March 21, 2025 • 28 mins
Got a comment or idea? Send us a text.
Transforming homes for those living with Parkinson's is essential. We explore practical modifications that improve safety and mobility, ensuring independence and quality of life. The episode dives into challenges faced and solutions available to enhance living conditions.
• Discussing Parkinson's and daily living challenges
• Home modifications to support mobility and safety
• Importance of a safe entryway and living areas
• Recommendations for bathroom and kitchen safety
• Utilizing technology for enhanced living solutions
• Encouragement to consult professionals for personalized assessments
If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to cover, please leave us a comment here on this podcast.
Thanks for listening!
Sign up to our Homeowners Newsletter - it's a weekly newsletter filled with expert tips and advice on how to age safely and more comfortably in your own home.
If you provide services for modifying homes for disabled or seniors aging in place, sign up to our directory and expand your business.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Are you living with and or caring for someone with
Parkinson's?
If so, you know firsthand thechallenges that come with
maintaining safety, mobility andindependence at home.
Then today's podcast is for you.
We're going to be talking aboutthe kinds of home modifications
(00:22):
that can help to make the homesafer and make the tasks easier
for everyone.
So welcome to the Aging inPlace Directory podcast, your
go-to resource for aging inplace solutions and expert
insights on making homes saferand more accessible.
I'm Esther Kane, a retiredoccupational therapist and
(00:43):
currently an Aging in Placespecialist, and today we're
going to go into an importanttopic home modifications for
individuals with Parkinson'sdisease.
Now, I probably don't have totell you that Parkinson's is a
progressive neurologicaldisorder that affects everything
from movement to balancecoordination.
(01:06):
All of these factors makeeveryday activities more
challenging.
However, with the rightmodifications in the home and
for the person, we can helpindividuals with Parkinson's
maintain independence andimprove their quality of life at
(01:26):
home.
Of course, each and everysingle person is different.
Symptoms are different foreveryone, so hopefully some of
these tips that I'm giving youtoday can help you in your
situation.
Certainly, let me know in thecomments reviews.
I'd love to hear what you'redoing to make your life caring
(01:48):
for someone with Parkinson's orliving with Parkinson's easier.
All right, so before we discussmodifications, let's first take
a simple understanding of thefour most common challenges that
anyone or that people withParkinson's face in their homes.
The first is mobility issues,and this is slowness of movement
(02:10):
, which is called bradykinesia,and muscle stiffness.
Both of these make it muchharder to navigate spaces.
Balance problems because of thebradykinesia and muscle
stiffness.
It easily affects balance andincreases the risk of falls
Tremors Not everyone that hasParkinson's gets tremors, but it
(02:36):
is fairly common shaking, whichcan easily make simple tasks
like eating or dressing you know, managing any fine motor type
of tasks difficult.
And, of course, one thing youdon't think about too often is
the fatigue and cognitivechanges that occur because of
(02:59):
Parkinson's.
These can make navigating thehome overwhelming and
frustrating.
Now that we have a betterunderstanding of these four
issues, let's talk about some ofthe things that you can do to
make the home safer and makelife a bit easier.
We're going to start with theentryway.
Entryway and hallways, actually, but a home's entrance should
(03:28):
be safe and accessible.
Now, if you only have oneentrance to your home, obviously
, then you can only work on thatone.
But if you have two or moreentrances, then at least one of
them should be accessible andthat means a zero threshold type
of entryway.
So if you have to install aramp or you know, flatten out
(03:48):
the threshold so that there'sit's not a bump, so you don't
have difficulty pushing thewheelchair through the doorway.
If you do use a ramp or installa ramp, I recommend one with
railings because while you'rewalking, in case you never have
to use a wheelchair, you'll bewalking.
Having the use of a railing forsafety issues is extremely
(04:11):
important.
You want to ensure that thedoorway is wide enough to
accommodate walkers, especiallyif you're using a large walker,
if you happen to be a largertype of person and wheelchair,
and I'm talking about a minimumof at least 36 inches you want
to look into automatic dooropening devices.
(04:34):
Sorry about that.
You want to use that to helpyou to open the door and, of
course, lever style.
Door handles are also very easyto open a door, to manage a
door, not even if you I mean, ofcourse, if you you have limited
(04:58):
dexterity it's much easier tohandle.
But if your arms are filled, ifyou're carrying two bags or you
, you know you're trying to pusha wheelchair or whatever.
A lever doorway is easy to usewith your elbow to open that
door.
You can't do that with a rounddoorknob as easily.
So I changed all my rounddoorknobs when I moved into my
(05:22):
home years ago to lever style.
It's definitely much, mucheasier, and this includes
interior doors as well.
You want to improve lighting,of course, to reduce the risk of
steps, especially in hallwaysand most especially in steps,
stairways, and you want toremove throw rugs and secure
carpeting, if you have any, toprevent tripping hazards.
