How To Make the Home Safe if Your Loved One Has Vertigo
Vertigo occurs when a person feels like either they are spinning or the room around them is spinning when in fact, they are sitting or standing still. It’s most often linked to the inner ear issue and can develop due to other health conditions occurring or on its own. For some people, a case of vertigo may only last 30 seconds, but for others, it can go on for days, and some unfortunate people have chronic vertigo that interferes with daily life. Their home care providers can help in performing tasks that may compromise their safety during an episode.
Home Care Farmington Hills MI – How To Make the Home Safe if Your Loved One Has Vertigo
Considered a symptom and not a condition, the key to treating it often relies on finding the condition and treating that, with the goal of vertigo going away. Common conditions that may cause vertigo include migraine headaches, diabetes, extended stays in bed, low blood pressure, and arrhythmia.
Vertigo can make performing certain tasks around the home nearly impossible and is often associated with falls and leading to other injuries if actions are not taken to keep a loved one safe while experiencing vertigo.
Five Home Tips to Help Your Loved One Safely Navigate Her Home With Vertigo
Before making any changes to the home, talk to your loved one about steps she can take to reduce the impact a vertigo attack will have on her. Safety begins with how she manages her vertigo. That can mean avoiding certain actions like rising suddenly from a seated position or it might involve how she positions herself for sleeping each night. When she combines her actions with some changes made around the home, she’ll reduce her risk of falling when a vertigo attack happens.
Here are some safety steps to take around the home.
- Make sure all stairways have secure guardrails to hold onto when using the stairs.
- Provide plenty of lighting to prevent your loved one from not seeing a hazard in her path. Nightlights in hallways, along with brighter lights in living areas can help your loved one see better.
- Remove tripping hazards. For someone with vertigo, a simple stumble can easily lead to a crashing fall, so make sure all floors are free of anything that may trip her up.
- Move frequently used items to within reach in the kitchen and closets to prevent overreaching and standing on toes or step stools to get what she needs.
- Keep the shower safe with a shower chair, grab bars, and a non-slip mat.
Getting Some Home Care Help
When vertigo begins to affect how well your loved one can manage her home on her own without putting herself in danger, it’s important to start looking for resources to help her manage her home safely. There may be areas of the home that can only be cleaned by reaching over something or stretching on one foot. A home care provider can help her clean areas that she doesn’t feel comfortable doing herself with her possible balance issues. A home care provider can also help with getting items off of high shelves that require a footstool or small ladder to reach since a vertigo attack while on a raised surface could make a fall especially dangerous.
For days when vertigo even makes the simple act of standing and preparing a meal, a home care provider can also help with preparing meals and assisting your loved one safely around the home.
If you or an aging loved one is considering Home Care Services in Farmington Hills MI, please contact the caring staff at No Place Like Home Health, LLC today. 734-259-4200
Connecting Families with Compassionate & Quality Home Health Care In Wayne, Oakland, Livingston & Washtenaw.
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