Stepping up Stair Safety

To many, the stairs are a friendly place that provides a means of moving quickly and easily between floors. They can be an excellent form of exercise and are one of the most common means of joining multiple stories in a home. While the stairs can be an excellent and important tool, they also present some very real dangers to those who are mobility challenged.
Falls on the stairs are very common among seniors and are in fact the leading cause of hospitalization and serious injury among this age group. Often, these injuries are not only physical injuries, but they can also be mental injuries. Many times, a fall will result in an overall loss of confidence, which in some results in a social withdrawal.
As a result of the many serious problems that a fall can cause, it is important to prevent these types of accidental injuries. One of the most important steps is to ensure that the staircase itself is in good repair, well lit, and provides as many safety features as possible.
Stair safety features include many aspects, including adequate and well secured hand rails, a safe non-skid surface, and bright lighting. Many of these types of things are required to make the stairs safe for anyone of any age. However, younger individuals are quite often better able to recover from a fall and adapt to a set of unsafe stairs, so the overall condition of the stairs is usually more important among seniors.
For some seniors, no matter what the condition of the stairs, they will not be able to safely and independently climb them. It is neither practical nor safe to always rely on someone to help you with the stairs, so they are faced with what they might feel like is a difficult situation. They might feel like their only options are to move or to not use the stairs, but stair lifts provide a much more practical and cost effective alternative.
Stair lifts are a type of mobility aid that can be used to make the stairs much safer. The device attaches to the stairs and can then carry a single occupant safely up or down the staircase. A stair chair is the most common type of stair lift, which carries the occupant in a chair. The chair moves along a metal track attached to the staircase and uses a powerful and in most cases silent electric motor.
Many people opt to go with a battery powered stair chair, because these have the advantage of working even if the power goes out. The upfront cost of a battery powered stair chair, which is commonly called a DC Stair Lift, is slightly higher. They also will require a replacement battery every 12 to 18 months, but with the advantage of being able to always use the lift, a battery powered stair lift is often the best choice.
In most cases, preventing falls is a two step process, which involves evaluating the safety of the staircase and evaluating the ability of the senior. After these steps, finding a solution to safely allow staircase usage is possible.

To make the stairs a safer place, stair lifts have been used since the twenties. These devices, much like wheelchair lifts and the dumbwaiter, are important safety tools.

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