(05:46):
If you still if you like thelook of a throw rug and I do to,
you know, decorate a space likea foyer, dining area, whatever
then consider exploring vinylmats.
That's what I replaced minewith, that's what I replaced
mine with.
You can get them atvmatathomecom that's V, like
(06:08):
Victor matathomecom, there'shudsonandvinecom and then
there's carolinacreekhousecom.
Those are only three.
There are others, of course.
The only thing I say is justmake sure that the mat that you
get doesn't slide, that it'santi-slip.
(06:34):
You want to check and make surewith that, and I've already
converted multiple of my friendsto VMAT at home and Carolina
Creek House.
And not only is it easy toclean, easy to take care of.
But if you have pets, there'sno issue about you know them
(06:57):
having an accident in the homeand it doesn't trip you up
because they're so so thin.
All right, so check them out,all right.
So now we're going to move onto the living room and the
bedroom.
Now the focus here is always onfall prevention, ease of
movement and ease of access toitems.
(07:20):
So obviously you want to lookat non-slip flooring, low pile
carpeting or vinyl rugs toreplace carpeting and throw rugs
.
All of these help to reduce therisk of trips and falls.
One thing you can think of ifyou have tile floors.
If you live in Florida, youprobably have tile floors.
(07:41):
I know when I lived in Florida,everything was tiled and you
want to make them more non-slip.
Have tile floors.
I know when I lived in Florida,everything was tiled and you
want to make them more non-slip.
There you visit your Home Depotor Lowe's or Ace Hardware and
ask about this non-slip productthat you can put over a floor.
(08:01):
You can put it over wood, tile,almost any kind of flooring,
and it's completely clear.
I don't know if it's clear whenyou actually apply it, but it
ends up being clear and it doesmake the flooring more non-slip,
so you may want to look at that.
(08:21):
If that's, you know what youmay need.
You want to use stable furniturewith armrests to provide
support when standing up,sitting down, and also, if
furniture is by the wall, like ashelf unit or a china hutch or
anything like that, considerusing anti-tip devices to adhere
(08:49):
the furniture to the wall.
This is just in case the personor anyone happens to start
falling and they're near thatfurniture.
The automatic reaction is tograb something.
So if you grab a wall unit andyou fall, it falls with you or
it can fall with you.
So anti-tip devices can help toprevent that.
(09:11):
You want to consider and Istrongly would recommend to
consider an electric lift chair.
These are recliners that youcan push a button or remote and
it will slowly lift you up sothat you can stand up easily and
walk away from it, and then youcan, when you come back, you
(09:32):
can just lean up against it,push the button or the remote
and it will slowly lower youdown.
So I think they're an excellentoption.
Think they're an excellentoption.
You want to place frequentlyused items within easy reach to
avoid unnecessary bending orreaching, and I always recommend
(09:53):
and I use them every day voiceactivated assistance like Alexa
or Google home for everything tocontrol lights, to control
appliances.
You know all hands-free, all byvoice you want to.
There's so many things thatthese products can do and I will
(10:15):
put a link in the descriptionof the podcast to some articles
that we have onseniorsafetyadvicecom about the
use of Alexa and Google Home.
I can't say enough about thoseproducts.
I think that everyone shouldhave one in every room of the
(10:35):
house.
I know a lot of people arehesitant because of privacy
issues, but honestly, the safetyfactors, I think, outweigh the
privacy issues.
But that's just my personaltake.
All right, the bathroom.
The bathroom is actually one ofthe most hazardous areas for
(10:55):
those with Parkinson's, somodifications here are
absolutely essential.
You want to install grab barsnear the toilet, inside the
shower and, if needed, installthem along the wall on the way
to the toilet, the shower, thesink, whatever.
My mom had a long hallway whenyou entered her bathroom.
(11:16):
It was a long hallway to get tothe area that had the sink, the
toilet and the shower and tub.
Well, she didn't have a tub, sowe installed grab bars along
that long hallway to help herstay safe while she got down to
(11:37):
that area, to help her stay safewhile she got down to that area
, and of course we installed theother grab bars as well.
You want to replace a walk-inshower.
If it has a threshold, you wantto replace it with a zero
threshold or, if you can modifythat particular shower with a
threshold, if you happen to havea tub and shower, I do
recommend to remove the tub andhave a walk-in shower with a
(12:00):
zero threshold.
Either that or a walk-in tub.
Although a walk-in tub doeshave a threshold.
The only other option, if youhave to have the tub there, is
to use some kind of a tub benchthat the person can sit on from
the outside of the tub.
(12:21):
As long as they can get theirlegs over the edge of the tub,
then a tub bench is a goodoption.
Of course, consider a showerchair, a magnetic handheld
shower head, which makes it mucheasier to use, especially if
you have the mount right thereby the shower chair.
And the reason I say magneticis because the magnetic is very
(12:44):
easy to put back on the mountand to take off.
Otherwise you have to align theshowerhead you know,
specifically with the mount andclip it in there, it's much
easier to use a magnetic one.
