Smart Senior

Activities of Daily Living
Activities of daily living. What’s all the fuss about? You have been taking care of yourself for eighty plus years and giving it a fancy name isn’t going to change anything.
It would be nice if we could take your word for that, but Professional Caregivers know better. They use the term “activities of daily living” to refer to all the self-care activities that you are so proud of.
Let’s peek at your day. You get up. You get dressed. You wash up, and you have breakfast. These are all activities that occur before you go to work, to the gym, or take your dog for a walk. These tasks are not rocket science, but the day will come when they feel like it.
Getting dressed is one thing, but before you get that far, you must roll out of bed, creep into the bathroom (or into the kitchen to put coffee over) before you can properly greet the day.
Bathing, whether done in a shower, a tub, or standing at a sink is the first order of the day. In the old days you might remember taking a tub bath once a week (a washtub in the middle of the kitchen). Now, thanks to modern inventions like warm running water, you have gotten used to bathing every day.
Lately, bathing has taken on a new dimension. Not that it doesn’t still feel good, but slippery tubs and showers have become an obstacle course. What if you lose your balance? Please think about this before you find yourself grabbing the shower curtain or towel rack to right yourself. What are you going to do? A spit bath can only go so far, but bathing assistance isn’t one of those things you want to talk about.
It is time to consider “senior proofing” your home, and the bathroom is the most sensible place to start. Consider a walk-in bathtub or shower. These amenities feature shower chairs, handheld showerheads, a device to control water temperature and grab bars everywhere.
Yes, that sounds like a lot of “newfangled gadgets,” but if you are serious about your safety and wellbeing you need to shelve your skepticism. Willingness to accept “newfangled” amenities and saying yes to offers of help means you are ready to take the first step toward independent living.