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Prevention
Tips
Outdoors
- Repair cracks and abrupt edges of sidewalks and driveways
- Install handrails on stairs and steps
- Remove high doorway thresholds
- Trim shrubbery along the pathway to the home
- Keep walk areas clear of clutter, rocks and tools
- Keep walk areas clear of snow and ice
- Install adequate lighting by doorways and along walkways
leading to doors
All Living Spaces
- Use a change in color to denote changes in surface types
or levels
- Secure rugs with nonskid tape as well as carpet edges
- Avoid throw rugs
- Remove oversized furniture and objects
- Have at least one phone extension in each level of the
home and post emergency numbers at each phone
- Add electrical outlets to reduce the need for extension
cords
- Reduce clutter
- Check lighting for adequate illumination and glare control
- Maintain nightlights or motion-sensitive lighting throughout
home
- Use contrast in paint, furniture and carpet colors
- Install electronic emergency response system if needed
Bathrooms
- Install grab bars on walls around the tub and beside
the toilet, strong enough to hold your weight
- Add nonskid mats or appliques to bathtubs
- Mount liquid soap dispenser on the bathtub-wall
- Install a portable, hand-held shower head
- Add a padded bath or shower seat
- Install a raised toilet seat if needed
- Use nonskid mats or carpet on floor surfaces that may
get wet
Kitchen
- Keep commonly used items within easy reach
- Use a sturdy step stool when you need something from
a high shelf
- Make sure appliance cords are out of the way
- Avoid using floor polish or wax in order to reduce slick
surfaces
Living, Dining and Family Rooms
- Keep electrical and telephone cords out of the way
- Arrange furniture so that you can easily move around
it (especially low coffee tables)
- Make sure chairs and couches are easy to get in and
out of
- Remove caster wheels from furniture
- Use television remote control and cordless phone
Bedroom
- Put in a bedside light with a switch that is easy to
turn on and off (or a touch lamp)
- Have a nightlight
- Locate telephone within reach of bed
- Adjust height of bed to make it easy to get in and out
of
- Have a firm chair, with arms, to sit and dress
Stairways, Hallways and Pathways
- Keep free of clutter
- Make sure carpet is secured and get rid of throw rugs
- Install tightly fastened hand rails running the entire
length and along both sides of stairs
- Handrails should be 34 inches high and have a diameter
of about 1.5 inches
- Apply brightly colored tape to the face of the steps
to make them more visible
- Optimal stair dimensions are 7.2 inch riser heights with
either an 11 or 12 inch tread width
- Have adequate lighting in stairways, hallways and pathways,
with light switches placed at each end
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