You want to replace traditionalfaucets with touch, touchless or
lever style types of faucets tomake it easier to use a raised
(13:09):
toilet seat or a tall toiletwith armrests to simplify
sitting and standing.
Of course, the armrests wouldbe the grab bars and, of course,
non-slip mats inside andoutside the shower or the
bathtub.
Those are all the leastmodifications to make.
(13:30):
Lighting, of course, isextremely important in a
bathroom.
You want to make sure thatthere's enough lighting and if
you're redoing a bathroomentirely, if you're gutting it,
I would recommend a heated floor, especially if you live in a
northern area.
It's much easier on the personto have the heated floor,
(13:54):
especially if they're walking in, you know, barefoot on that
area.
I know that's.
One of the best investments Iever made was to make my
bathroom, uh, to put in a heatedfloor.
But, um, I did have it gutted.
It raises the electricity billvery minimally and it doesn't
cost as much as you might think.
(14:15):
At least it didn't used to.
I don't know about these days.
All right, so let's go on tothe kitchen.
In the kitchen, themodifications need to focus on
reducing strain, you know,making it easy to access things
and enhancing safety.
You want to arrange commonlyused items at counter height.
(14:37):
You want to arrange commonlyused items at counter height, so
(15:01):
this could be anything from ablender to coffee maker, toaster
, so on.
You want to use pull-outshelves in there to make things
easier.
You want to.
For Parkinson's, what may helpsome are weighted utensils,
adaptive kitchen tools, meaningwith larger handles for a better
grip.
Those can help some individualswith Parkinson's.
So check those out.
And then I want to talk to youabout induction cooktops.
(15:24):
I'm getting an inductioncooktop.
I'm replacing my gas cooktopwith an induction cooktop, and
I'm going to give you six greatreasons why you should consider
doing that as well.
First of all, inductioncooktops use electromagnetic
technology to heat only thecookware.
(15:44):
So you do need certain types ofpots.
They have to be flat on thebottom.
You can check to see if it'sinduction safe, the cooktop that
you have.
But it's certainly worth itbecause it heats only the
cookware and it keeps thecooking surface cool to the
touch.
So if you were to accidentallytrip, you know you automatically
(16:06):
put your hand down.
If you happen to be in front ofthe cooktop, you would
automatically put your hand downon the cooktop, you wouldn't
burn yourself.
This is particularly importantfor older adults who may have
slower reflexes, even reducedsensation in their hands.
(16:27):
You know, rigidity, it's just asafety factor that you can't
deny.
It's a wonderful safety factor.
You can't deny it.
It's a wonderful safety factor.
Also, many induction cooktopscome equipped with automatic
shutoff features.
That means that the safetymechanism detects when a pot or
a pan is removed from thecooking surface and then the
(16:50):
heat is turned off automatically.
So this is great for anyonewith any cognitive decline.
You forget to turn off thestove, it automatically turns
off.
Induction cooktops tend to cookas quickly as gas cooktops.
I know a lot of my friends withgas stoves say oh, you have to
(17:11):
go with gas.
It cooks so quickly and then itstops cooking as soon as you
turn it off.
But induction cooktops do thesame.
So this reduces the timeseniors need to.
Anyone needs to stand andmonitor cooking.
You know this works well ifyou're experiencing fatigue and
it also, you know, becauseyou're not standing there for a
(17:34):
long time.
It reduces the risk ofaccidents.
Replacing a gas stovetop with aninduction cooktop means that
you're not producing any.
You know, contributing toindoor air pollution, not
producing any harmful fumes.
This is especially true forseniors or anyone who has
(17:57):
respiratory issues or, forwhatever reason, are susceptible
to poor air quality.
I know for me.
I just feel safer not to have agas item in the house.
Plus, also with the gas cooktopyou have to have your your vent
on while you have it on, whileyou have the stove on, and that,
(18:22):
of course, is very noisy.
It reduces, you know, theability to listen to anything
else.
While I'm cooking over thestove with a induction cooktop,
which is essentially an electriccooktop, you don't necessarily
have to have the vent on unless,of course, you want the smoke
(18:42):
and so forth to, you know, belet out.
Hopefully you're not smoking alot.
What you're cooking is notsmoking a lot.
Another reason, another strongreason for myself that I wanted
the induction cooktop wasbecause it's a smooth, flat
surface.
It's easy to clean.
Gas cooktops have a very heavygrate.
(19:06):
You know the large metal grateover it.
Those are not light, they'redifficult to clean.
It's not an easy item tomaintain.
So with a smooth, flat surfacelike an electric cooktop, it's
much, much easier to keep cleanand to maintain the induction
(19:28):
the.
Also, induction cooktops offera more precise and even heat
distribution, and this can helpto undercook food or to overcook
food, which any of these canobviously lead to foodborne
illnesses or smoke-relatedhazards, anything like that.
(19:50):
I love induction cooktops.
I think they're an amazingproduct.
