What Are the Safest Bathing Options for Stroke Victims?
As many stroke victims have already learned, a stroke can occur out of nowhere and without any warning. The debilitating results of a stroke, however, can have long-lasting effects that significantly change the lives of sufferers. Because a stroke involves a prevention of blood flow to the brain, the effects can be far-reaching throughout the body. In other words, there are parts of the body that often lose mobility due to the damage to the brain a stroke has caused.
Your brain, quite obviously, is your body’s control center. And because it controls how you think, feel, communicate and move, a stroke can cause the type of brain damage that inhibits your ability to move. At Forward Day, we have a great amount of respect for stroke victims, knowing how much their newfound mobility issues can present seemingly insurmountable difficulties with completing everyday tasks.
Bathing is one of those everyday tasks that becomes a lot harder for stroke victims. As a result, they must take much greater caution with this once-easy-to-do daily chore. So what are the safest bathing options for stroke victims?
Take a Shower Instead of a Bath
Generally speaking showers are safer for stroke victims than baths. This is because a person is less likely to fall while getting in and out of the shower. Naturally, a bath requires the filling of a tub. And because stroke victims often have limited mobility, the water in the tub can present a drowning hazard.
Incorporate Aids to Make the Bathing Experience Easier
For those who much prefer baths over showers, a few measures should be taken to make the bath safe and easy to manage. Firstly, it’s advisable that you use a special bathtub seat or bath bench so that you can both sit more comfortably and get in and out of the tub easier. This will also help to eliminate or, at the very least, diminish any possibility of drowning.
Secondly, it’s wise to install grab bars and bathmats to help prevent slips and falls. A grab bars helps you to steady yourself when getting in and out of the tub and a bathmat gives you a less slippery surface to help keep you on your feet. As well, you’ll want to make sure that you have all of your bathing necessities easily within reach. Soap, body wash, washcloths, shampoo and towels – keep them all in places that will help you to avoid bending, reaching and moving around.
Change Your Bathing Location
For many stroke victims, using their traditional bathtubs and showers isn’t much of an option. Their mobility issues negate any of the tips and advice listed above. In many cases, stroke victims find it a lot more comfortable living on the main floors of their homes since climbing the stairs becomes too difficult a task. Especially when a caregiver may be unavailable, it’s simply not feasible to use the upstairs facilities.
In such cases, the Shower Bay portable shower becomes the perfect solution. It enables stroke victims to enjoy thorough and relaxing showers without having to remodel any areas of their homes. Because Shower Bay is uniquely designed to be quickly assembled in any room of the home, it brings the bathing experience to the user without any hassle. Once snapped together and connected to a standard faucet, the Shower Bay portable shower is ready to go!
If you have any questions about our Shower Bay portable showers, please don’t hesitate to contact us to ask them. Give us a call at 1-877-223-8999 or email us at info@showerbay.com.
