Worried about your elderly loved one falling while using the toilet? Slip-proof their floors!
Elderly adults are more prone to slip and fall accidents near the toilet. In fact, a 2018 study by the Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine found that 45% of hospital visits from the elderly are a result of slip and falls at home. Given their fragile bones, these falls can often have serious consequences, including fatalities. This emphasizes the need for effective anti-slip solution to safeguard the elderly in their homes especially their toilet.
In this panel discussion between doctors and nutritionists from Astro AEC’s Health 123 program, it was revealed that 25% of elderly adults above the age of 80 who fell and suffered a femoral fracture die within the year of falling down.
And honestly, critical slip and falls accidents are more common than you think, read more about it here: Fatal Slip and Fall Injuries in Malaysia are More Common Than you Think
That is why we need to take extra precautions for our elderly loved ones.
Ways to Slip-Proof the Elderly’s Toilets
1. Get to the root of the problem with Nano-G’s Nanotechnology Anti-slip Floor Coating.
As you can see, our Nanotechnology Anti-slip Floor Coating solution creates micrograins on your floors that give your feet extra grit when walking around.
The main cause of slip and fall accidents are slippery floors. So, what you need is a coating option that creates micrograins on your flooring that keeps the floor from getting slippery when wet.
Nano-G’s Nanotechnology Anti-slip Floor Coating solution ensures that the toilet will be slip-proof in a matter of 24 hours. What’s more, you don’t have to hack at your walls, or tiles to install extra fixtures to slip-proof your toilet! Instead, we will be coating a transparent and grainy anti-slip layer on your floor that doesn’t change the appearance of your toilet floor.
Click this button to learn more about a long-term solution to making the toilet floors anti-slip and safer for your elderly loved one!
2. Fix grab bars near the toilet
Another reason why the elderly lose their balance when using the toilet is because of a lack of support when getting up or sitting down. If you’re unable to hire help to assist your elderly loved one, installing grab bars near the toilet AND slip-proofing your toilet floor is a good move to make.
And no, the sink, the toilet paper dispenser, or the toilet rack are not substitutes for a grab bar, as these fixtures are installed more superficially on the walls and are likely to give way if force was put on them.
A towel rack that gave way after force was put on it.
Now, imagine if your elderly loved one was holding on to it for support. They might just end up slipping and cutting themselves on that sharp, exposed end. The goal is to avoid a hospital visit, not create another potential accident.
3. Upgrade your squat toilet to a seated one
The older we get, the less strength we’re able to exert to support ourselves. It’s even more of an issue when lowering your full body into a squatting position over a damp toilet floor. That’s a slip and fall hazard just waiting to happen. And, even if they don’t slip, they may not be able to get up from the squatting position!
That’s why, if you have the means to, upgrade the squat toilet into a seated one for your elderly loved one’s convenience.
A further upgrade is to add an adjustable toilet seat to it, to further lessen the need to squat when using the toilet.
4. Use an anti-slip mat or tape
Another way you can keep your elderly loved one safe from a slip and fall accident is by laying down an anti-slip mat or by placing anti-slip tapes on parts of the toilet that are slip-prone, such as near the toilet bowl or near the door.
Some of our drying mats might even have been made from your grandma.
Still, they don’t directly deal with the issue of a slippery wet floor and will become a slip hazard on their own over time.
5. Declutter the toilet floor
A cluttered toilet floor can cause a slip and fall accident, whereby a stray brush or soap bar can be accidentally stepped on that makes the user skid on the surface. It can also cause additional injuries such as a bruised eye from falling on the handle of a toilet brush.
Oftentimes, our toilets are cluttered because we keep cleaning supplies and equipment around. So, as a general rule of thumb, avoid using the toilet as a storage room for your cleaning supplies or tools. That’s what cabinets and shelves are for!
But honestly, even with a neat toilet room with grab bars, a seated and adjustable toilet, and anti-slip mats and tape- you’re still not fixing the number one cause of slip and fall accidents: a slippery floor.
So, before doing heavy, and costly, renovations to your parent’s toilet, give Nano-G’s Nanotechnology Anti-slip Floor Coating solution a go. For a lot of Nano-G’s past clients, the anti-slip solution was more than enough to keep their elderly family members from having slip and fall accidents.
Interested but need more information? We’re here for you, message us on these platforms:
Facebook m.me/nanogmalaysia
WhatsApp nanog.wasap.my
Or give our hotline a call at 1800-18-6266
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