I know they cost a little bitmore, but if you have the means
to get one, I strongly wouldrecommend it.
And yeah, I don't think you'llbe upset, and in addition to
that, it's a great addition tothe house for resale if that is
(20:14):
to come in the future.
Another product that I think isvery good in the kitchen is
sturdy seating, some kind ofcounter height seating that is
sturdy, non-tip, all of that tomake it easier for meal
preparation.
Either that, or set up somekind of meal prep station at the
(20:36):
kitchen table so that anyonewith Parkinson's can sit down
while cutting vegetables ordoing whatever it is that
they're doing, to prepare a meal, making a sandwich, anything
like that.
All right, the next thing I wantto talk about.
The last thing, is technologyTechnology.
(20:56):
These days, we are so, sofortunate to have so much
technology at our fingertips.
I can't even imagine what 10,20 years from now is going to
look like.
Not quite the Jetsons, I don'tthink, but almost, I think I
hope.
Anyway, some of the technologyproducts that I can recommend
(21:17):
are motion sensor lighting, andthis reduces the need to fumble
for switches.
I have motion sensor lightingon my stairway and in my garage.
I think those are the easiestplaces to have and the most the
best places to have motionsensor lighting.
Smart home systems like Alexa,google Home, anything at all
(21:41):
that allows voice or control orcontrolled by an app and I'm
talking about things like lightsand thermostats, home security
doors, anything at all that youcan use to access the home and,
(22:01):
better yet, if it has an app anda family member can also have
access to that, just in casesomething were to happen.
They can access your home.
They can control yourthermostat.
You know my mom-in-law.
In her 90s she had been livingin her condo in South Florida
for several decades and in her90s the thermostat in her condo
(22:27):
went kaput so she had to have itreplaced.
They replaced it with a brandnew thermostat which she could
not learn to use.
She just had a very difficulttime learning how to use it, and
I remember one time I calledher up and her voice sounded all
muffled and I asked her whatwas wrong and she said she was
(22:50):
speaking to me from under thecovers.
I said why are you under thecovers?
She says because I'm freezing.
I said why are you freezing?
Now, mind you, my mom-in-lawkept her home at 95 degrees plus
, and even then she was wearingsweaters, so anything to her was
cold.
And so when I asked her why wasshe freezing, she said because
(23:11):
she couldn't figure out how toturn the heat on on the
thermostat.
So, the poor thing, I had tocall somebody to come to her
condo to fix that for her, andeven though they showed her how
to do it again, she just had adifficult time remembering how
to do it.
She was so used to the old one.
(23:33):
So it's nice to have someoneelse be able to control
something for you if you can't.
Medical alert systems, ofcourse, are extremely important.
I mean, this provides peace ofmind for everyone, and I'm not
talking.
I'm talking about, of course,medical alert devices you know,
like Life Alert and things likethat, but also the Apple Watch
(23:54):
has a fall detection feature.
But also know that the deviceyou know, alexa devices can also
help someone to call out forhelp, because you can use Alexa
devices like a telephone and ifyou have the Echo Show Amazon's
Echo Show, which is an Alexadevice with a screen, then you
(24:15):
can use that to speak to someoneelse with an Echo Show on like
a FaceTime.
You know it's video to video.
And also the other person withthe Echo Show can drop in on
your Echo Show and use that as avideo monitoring device.
Now you can use Alexa devicesas a telephone to a regular
(24:40):
telephone.
I can call a regular telephonefrom my Alexa device, but with
the Echo Show you can use it asa video monitoring and then also
as a video to video call, whichis always nice to actually see
people while you're talking tothem.
And it's all encased in thesame device that has all those
(25:04):
other amazing Alexa skills.
Again, I'm going to have a linkto seniorsafetyadvicecom below
to all the articles we have onAlexa devices and all the great
things that they do.
I would strongly recommend toconsider engaging the help of an
(25:25):
occupational therapist or acertified aging in place
specialist to assess yourindividual needs and to
recommend personalized solutions, not only for the person that
has Parkinson's in the home, butalso the home itself.
Obviously, every single personwith Parkinson's is going to
(25:45):
have some.
You know of the symptoms thatwe equate with Parkinson's, but
every single person is differentand also every home is
different.
So they look at everything fromflooring to furniture to walls,
to how the person moves in thehome, what rooms do they use and
(26:10):
how do they use those rooms andsafety devices throughout.
They use those rooms and youknow safety devices throughout.
So consider asking yourphysician for a referral, for an
occupational therapist for ahome safety assessment, or
contact a local certified agingin place specialist to come to
the home and give you a homesafety assessment.
(26:30):
You know those are the bestways, obviously in addition to
everything that I've beentelling you, and they would be
telling you all of these samethings, plus some, you know,
individualized to yourparticular home.
Well, I hope you found thisepisode helpful.
Be sure to subscribe to theAging in Place Directory podcast
(26:52):
.
Check out our websiteaginginplacedirectorycom for
more expert advice on aging inplace and also to locate aging
in place specialists in yourarea.
