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Bathroom Door Safety for Seniors and Children
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f someone fell in your bathroom, especially a child
or an elderly person, could you get in easily? |
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What if the person fell against the door? Could you open it
without injuring them?
Most bathroom doors open inward, so if someone fell on the floor
against the door you wouldn't be able to open it inward without
injuring them. Seniors are more likely to fall then children, and
their weight would make safely opening the door impossible.
The least costly solution is to re-hang the door so it opens
outward. Now, this can obstruct a hallway, which is why most of
these doors are hung to open into the bathroom. However, using a
reasonable amount of caution when you open the door is a small
price to pay for increased safety.
More expensive, but with the advantage of eliminating the swinging
door, is to install a pocket door that slides into the wall.
Installing a pocket door will involve some wall reconstruction, so
this is a project for someone with experience. Many of the newer
assisted living residences are installing pocket doors for their
bathrooms because it not only increases safety, it also increases
the amount of useable space in the bathroom. This is always a plus
if you are trying to assist someone in a confined space.
Bathroom door locks can be another issue for both children and
older residents.
Do you know how to unlock the door from the outside? If your older
bathroom door has a key lock, be sure you have an extra key that
you can reach quickly. Tape it to the wall above the door, where
it isn't easily visible but it's handy.
If you have a newer lock with the little hole on the outside, try
using an opened clothes hanger - stick the wire into the hole
while you turn the knob. Practice this before you need to.
You can easily reverse the doorknobs, so the lock is on the
outside and no one can lock the door from the inside. This is
particularly useful for seniors with dementia forget how to work
the lock, or when children lock themselves in the bathroom when
they are in trouble!
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