Low Vision Quick Tips: Safety in the Home
Low Vision Quick Tips. Safety in the Home. This video is a companion to the Low Vision Focus at Hadley audio presentation K15 Making the Kitchen User Friendly, and H20 Looking Your Best.
Hi, I'm Pam Tierney here with your low vision quick tips. Today we'll be talking about Safety in the Home, specifically in the kitchen and bathroom. These tips are just one of the many ways to do things, so find the best, and safest ways for you and stick with them. First, I want to discuss how to plug an appliance into an outlet with low vision.
For this you will need a two prong plug and a three prong plug. Power adapters and surge protectors work great for this. I pulled these out of a couple items just a second ago, so hopefully they aren't too important.
Someone unplugged all the equipment that we keep on our ONE surge protector. Don't worry I have another one.
I guess I should ask next time. You won't want to use anything that could potentially hurt you while practicing, like a curling iron or a toaster. Also make sure your hands are dry.
We will start with a three prong plug, using a two handed technique to plug it into the wall outlet. First, orient the plug in your hand with the round prong at the bottom, or the right based on the orientation of the outlet. Then, with your opposite hand, using your index finger and middle finger, find the faceplate and feel for the two slots, but don't put your fingers into the slot. Without taking your index finger away, bring the plug to your finger. Align the prongs with the slot and push the plug into the wall. When pushing the plug into the socket remove your fingers from the prongs to avoid any shock.
Now a two prong plug actually has one prong larger than the other. This prong will usually go on the left, so when you orient it into your hand, keep the larger prong on your left, or down with this orientation of the outlet. Use the same two handed technique as we did with the three prong plug. Put the plug in your one hand with the larger prong down, and use your opposite middle and index finger to find the slots on the wall outlet. Then guide the plug into the outlet.
Simple tasks like putting a plug into an outlet may take longer at first, but remember, with time it will become easier. Y'know, I never found out what this power adapter goes to. Not sure what that means, so I better just unplug it.
Now let's talk about some general safety tips in your kitchen. First clear any clutter, especially on your counters. When you clear your clutter you will spill less and break fewer things.
The second safety tip I have is to use a tray. Most home furnishing stores sells inexpensive trays, or a rimmed cookie sheet works as well. When cooking, you can put all of your ingredients on a tray, pour over the tray, and in rare occurrences, you can even use a tray to fend off dragon fire, though that's not really a modern kitchen safety concern.
Using a tray in the kitchen reduces the numbers of spills, by allowing you an easy-to-clean surface for all of your ingredients. Before we leave the kitchen I want to talk about kitchen rugs. While they may be stylish, and soft to stand on, they present tripping hazards. We tend to move around frequently in the kitchen, so reducing floor hazards is important. I would recommend just getting rid of all of your rugs.
But if you need a kitchen rug to stand on, I recommend an endurance mat that contrasts with your floor. You can purchase endurance mats at home stores. They have non-skid backing and are very easy to clean.
Most falls occur in the bathroom. Water on bathroom surfaces is hard to see, and makes the surfaces, especially floors, extremely slippery. Let's start in the tub.
First, I would recommend non-skid strips, or non-skid mats inside the tub, which give you a better grip. Also a handrail allows you something to grab onto for balance when you're in the tub. You can get both at hardware stores, or even medical supply stores.
Now let's talk about bar soap. If you use bar soap you know it makes an excellent shower microphone, but it's very slippery. We recommend switching to a liquid soap. The container is much easier to hold, and much easier to pick up if your drop it. We also recommend a shower caddy to hold all of your shower items in one place.
Outside of the tub we recommend a contrasting color bath mat. Most bathrooms have tiles floors that can get very slippery with just a little water. Like your kitchen, rugs and mats can be tripping hazards. So I recommend taking up the bath mat when you're finished with your shower, and hanging it on the edge of the tub. This will give contrast to your tub's edge in the bathroom. Then, when you need to take a shower, lay it on the floor so it's there when you get out.
Contrasting colors can also work on your toilet. If you have a white toilet seat pick a color of toilet seat that contrasts to the white. You can purchase toilet seats in almost any color.
Well, there are just a few quick tips for safety in the home. These tips offer one way to do things, but there are many other methods that work as well. Safety is important, so find the best way that works for you and stick with it.
For more quick tips or additional information, this video is a companion to the Low Vision Focus at Hadley Audio Presentation K15 Making the Kitchen User Friendly and H20 Looking Your Best. You can also watch more videos by visiting our website
The preceding video for Low Vision Focus at Hadley is for information only, and in no way endorses one service or product over another.