I'm working very hard to get asmany aging in place specialists
to sign up into the directory.
Of course, if you havequestions or topics you'd like
(27:13):
us to cover, you know.
Leave us a comment here on thispodcast.
I look at it every single dayto see what else, what other
issues we can cover for you tomake your life easier and safer.
Thanks for listening and untilnext time, stay safe and stay
independent.
Take care.
Are you living with and or caring for someone with
Parkinson's?
If so, you know firsthand thechallenges that come with
maintaining safety, mobility andindependence at home.
Then today's podcast is for you.
We're going to be talking aboutthe kinds of home modifications
(00:22):
that can help to make the homesafer and make the tasks easier
for everyone.
So welcome to the Aging inPlace Directory podcast, your
go-to resource for aging inplace solutions and expert
insights on making homes saferand more accessible.
I'm Esther Kane, a retiredoccupational therapist and
(00:43):
currently an Aging in Placespecialist, and today we're
going to go into an importanttopic home modifications for
individuals with Parkinson'sdisease.
Now, I probably don't have totell you that Parkinson's is a
progressive neurologicaldisorder that affects everything
from movement to balancecoordination.
(01:06):
All of these factors makeeveryday activities more
challenging.
However, with the rightmodifications in the home and
for the person, we can helpindividuals with Parkinson's
maintain independence andimprove their quality of life at
(01:26):
home.
Of course, each and everysingle person is different.
Symptoms are different foreveryone, so hopefully some of
these tips that I'm giving youtoday can help you in your
situation.
Certainly, let me know in thecomments reviews.
I'd love to hear what you'redoing to make your life caring
(01:48):
for someone with Parkinson's orliving with Parkinson's easier.
All right, so before we discussmodifications, let's first take
a simple understanding of thefour most common challenges that
anyone or that people withParkinson's face in their homes.
The first is mobility issues,and this is slowness of movement
(02:10):
, which is called bradykinesia,and muscle stiffness.
Both of these make it muchharder to navigate spaces.
Balance problems because of thebradykinesia and muscle
stiffness.
It easily affects balance andincreases the risk of falls
Tremors Not everyone that hasParkinson's gets tremors, but it
(02:36):
is fairly common shaking, whichcan easily make simple tasks
like eating or dressing you know, managing any fine motor type
of tasks difficult.
And, of course, one thing youdon't think about too often is
the fatigue and cognitivechanges that occur because of
(02:59):
Parkinson's.
These can make navigating thehome overwhelming and
frustrating.
Now that we have a betterunderstanding of these four
issues, let's talk about some ofthe things that you can do to
make the home safer and makelife a bit easier.
We're going to start with theentryway.
Entryway and hallways, actually, but a home's entrance should
(03:28):
be safe and accessible.
Now, if you only have oneentrance to your home, obviously
, then you can only work on thatone.
But if you have two or moreentrances, then at least one of
them should be accessible andthat means a zero threshold type
of entryway.
So if you have to install aramp or you know, flatten out
(03:48):
the threshold so that there'sit's not a bump, so you don't
have difficulty pushing thewheelchair through the doorway.
If you do use a ramp or installa ramp, I recommend one with
railings because while you'rewalking, in case you never have
to use a wheelchair, you'll bewalking.
Having the use of a railing forsafety issues is extremely
(04:11):
important.
You want to ensure that thedoorway is wide enough to
accommodate walkers, especiallyif you're using a large walker,
if you happen to be a largertype of person and wheelchair,
and I'm talking about a minimumof at least 36 inches you want
to look into automatic dooropening devices.
(04:34):
Sorry about that.
You want to use that to helpyou to open the door and, of
course, lever style.
Door handles are also very easyto open a door, to manage a
door, not even if you I mean, ofcourse, if you you have limited
(04:58):
dexterity it's much easier tohandle.
But if your arms are filled, ifyou're carrying two bags or you
, you know you're trying to pusha wheelchair or whatever.
A lever doorway is easy to usewith your elbow to open that
door.
You can't do that with a rounddoorknob as easily.
So I changed all my rounddoorknobs when I moved into my
(05:22):
home years ago to lever style.
It's definitely much, mucheasier, and this includes
interior doors as well.
You want to improve lighting,of course, to reduce the risk of
steps, especially in hallwaysand most especially in steps,
stairways, and you want toremove throw rugs and secure
carpeting, if you have any, toprevent tripping hazards.
(05:46):
If you still if you like thelook of a throw rug and I do to,
you know, decorate a space likea foyer, dining area, whatever
then consider exploring vinylmats.
That's what I replaced minewith, that's what I replaced
mine with.
You can get them atvmatathomecom that's V, like
(06:08):
Victor matathomecom, there'shudsonandvinecom and then
there's carolinacreekhousecom.
Those are only three.
There are others, of course.
The only thing I say is justmake sure that the mat that you
get doesn't slide, that it'santi-slip.
