You’re going to wish you’d known about padding hard corners earlier in your caregiving journey!
We are Nancy Treaster and Sue Ryan. Through our experiences as caregivers for our family members and loved ones with dementia, we’ve learned ensuring home safety is both vitally important and ever-changing.
In this post, we’re sharing three main tips for managing safety — both inside and outside the home. These help you keep your loved one safe while giving you peace of mind.
Tip 1: Create a File of Life
One of the most effective ways to keep your loved one safe is by creating a document called File of Life. File of Life was created to give first responders valuable medical and personal information when the people they’re helping can’t.
The valuable information this File of Life document contains about your care receiver includes:
- Name / nickname
- Contacts
- Medical information including medications and allergies
- Insurance information
- Special circumstances: e.g. Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order
- HobbiesOther relevant details for supportive conversation
Sue’s Experience:
I filled out the File of Life for both my husband and myself. We placed their reflective decal on our front door to alert emergency responders that this information is available. The information is folded into a small red pouch placed prominently on our refrigerator. It’s incredibly helpful for them and gives us peace of mind.
Tip 2: Care Receiver proof Your Home
As your loved one becomes more curious and restless, it’s time to care receiver proof your home. This process is ongoing — observe and adjust as needed. It’s most likely still hard for us to know what they can and can’t remember. We’re so used to them being able to think rationally, it can be a hard transition to using the position they can’t.
For those of you who have raised children, it’s the same kind of process — they’re curious, you don’t know what they’ll explore, and they don’t yet know what is safe or dangerous.
Kitchen Safety:
- If you’re going to keep cleaning supplies in the kitchen make sure they are non-toxic
- Secure cleaning supplies and knives in locked cabinets
- Use childproof safety locks on cabinets and drawers
- Depending on the type of stove you have, there are knob locks and childproof stove knob covers (You can also take the knobs off when not in use)
- If your refrigerator has chimes — turn them on, There are also locks for refrigerators and freezers
- Secure the garbage can with a childproof lock
- Cover the garbage disposal switch
- Remove rugs your care receiver may trip on (See tip 3)
- Don’t leave anything on the kitchen counter they could harm themselves with — they are curious
- Unplug appliances and put caps on the plug
- If you want them out of the kitchen entirely, install portable gates
Throughout the House:
- Limit accessible space using childproof doorknob covers
- Secure windows with keyed sash locks
- Reduce the number of lamps in wandering areas
- Secure fireplace keys
- Make steps more visible with white paint or reflective tap
- Consider indoor cameras for monitoring
Sue’s Experience:
I got a dementia fidget blanket for Jack. It’s comforting and gives our care receivers something to do with their hands. It has different textures and shapes. It’s amazing how much it helped.
I anticipated what my loved ones might want so I could proactively bring them, for example, a drink or snack before they went searching for something.
Nancy’s Experience:
After removing many items for safety, I replaced them with children’s toys and fidget toys designed for people with dementia. This gives them something safe to interact with and satisfies their need to fidget.
Tip 3: Minimize Fall Risks
Falling is unfortunately inevitable. Here are steps you can take to minimize risks and impact.
- Pad corners and edges of furniture
- Remove area rugs to prevent tripping
- Check floors for any loose or risen corners
- Use fall tracking devices (wristbands, shoe inserts, phone apps)
- Improve lighting to reduce shadows
- Make shower entry safer (if you have a combination tub/shower — replace it with a shower only and install one without a lip on the floor they could trip on)
- Grip socks and non-slip shoes
- Be prepared for falls with tools like a floor lift chair
- Install cameras so you can watch their movements
Nancy’s Experience:
I wish I had known about padding corners earlier. My husband hit his head on a dresser corner while wandering at night. After that, we padded the furniture corners in his room and then moved to other areas in the house.
Sue’s Experience:
I made sure the shower was well-lit and had good grips on the floor. I also removed anything that might distract him. As our journey progressed, while the shower was safe, getting into it became frightening for him, and we stopped using it for bathing.
Home safety is not a one-and-done activity. It requires constant observation and adjustment. While some measures might seem restrictive, they’re implemented out of love and concern for your loved one’s well-being. We don’t know what they don’t know — we don’t want to learn the hard way!
If you have tips you think others would benefit from, please share them on our Facebook page or Instagram page.
For more on this topic click HERE to listen to our podcast episode.
We’re all on this journey together.
