Reducing Risks

More people are injured in accidents that occur in the home than anywhere else. For your safety and independence and the safety of your workers you must make your home an accident free zone. Most accidents and other dangerous risks can be prevented.

This page covers things to do or not to do to prevent accidents:

Throughout your home
In the kitchen or bathroom
In the bedroom
Storing household products and medications
Personal safety and proper equipment

Throughout your Home

General Tips

There are some general things you can do to make every room in your home safer.

Keep pathways clear of clutter. This means keeping hallways, stairs, entrances to rooms, and exits from the house clear of items that could block your way, cause falls or bumps.
Remove throw rugs that might trip an elderly or disabled person. Use only non-skid area rugs and hall runners.
Store away, remove, or pad all sharp or projecting objects that might cause injury if they fell, were bumped into, or were mishandled. These include large objects such as furniture or appliances, as well as small objects such as knives, scissors, etc.
Repair all broken equipment or appliances as soon as possible.
Keep machinery with moving parts in a safe location
Get a step stool, preferably one with a handrail for balance. Don't use a chair or other unstable piece of furniture to reach high places.
If your home has stairs, they should be well lighted, have at least one handrail, and be free of clutter.

All of the rules for the house in general apply especially to the living room or family room. Since these could be the most used rooms in the house, they also could become cluttered, with piles of books or other items left on the floor, in paths of travel creating tripping hazards.

Extension or Electrical Cords

Extension cords and cords of appliances and telephones can cause accidents or other problems:

they can cause falls by tripping if they lay across the floor.
they can cause shock or electrocution if they a come in contact with water or excess heat.
they can short out when overloaded with too many appliances.

Place appliances or other electrical equipment close to the outlet, when possible, to avoid the use of extension cords.

Lighting

Make sure that lighting is adequate for each task: for walking safely especially in hallways and stairs, for preparing food, especially when chopping or slicing with knives, a slicer or when using power tools.

Open blinds.
Use maximum watt bulbs that are safe for your fixtures.
Install additional light fixtures in areas where you need more light for a specific job.
Install night lights that plug into any outlet.

Arrange furniture so that is does not block any path of travel for walking or wheelchair travel patterns. This will also aid in fire safety.

Some of this information was adapted from: IHSS Public Authority (1997). Home Health Care Workers Handbook.

Fire safety

Household fires can be avoided with simple precautions.

Check that there are smoke detectors installed and that they work.
Never smoke in bed.
Keep flammable products away from heat and open flames such as furnaces, water heaters, space heaters, range cooktops and burning candles.
Have your furnace and water heater checked annually. Your local gas or electric company may provide a check-up service, or turn on pilot lights for you. (They also may check to see if the equipment is burning properly, or is properly vented to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
If there are children in the household, do not let matches lying around, or let children unattended around fireplaces, candles or other open flames.
If you have a fireplace, keep the fire screen closed when you have a fire burning, and have the chimney cleaned and checked periodically by a professional.
Be sure lighted candles are not left unattended or near curtains or other substances that can ignite and cause a fire.

Tip In case of fire:

Have an escape plan in case of fire or other disaster.
Hold practice escape drills.
Have a designated meeting place outside the home to be sure all have escaped.

In the Kitchen and Bathroom

The kitchen and bathroom share similar risks, involving hot water, sharp objects, electrical hazards, and the storage of medicines and household products. There are tips in the section on Household Products that apply to the kitchen and bathroom as well. Some general tips about these rooms are:

be cautious when dealing with hazardous materials.
clean up spills immediately.
keep the hot water heater set at no more than 120 degrees F.
put chemicals, medicines, and other dangerous items in a place that is safe from people who might endanger themselves

Kitchen

Some simple precautions can prevent kitchen accidents.

Keep sharp knives in a drawer, not laying on countertops.
Keep handles of pots and skillets that contain hot foods or liquids turned in over the cooking range where they cannot be accidentally knocked to the floor or grabbed by children.
Be sure that potholders, towels, curtains, paper towels, plastic containers and other things that could catch fire are kept away from the range burners or oven heat.
Wipe up spills immediately to prevent slips and falls.

Bathroom

Danger lurks in the bathroom. While slips and falls are more frequent, there also is danger of shock or electrocution if electrical equipment gets wet, or falls into sink or tub water.