(06:34):
You want to check and make surewith that, and I've already
converted multiple of my friendsto VMAT at home and Carolina
Creek House.
And not only is it easy toclean, easy to take care of.
But if you have pets, there'sno issue about you know them
(06:57):
having an accident in the homeand it doesn't trip you up
because they're so so thin.
All right, so check them out,all right.
So now we're going to move onto the living room and the
bedroom.
Now the focus here is always onfall prevention, ease of
movement and ease of access toitems.
(07:20):
So obviously you want to lookat non-slip flooring, low pile
carpeting or vinyl rugs toreplace carpeting and throw rugs
.
All of these help to reduce therisk of trips and falls.
One thing you can think of ifyou have tile floors.
If you live in Florida, youprobably have tile floors.
(07:41):
I know when I lived in Florida,everything was tiled and you
want to make them more non-slip.
Have tile floors.
I know when I lived in Florida,everything was tiled and you
want to make them more non-slip.
There you visit your Home Depotor Lowe's or Ace Hardware and
ask about this non-slip productthat you can put over a floor.
(08:01):
You can put it over wood, tile,almost any kind of flooring,
and it's completely clear.
I don't know if it's clear whenyou actually apply it, but it
ends up being clear and it doesmake the flooring more non-slip,
so you may want to look at that.
(08:21):
If that's, you know what youmay need.
You want to use stable furniturewith armrests to provide
support when standing up,sitting down, and also, if
furniture is by the wall, like ashelf unit or a china hutch or
anything like that, considerusing anti-tip devices to adhere
(08:49):
the furniture to the wall.
This is just in case the personor anyone happens to start
falling and they're near thatfurniture.
The automatic reaction is tograb something.
So if you grab a wall unit andyou fall, it falls with you or
it can fall with you.
So anti-tip devices can help toprevent that.
(09:11):
You want to consider and Istrongly would recommend to
consider an electric lift chair.
These are recliners that youcan push a button or remote and
it will slowly lift you up sothat you can stand up easily and
walk away from it, and then youcan, when you come back, you
(09:32):
can just lean up against it,push the button or the remote
and it will slowly lower youdown.
So I think they're an excellentoption.
Think they're an excellentoption.
You want to place frequentlyused items within easy reach to
avoid unnecessary bending orreaching, and I always recommend
(09:53):
and I use them every day voiceactivated assistance like Alexa
or Google home for everything tocontrol lights, to control
appliances.
You know all hands-free, all byvoice you want to.
There's so many things thatthese products can do and I will
(10:15):
put a link in the descriptionof the podcast to some articles
that we have onseniorsafetyadvicecom about the
use of Alexa and Google Home.
I can't say enough about thoseproducts.
I think that everyone shouldhave one in every room of the
(10:35):
house.
I know a lot of people arehesitant because of privacy
issues, but honestly, the safetyfactors, I think, outweigh the
privacy issues.
But that's just my personaltake.
All right, the bathroom.
The bathroom is actually one ofthe most hazardous areas for
(10:55):
those with Parkinson's, somodifications here are
absolutely essential.
You want to install grab barsnear the toilet, inside the
shower and, if needed, installthem along the wall on the way
to the toilet, the shower, thesink, whatever.
My mom had a long hallway whenyou entered her bathroom.
(11:16):
It was a long hallway to get tothe area that had the sink, the
toilet and the shower and tub.
Well, she didn't have a tub, sowe installed grab bars along
that long hallway to help herstay safe while she got down to
(11:37):
that area, to help her stay safewhile she got down to that area
, and of course we installed theother grab bars as well.
You want to replace a walk-inshower.
If it has a threshold, you wantto replace it with a zero
threshold or, if you can modifythat particular shower with a
threshold, if you happen to havea tub and shower, I do
recommend to remove the tub andhave a walk-in shower with a
(12:00):
zero threshold.
Either that or a walk-in tub.
Although a walk-in tub doeshave a threshold.
The only other option, if youhave to have the tub there, is
to use some kind of a tub benchthat the person can sit on from
the outside of the tub.
(12:21):
As long as they can get theirlegs over the edge of the tub,
then a tub bench is a goodoption.
Of course, consider a showerchair, a magnetic handheld
shower head, which makes it mucheasier to use, especially if
you have the mount right thereby the shower chair.
And the reason I say magneticis because the magnetic is very
(12:44):
easy to put back on the mountand to take off.
Otherwise you have to align theshowerhead you know,
specifically with the mount andclip it in there, it's much
easier to use a magnetic one.
You want to replace traditionalfaucets with touch, touchless or
lever style types of faucets tomake it easier to use a raised
(13:09):
toilet seat or a tall toiletwith armrests to simplify
sitting and standing.
Of course, the armrests wouldbe the grab bars and, of course,
non-slip mats inside andoutside the shower or the
bathtub.
Those are all the leastmodifications to make.
(13:30):
Lighting, of course, isextremely important in a
bathroom.
