Revolutionary Products For Making Life For Seniors Easier

It’s a sad fact of life but the older we get, the more difficult life becomes. Life as a senior isn’t always easy, as there are a lot of day to day problems that can occur and make life a bit of a nightmare. That being said, although the changes that come with age can be upsetting and concerning, they don’t have to impact the quality of life that seniors have. Whether you are the carer of a senior who is struggling to get by or the owner or manager of a care home, these revolutionary products made to make life easier for seniors can also make life easier for you, and also, more enjoyable for your loved one or residents. If you want to make life easier for yourself and the senior or seniors that you are caring for, these products are worth looking into.

 

Lifting hoists
 

For seniors who are unstable on their feet or have mobility problems, lifting hoists and slings can be life-changing. Take bath time for instance, a lot of seniors with mobility problems aren’t able to get in and out of the bath themselves, which is where the use of a hoist comes in. It prevents the carer from injuring themselves by bearing too much weight and allows the senior to get safely in and out of the bath. Of course, hoists aren’t just revolutionary because they make bathtimes easier, they can also be used for so many other things, from moving a person with mobility problems out of bed to helping them to get from one end of the room to the other. There are three main types of hoists, these are ceiling track hoists, mobile hoists, and portable hoists, each of which comes with its own pros and cons.

 

See through furniture
 

As mentioned above, dementia sufferers like to be able to see what’s inside boxes, cupboards, and drawers, which often leads to them constantly opening and closing things. To prevent agitation and frustration from occurring, see through furniture can be useful to have - something you can learn more about in our post about designing dementia-friendly bedrooms. There are various furniture specialists who have created dementia-friendly furniture that allows you to see inside it through a glass panel. This might seem basic but the fact is see through furniture makes the lives of dementia sufferers and their loved ones and carers much less stressful and reduces the risk of outbursts and violent behaviour due to frustration - it might be a basic design but the concept is revolutionary.

 

Large print
 

It’s no secret that the older we get, the worse our vision tends to get, so much so that a lot of seniors struggle to read regular sized print. There are now various everyday products on the market that have large print on them, making life easier for seniors with vision problems. From large print books and magazines to large print telephones and playing cards, there’s a wide selection of products available, many of which you can find on specialist online sites. There are also settings for electronics such as TVs, Kindles, smartphones, and tablets that allow you to increase the size of the print, making it easier for seniors to see and read.

 

Senior-friendly tablets
 

The fact is that a lot of seniors struggle to navigate smart technology, which can put them off of using it. However, there are now plenty of tablets that are made to be easy to use, making them senior-friendly. This means with a quick lesson in how to use a device, most seniors are able to grasp how to use a tablet to entertain themselves. As our recent guest post about the benefit of technology for seniors demonstrates, even dementia sufferers can use tablets to occupy themselves and bring back memories of the past. Tablets can not only be used by seniors to occupy themselves, but also to keep in touch with friends and relatives via video chats and instant messaging. A lot of seniors have reported finding touchscreen pieces of technology easier and less intimidating to use, thanks to the ease of working them compared to mouse or button operated technology.

 

Shaking spoon
 

Many seniors develop tremors in their hands and wrists, which can make feeding themselves somewhat difficult as with every shake some of the food falls off of the spoon or fork. For people with Parkinson’s Disease, this is a particularly significant problem as uncontrollable shaking is one of the many symptoms of the disease, making leading a normal life somewhat difficult. The great thing about a shaking spoon is that it shakes constantly, which means when the person feeding themselves shakes, the food doesn’t fall off, allowing them to feed themselves and gain back some of their independence.

 

Emergency alert devices
 

Last but not least, one of the most revolutionary products for seniors is emergency alert devices because they can, quite literally, save a life. For seniors, falls and illness are common, which means that for seniors living alone or within a sheltered community without 24-hour monitoring, they need a way to alert someone when something is wrong, like when they’ve had a fall and can’t get back up. The great thing about these emergency alert devices is that they are now smaller than ever and can be carried and used anywhere and everywhere, so wherever an accident occurs, help can be summoned immediately, giving seniors and carers alike peace of mind.