessarily have to buy a hospital grade chair. I went to four different stores and finally found a heavy duty white plastic chair.

While floor mats can be pretty to look at or warm on your tootsies, some if not many of these slip or slide out of place and cause injury to people in the shower. Why place non-slip mats inside the shower but not outside?

I recently learned from a clinician the growing observation or concern for the kind of footwear that seniors wear inside the bathroom or toilet. We don’t think much about it but apparently many falls and slip are caused by rubber slippers with heels or rubberized/foam clogs.

I know from past experience in the piggery that every time I or someone wears a foam clog, chances are that person will slip or have a fall while walking on wet floors.

Another thing we don’t pay much attention to in the toilet are the taps or faucets as well as their height. As people get older, they tend to lose height, hunch over, while eyesight diminishes. I am sure there are hundreds of older people who poked their eyes on the faucet or threw their back.

I don’t know about the vanity levels of elderly people, but I for one have installed magnified vanity mirrors in all our toilets. Women appreciate the practicality while older folks benefit from seeing things better. I certainly shave better with those mirrors.

Last but not least, either place night lights along the pathway from the bed to the bathroom or provide a “wee-wee” bottle or urine bottle for elderly men. I constantly hear of guys bumping into corners with their face or suffering serious sleep disruption because of frequent urination.

It’s not just a matter of peeing in a bottle, it is to minimize moving in the dark and hurting your nose, your eyebrow or your toe in the process. Yes, prevention is not only better, but also cheaper and pain free!

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