You want to make sure thatthere's enough lighting and if
you're redoing a bathroomentirely, if you're gutting it,
I would recommend a heated floor, especially if you live in a
northern area.
It's much easier on the personto have the heated floor,
(13:54):
especially if they're walking in, you know, barefoot on that
area.
I know that's.
One of the best investments Iever made was to make my
bathroom, uh, to put in a heatedfloor.
But, um, I did have it gutted.
It raises the electricity billvery minimally and it doesn't
cost as much as you might think.
(14:15):
At least it didn't used to.
I don't know about these days.
All right, so let's go on tothe kitchen.
In the kitchen, themodifications need to focus on
reducing strain, you know,making it easy to access things
and enhancing safety.
You want to arrange commonlyused items at counter height.
(14:37):
You want to arrange commonlyused items at counter height, so
(15:01):
this could be anything from ablender to coffee maker, toaster
, so on.
You want to use pull-outshelves in there to make things
easier.
You want to.
For Parkinson's, what may helpsome are weighted utensils,
adaptive kitchen tools, meaningwith larger handles for a better
grip.
Those can help some individualswith Parkinson's.
So check those out.
And then I want to talk to youabout induction cooktops.
(15:24):
I'm getting an inductioncooktop.
I'm replacing my gas cooktopwith an induction cooktop, and
I'm going to give you six greatreasons why you should consider
doing that as well.
First of all, inductioncooktops use electromagnetic
technology to heat only thecookware.
(15:44):
So you do need certain types ofpots.
They have to be flat on thebottom.
You can check to see if it'sinduction safe, the cooktop that
you have.
But it's certainly worth itbecause it heats only the
cookware and it keeps thecooking surface cool to the
touch.
So if you were to accidentallytrip, you know you automatically
(16:06):
put your hand down.
If you happen to be in front ofthe cooktop, you would
automatically put your hand downon the cooktop, you wouldn't
burn yourself.
This is particularly importantfor older adults who may have
slower reflexes, even reducedsensation in their hands.
(16:27):
You know, rigidity, it's just asafety factor that you can't
deny.
It's a wonderful safety factor.
You can't deny it.
It's a wonderful safety factor.
Also, many induction cooktopscome equipped with automatic
shutoff features.
That means that the safetymechanism detects when a pot or
a pan is removed from thecooking surface and then the
(16:50):
heat is turned off automatically.
So this is great for anyonewith any cognitive decline.
You forget to turn off thestove, it automatically turns
off.
Induction cooktops tend to cookas quickly as gas cooktops.
I know a lot of my friends withgas stoves say oh, you have to
(17:11):
go with gas.
It cooks so quickly and then itstops cooking as soon as you
turn it off.
But induction cooktops do thesame.
So this reduces the timeseniors need to.
Anyone needs to stand andmonitor cooking.
You know this works well ifyou're experiencing fatigue and
it also, you know, becauseyou're not standing there for a
(17:34):
long time.
It reduces the risk ofaccidents.
Replacing a gas stovetop with aninduction cooktop means that
you're not producing any.
You know, contributing toindoor air pollution, not
producing any harmful fumes.
This is especially true forseniors or anyone who has
(17:57):
respiratory issues or, forwhatever reason, are susceptible
to poor air quality.
I know for me.
I just feel safer not to have agas item in the house.
Plus, also with the gas cooktopyou have to have your your vent
on while you have it on, whileyou have the stove on, and that,
(18:22):
of course, is very noisy.
It reduces, you know, theability to listen to anything
else.
While I'm cooking over thestove with a induction cooktop,
which is essentially an electriccooktop, you don't necessarily
have to have the vent on unless,of course, you want the smoke
(18:42):
and so forth to, you know, belet out.
Hopefully you're not smoking alot.
What you're cooking is notsmoking a lot.
Another reason, another strongreason for myself that I wanted
the induction cooktop wasbecause it's a smooth, flat
surface.
It's easy to clean.
Gas cooktops have a very heavygrate.
(19:06):
You know the large metal grateover it.
Those are not light, they'redifficult to clean.
It's not an easy item tomaintain.
So with a smooth, flat surfacelike an electric cooktop, it's
much, much easier to keep cleanand to maintain the induction
(19:28):
the.
Also, induction cooktops offera more precise and even heat
distribution, and this can helpto undercook food or to overcook
food, which any of these canobviously lead to foodborne
illnesses or smoke-relatedhazards, anything like that.
(19:50):
I love induction cooktops.
I think they're an amazingproduct.
I know they cost a little bitmore, but if you have the means
to get one, I strongly wouldrecommend it.
And yeah, I don't think you'llbe upset, and in addition to
that, it's a great addition tothe house for resale if that is
(20:14):
to come in the future.
Another product that I think isvery good in the kitchen is
sturdy seating, some kind ofcounter height seating that is
sturdy, non-tip, all of that tomake it easier for meal
preparation.