Use electric shavers, hair dryers, curlers, or heaters away from water.
Install handles (grab bars) on the walls near toilets, tubs and showers.
Install non-slip surfaces in showers, either abrasive strips or flowers or removable non-skid mat.
Use a non-skid mat on the bathroom floor for stepping out of the shower or tub.
Consider using a stool with non-skid tips in the tub or shower if you are unsteady.
Never leave someone unattended in a hot bathtub or shower if there is a chance they might turn on water that is too hot or if they might fall and not be able to get up.
Never leave a child or fragile person, old or young, in or near a bathtub with water in it, in case of accidental drowning.
Always test water for comfort and to prevent burns. Consider setting the temperature on your hot water heater to 120 degrees. Water above 120 degrees can scald coming out of the tap.
Keep medications out of reach of children and pets.

In the Bedrooms

The bedroom can be a safe haven or an accident waiting to happen. The following are suggestions to make yours as safe as possible

Have a telephone within in reach of the bed for emergencies. Keep telephone cords off the floor and out of the way.
Do not smoke in bed.
Do not have heaters, ashtrays, candles or any item near the bed and bed clothes that generates heat or has a flame that could be ignited and cause a fire.
If you use electric blankets and heating pads, follow the manufacturer's directions. Even low settings on a heating pad can cause a burn.
Consider using new heat generating pads or blankets in place of electric ones.
Never fall asleep with the heating pad on.
Choose solid furniture that will not tip over if you sit or put weight on the edge.
Have a night light or a lamp with a switch near the bed so if you get up at night you can see your way.
If you must use area rugs, be sure they have non-skid backs and place them where you will be least likely to trip over them.

Household Products and Medications

Major hazards are seemingly innocent everyday products used in the home. The following suggestions will help to keep you, your family and your workers safe.

Keep household chemicals such as cleaning products, toilet and drain cleaners, soaps, bleaches, cleansers, and lubricants out of reach of children and pets.
Any product that contains harmful chemicals or produces noxious fumes should be capped tightly and put away immediately after each use.
Never pour toxic products into another container. It is better to buy two small products rather than have unmarked containers that could be dangerous.
Always use products that give off fumes in well-ventilated areas. (For example, paints, paint thinners, ammonia, bleaches, petroleum products, some glues).
Store all household products away from heat or open flames, such as furnaces or water heaters. Be sure they are tightly sealed. If you must keep gasoline on the premises be sure the cap on the container is tightly sealed and is stored as far away as possible from heat or open flames.
If you store volatile or noxious chemical products in the garage or outside your home, be sure they are in their original containers, tightly capped and away from heat or open flames.
Learn all you can about alternatives to toxic cleaning products and use them. Some more common ones are white vinegar, salt, baking soda and toothpaste.

Medications

Medications are discussed at length in Managing Your Health Care. However, here are some more helpful hints.

Discard all outdated medications--prescription AND over-the-counter.
Discard all medications that have developed a strong smell, have changed color or are crumbling.
Keep all medications out-of-reach of children and pets.
Keep track of your medications. Some medications with narcotic or mood altering properties may be tempting to your workers, friends and families. Let people know you are keeping track of the medications.

Personal Safety and Proper Equipment

Now that your home is set up to be a safe space, you need to plan for your personal safety. Some of your safety has to do with common sense precautions and some has to do with maintaining safe and properly fitting equipment.

If you use a wheelchair:

Be sure it fits you properly.
Maintain it in good condition.
Keep your battery charged, if your chair is electric.
Get seat cushions or other products or adjustments to maintain your body in good health.

If you use a cane or a walker, be sure they are adjusted to appropriate heights for you. Other household equipment can be adjusted to assist you. For example, a toilet seat can be raised, if necessary.

If you use lifts of any kind, either to move you from bed to bath or wheelchair or one to lift your wheelchair into a van, be sure the lifts are checked, repaired and maintained regularly.

Train your personal assistants (PAs) in how to properly transfer you from bed to chairs and in the bathroom. Train them for your safety so you will not be dropped and train the PA so the PA will not be injured in moving you.

Investigate aids that are on the market to assist you. For example, there are assistive devices that can help you to feed yourself, make you more comfortable or make other functions easier.

Finally, when a PA leaves the job, be sure to get back all keys you may have given them. If necessary, have your locks re-keyed.

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