Dementia proofing your kitchen and bedroom DEMENTIA PATIENTS’ VISION CHANGES with their decline. Extra lighting from the bedroom to the bathroom provides more safety. Physical stability declines. Rather than install grab bars by the toilet, consider stand-alone toilet bars that connect to the seat cover. Make sure the bed is high enough for easy entry and exit. To raise a bed, purchase bed risers from retailers like Amazon or Home Depot. Otherwise, add solid concrete blocks or stacks of lumber under bed legs. Be sure everything is stable. Label dresser drawers with large letters or pictures. Declutter the closet allowing fewer choices of clothing. In the kitchen, provide plain colored plates—no decorations. Decorations confuse the patient when eyesight diminishes. Consider plates with raised sides or purchase a plate guard. Offer large no-slip handled utensils bent so the patient’s wrist isn’t required to bend. Suggest adult sippy cups with handles. Remove burner knobs from the cooktop.
Light up your home! THE RIGHT LIGHTING CAN make a big difference for your home whether creating a mood or lighting for reading. Choose bulbs and fixtures to provide the perfect level of illumination while matching your room’s décor. Lighting also adds safety inside and outside your home. Choose the right wattage for your fixture and the right color— incandescent yellow warmth or fluorescent’s cool blue. Add dimmers. Make sure to use LED dimmers with LED lights. Determine the light’s goal—direct or task, ambient or indirect lighting. Make measurements for light’s glow from chandeliers. Direct canned lights to enhance wall décor. Provide safety lighting both inside and outside. Install motion lights around the house perimeters. Add timers to outdoor light switches. Line walks with solar lights. Place night lights in hallways, bathrooms and near stairs. Put a timer on a light in a front window; it always looks like someone is home.
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