Either that, or set up somekind of meal prep station at the
(20:36):
kitchen table so that anyonewith Parkinson's can sit down
while cutting vegetables ordoing whatever it is that
they're doing, to prepare a meal, making a sandwich, anything
like that.
All right, the next thing I wantto talk about.
The last thing, is technologyTechnology.
(20:56):
These days, we are so, sofortunate to have so much
technology at our fingertips.
I can't even imagine what 10,20 years from now is going to
look like.
Not quite the Jetsons, I don'tthink, but almost, I think I
hope.
Anyway, some of the technologyproducts that I can recommend
(21:17):
are motion sensor lighting, andthis reduces the need to fumble
for switches.
I have motion sensor lightingon my stairway and in my garage.
I think those are the easiestplaces to have and the most the
best places to have motionsensor lighting.
Smart home systems like Alexa,google Home, anything at all
(21:41):
that allows voice or control orcontrolled by an app and I'm
talking about things like lightsand thermostats, home security
doors, anything at all that youcan use to access the home and,
(22:01):
better yet, if it has an app anda family member can also have
access to that, just in casesomething were to happen.
They can access your home.
They can control yourthermostat.
You know my mom-in-law.
In her 90s she had been livingin her condo in South Florida
for several decades and in her90s the thermostat in her condo
(22:27):
went kaput so she had to have itreplaced.
They replaced it with a brandnew thermostat which she could
not learn to use.
She just had a very difficulttime learning how to use it, and
I remember one time I calledher up and her voice sounded all
muffled and I asked her whatwas wrong and she said she was
(22:50):
speaking to me from under thecovers.
I said why are you under thecovers?
She says because I'm freezing.
I said why are you freezing?
Now, mind you, my mom-in-lawkept her home at 95 degrees plus
, and even then she was wearingsweaters, so anything to her was
cold.
And so when I asked her why wasshe freezing, she said because
(23:11):
she couldn't figure out how toturn the heat on on the
thermostat.
So, the poor thing, I had tocall somebody to come to her
condo to fix that for her, andeven though they showed her how
to do it again, she just had adifficult time remembering how
to do it.
She was so used to the old one.
(23:33):
So it's nice to have someoneelse be able to control
something for you if you can't.
Medical alert systems, ofcourse, are extremely important.
I mean, this provides peace ofmind for everyone, and I'm not
talking.
I'm talking about, of course,medical alert devices you know,
like Life Alert and things likethat, but also the Apple Watch
(23:54):
has a fall detection feature.
But also know that the deviceyou know, alexa devices can also
help someone to call out forhelp, because you can use Alexa
devices like a telephone and ifyou have the Echo Show Amazon's
Echo Show, which is an Alexadevice with a screen, then you
(24:15):
can use that to speak to someoneelse with an Echo Show on like
a FaceTime.
You know it's video to video.
And also the other person withthe Echo Show can drop in on
your Echo Show and use that as avideo monitoring device.
Now you can use Alexa devicesas a telephone to a regular
(24:40):
telephone.
I can call a regular telephonefrom my Alexa device, but with
the Echo Show you can use it asa video monitoring and then also
as a video to video call, whichis always nice to actually see
people while you're talking tothem.
And it's all encased in thesame device that has all those
(25:04):
other amazing Alexa skills.
Again, I'm going to have a linkto seniorsafetyadvicecom below
to all the articles we have onAlexa devices and all the great
things that they do.
I would strongly recommend toconsider engaging the help of an
(25:25):
occupational therapist or acertified aging in place
specialist to assess yourindividual needs and to
recommend personalized solutions, not only for the person that
has Parkinson's in the home, butalso the home itself.
Obviously, every single personwith Parkinson's is going to
(25:45):
have some.
You know of the symptoms thatwe equate with Parkinson's, but
every single person is differentand also every home is
different.
So they look at everything fromflooring to furniture to walls,
to how the person moves in thehome, what rooms do they use and
(26:10):
how do they use those rooms andsafety devices throughout.
They use those rooms and youknow safety devices throughout.
So consider asking yourphysician for a referral, for an
occupational therapist for ahome safety assessment, or
contact a local certified agingin place specialist to come to
the home and give you a homesafety assessment.
(26:30):
You know those are the bestways, obviously in addition to
everything that I've beentelling you, and they would be
telling you all of these samethings, plus some, you know,
individualized to yourparticular home.
Well, I hope you found thisepisode helpful.
Be sure to subscribe to theAging in Place Directory podcast
(26:52):
.
Check out our websiteaginginplacedirectorycom for
more expert advice on aging inplace and also to locate aging
in place specialists in yourarea.
I'm working very hard to get asmany aging in place specialists
to sign up into the directory.
Of course, if you havequestions or topics you'd like
(27:13):
us to cover, you know.
Leave us a comment here on thispodcast.
I look at it every single dayto see what else, what other
issues we can cover for you tomake your life easier and safer.
Thanks for listening and untilnext time, stay safe and stay
independent.
Take care.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!