5 Tips for Elder Care for the Visually Impaired

Vision loss and impairment is a common ailment as our loved one’s age, and it can come with increased safety risks, difficulties, frustration and sadness as they find they struggle to do things that used to come easily for them. These tips can improve safety and quality of life. Consult with At Home Personal Care for more ideas:

1. Eliminate Falling Hazards

Go around the home and tuck all electrical cords out of the way, remove rugs and arrange furniture to reduce falling and tripping dangers. Also have slippery tiles or linoleum coated with a non-stick surface to prevent slips and falls.

2. Brighten the Home

Boost wattage and add lighting in typically dark areas of the home. Be sure to reduce glare problems with focused lighting and install bright nightlights, particularly between the bathroom and bedroom.

3. Don’t Reorganize Everything at Once

Your loved one probably habitually knows the location of most-used objects in the home, so moving everything to make it more “organized” isn’t always the best solution. Discuss any reorganization with your loved one first and try to keep things where they are unless there is a safety issue.

4. Safe Stairways

Make sure stairs are not slippery and consider adding bright strips of tape and strong lighting to help them avoid missing stairs and falling. Make sure rails are in good repair.

5. Vision Aids for Entertainment

There are many ways to help your loved one enjoy the entertainments they’ve always enjoyed. Audio books, large-print publications, a large-screen, high-contrast TV with English Descriptive Service, and more.

Home Care to Help Overcome Visual Impairment

Make sure your loved one receives regular vision care from their eye doctor to slow vision loss if possible, and understand that you may need to drive them to appointments, go shopping with them, cook, clean and do other things they used to do on their own. At Home Personal Care’s elder home care team can help improve safety and quality of life for everyone involved. Call today for help: (703) 330-2323.