Natasha's Recommended Bathroom Aids
What are the benefits of a Bathroom Aid?
Meeting your personal care and hygiene needs are not only key to basic survival, preventing infections and illness, but are also key to your identity. You will have your own routines and habits, you will have your own fragrances and products. However, the desire to meet your needs in the bathroom with a level of privacy and dignity is common to all. If you start to feel frail or unstable on your feet, the bathroom can become a hazardous and nerve wracking place. The difficulty is that you have to use it, you have to access the facilities it offers, and you need to feel safe when doing so. That's where bathroom mobility equipment can play a vital role – keeping you independent and confident with the personal aspects of your day to day life.
Every bathroom is different. Shapes, sizes and facilities all vary. Equally people come in all shapes, sizes and with all different abilities. That's why I love the fact that CareCo offer such a variety of equipment. You really can choose something that meets your exact needs. However, I also understand that too much choice can result in confusion! So, take a look at my top tips and recommendations below if you want some help to make the right choice for you and your needs.
Suction mounted items - You can move these around the room with ease as your needs change.
Patterned rails - Be bold and make a feature of your rails with the ‘Florika' floral hand rails.
Height adjustable frames - Adapt your support to exactly the height you need.
Dual purpose items - Discreetly add aids to your room whilst they pose as everyday furnishings.
The right bathroom aid for you depends on your current level of mobility, how you think that might change in the future, and the setup of your bathroom. The last thing you want is to buy a potentially expensive bit of equipment that doesn't work for you! Below are 5 of my favourite bathroom aids from the CareCo range.
Who could benefit?
This is very useful if you feel unsteady when standing or moving around small areas.
What makes it useful?
Using your upper body to help stabilise you can prevent you falling or feeling unsafe. These rails are great as you can move them around the room if your needs change, or even take them away on holiday with you.
Things to consider
Although easy to apply, you will need to ensure they are mounted to the centre of tiles for security. If you have weak hands, you may find the catches difficult to close to secure the rails to the wall.
Who could benefit?
If you get tired showering, or you have weak legs or painful joints, the Bathmate Bench could be a great addition to your bathroom.
What makes it useful?
Sitting down to shower means you can take longer to enjoy the shower and don't have to worry about losing your balance on the wet floor. It is height adjustable, so you can set it to the easiest height for you to get up from. This is particularly important if you've had a hip replacement and are only allowed to sit at a certain height while you are recovering. If you have a breathing problem, you may find sitting down saves you some effort and some breath.
Things to consider
Is the base of your shower strong enough to support a chair? Do you still have enough room in the cubicle to get in and out safely? Will you need to be taking it in and out for other people to use the shower? If any of these are concerns, it might be worth considering a wall mounted seat that can fold away when not in use.
Who could benefit?
The Marina Bath Lift is useful if you have joint problems or muscle weaknesses which make it difficult to access the bath.
What makes it useful?
Not only does this offer an almost effortless way to access the bath, but it has the benefit of reclining to allow you to still lay back and relax in the water, which can be particularly useful if you suffer from painful joints and muscles. As a solid, moulded chair, it offers a sturdy support so is really useful if you have some minor balance problems or get nervous when being moved. The light weight means it's easier for it to be removed to allow others to use the bath. Only the handset requires charging so you don't need to have a power supply in the room.
Things to consider
The length of the bath space can be reduced due to the depth of the chair, so you may find you have less leg room. When lowered, the chair height means you are approximately 6cm from the bath base, so you may need to fill the bath a little deeper than usual.