Improving Bath Safety With a Bath Lift by Simon Stezer

Improving mobility in the bathroom is very important. This is because there are many areas that are very hard, therefore being very unforgiving during a fall.. It also necessary to do a lot of bending to get into or out of a bathtub, making this a very cumbersome task for many. This is one reason that many seniors and people who have difficulty bending their knees use a bath lift.

A bath lift is a medical lifting aid that is designed to help an individual to get into and out of the bath tub. There are a few different models of bath lifts available, but for seniors the most common type uses a plastic chair that is affixed to a lifting base. The chair rises and lowers into the bath tub and at its peak it is level with the top of the bathtub. Some offer a reclining seat and some simply provide a straight backed plastic seat.

To avoid electrical shock, these lifts utilize rechargeable batteries to do the actual lifting. This way, there is no worry about electrical outlets and their proximity to water. The battery pack is usually contained in the hand control, which has two large easy to see buttons on it. Despite housing a battery that is sufficient to power the lift, the battery pack is actually very lightweight and about as big as a hard cover book. It is designed so that if it does not have a sufficient charge to lower the lift and raise it again, it will not lower in the first place.

Installing a bath lift is often something that can be done in only a few minutes, without having to drill any holes or modify the bathtub in any way. Instead, a set of strong suction cups is used to hold these devices in place. These suction cups are very powerful, but will not damage the bathtub, so most bath lifts can be traveled with and set up in most standard sized bathtubs.

While the traditional bath lift uses a plastic chair, there are some models that use an air filled seat instead. An air pump quickly fills the cushion, raising it so that it is level with the top of the bathtub. It can then be quickly deflated, allowing the user to use the bathtub as they normally would. Then it is just as quickly inflated, raising the user out of the bathtub. Since these can be easily stored, taking up only a little space, they make a good choice for traveling. Like their relative the traditional bath lift, air filled bath lifts also use rechargeable battery packs to raise and lower.

Using a bath lift is an excellent way of increasing safety in the bathroom. There are a number of models available, but most use the classic chair lifting system.

Seniors often using lifting aids like bath lifts and lift chairs to improve safety and independence.

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