5. TKO Door Knob Turner. While grandpa or grandma might need some assistance installing this low-tech gadget on to his or her device-of-choice, it will significantly change their lives for the better—especially those that are typically weak and those that suffer from hand and wrist arthritis. This is because this gadget is designed to make turning objects like doorknobs and faucets oh-so-much easier.   Retail Price: $22.95. TKO Door Knob Turner on Amazon.

4.Temperature Activated Flow Reducer.  As grandpa and grandma get older, they will be more likely to forget things—such as letting the shower water get scalding hot. If you’re worried that your grandparents (or parents) might burn themselves in the shower, then this low-tech gadget can be a simple solution to your fears. What it does is attach on to faucets and showerheads and will automatically shut the water off if it gets too hot, preventing the user from getting burned.  Distributor: The Alzheimer Store; Retail Price: $36.95. See the Temperature Activated Flow Reducer at the Alzheimer Store.

3. Roomba. If grandpa or grandma lives alone, a great gift to give him or her is the Roomba—a home robot manufactured to vacuum floors. This means that grandpa or grandma doesn’t have to risk injury sweeping or vacuuming the floor and can keep their home tidy with minimal effort. The Scooba is also available—a home robot designed to wash the bathroom floors. Distributor: iRobot; Retail Price: Ranges from $300 to $500. Roomba on Amazon

The Jitterbug can be a mobile PERS

2. JitterBug Cell Phone. Cell phones are a must, no matter how old your grandparents (or parents) are (they need an outlet to make emergency phone calls at the very least when away from the home phone). But buying the latest fancy smartphone is probably not the best decision—besides, they don’t need all the bells and whistles anyway. The Jitterbug, which has been around for several years, is a cell phone that is made just for those in their golden years: it has very large numbers so that those with impaired vision can press the keys; it has a clear and wide interface to simplify actions; and it works with voice activation so that the user doesn’t have to mess with sometimes-complicated features like scrolling to the main menu or contacts tab. As a bonus, the phone also comes equipped with 5 Star Urgent Response—an emergency button in case the user falls or gets into an accident. Distributor: GreatCall; Retail Price: $99. Read more about the Jitterbug Cell Phone on ElderlyMedicalAlertSystems.com.

1. Amazon Kindle Fire. While there are many tablets available on the market right now, this is probably the best choice. While it may not have all the same features as the popular Apple iPad 2, it does have all the basic features—and that’s all elderly users need anyway. The screen is large enough where your grandparents can read e-books comfortably and reduce eye strain; they can watch movies; and scour the internet for recipes etc—all for a fraction of the price of other tablets (it’s the cheapest on the market). Distributor: Amazon; Retail Price: $199. Check out the Kindle Fire, Full Color 7″ Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi on Amazon

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for best online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.

In fact, it can be a very overwhelming time as normal daily tasks become harder and more tedious, worries like frozen pipes arise and the effort to keep the house warm and safe demands constant time and attention.

If you live in an area in which winter is a real worry, here are some simple tips for winterizing that you can start working on now and continue to implement all season long to ensure safety and comfort for your elderly.

Plan for De-Icing

Make sure that you have a set plan in place for keeping the doorway, driveway and sidewalk shoveled and de-iced at all times. Whether you’ll be hiring someone or you yourself will be in charge of it, take care of the scheduling before winter sets in and your options fill up. If possible, find a back-up plan as well in case the on-call person can’t make it for any reason. Purchase all necessary tools now and stock up on de-icer this fall before the winterization products undergo their normal winter price hikes.

Insulate All Around

By simply insulating the windows, you can drastically reduce the heating costs of a house and make it easier for the elderly to maintain a constant, comfortable temperature. A window insulation kit or even some extra thick coverings over the window are affordable and easy to do. Make sure that you have draft blockers available for all doors and that any major holes or cracks are sealed shut with caulk.

Timed Thermostat

Programmable thermostat

Eliminate the need to remember when to turn the thermostat on/off/down by installing a programmable thermostat. This will allow you to easily set the central heating system to turn down at night, up in the morning and on and off for any set times the elderly will be out of the house. You’ll be able to help them efficiently cut down their energy bill without any extra effort on their part. And, because you will control the temperature yourself and can lock the settings, you can eliminate any potential danger from accidental temperature changes that would be too cold or too hot for an extended period of time.

Portable Heater

The elderly will likely need and desire extra sources of heat beyond a central heating system set to room temperature. If this is the case, it can be warmer, as well as more cost and energy efficient, to provide small portable space heaters that they can use in close proximity to themselves. This also allows them to heat just one room a few degrees warmer than standard room temperature instead of the whole house. You will want to make sure to check for the UL stamp (Underwriters Laboratories) guaranteeing it meets safety standards as well as to ensure that it has an automatic shut-off feature in case it gets accidentally tipped over.

Check & Clean the Furnace

Make sure the furnace is in proper working condition and that it gets thoroughly cleaned before winter sets in. Cleaning the furnace can help with efficiency and cut energy use and cost. Plan to change the furnace filters once every month during the winter season to continue to keep efficiency high and to prevent against possible fire danger caused by dirty filters.

Freelancer Amber O’Connell is passionate about helping families live healthier, more comfortable lives. She’s currently promoting a safe, elderly-friendly portable gas heater for Air & Water.

Portable countertop dishwashers eliminate bending

When we’re trying to walk that fine line between providing our aging parents with the right tools to increase their independence but without actually making their life more difficult than it should be, the balance can sometimes be very tricky. This is especially true when it comes to the “kitchen” and trying to decide what would be appreciated. However, more often than not, the elderly really appreciate kitchen products that allow them some semblance of being able to provide and clean up after themselves. Even something so simple as a microwave that allows your parent to make their own cup of tea or a bowl of oatmeal can create a feeling of self-sufficiency. There’s now a new trend that takes this even one step further: portable dishwashers.

With a small, countertop dishwasher, your elderly parent will not only be able to make themselves a cup of tea or pour themselves a cup of juice to take their morning pills, they can clean their own dishes with extremely little effort and keep a tidy kitchen. They’ll love the clean environment this will provide, as well as the unnecessary act of ever having to ask you to help clean up and then wait for you. And, while full size dishwashers do the same thing, they are large and usually impractical for the “home” size most of our elderly parents are living in. They also require bending over to load, which a countertop dishwasher does not.

If you have a parent that goes through items like bowls and glasses and a few pieces of silverware on a regular basis, you might want to ask them if they’d enjoy being able to wash them themselves. It’s perfect for doing the breakfast and lunch dishes for one person all in one fell swoop. Basically all the effort that is required is to slide out the rack, place dirty dishes inside, choose a program (plates, glasses, etc.) and push start. It’s truly as simple as that and there are no complicated instructions needed to learn or to remember.

Though many feel that a portable dishwasher will have less cleaning force than a standard, this is absolutely not the case. It will clean dishes just as well as a full-size dishwasher, and often even better, since there are fewer dishes blocking soap and water circulation. And, since it simply connects to a kitchen faucet and drains into the sink, there’s no installation necessary.

About the author:

Freelancer Amber O’Connell is passionate about helping families live healthier, more fulfilled lives. She’s currently promoting portable dishwashers for Air & Water and encouraging elderly living communities to start providing them in suites.

DuroMed lift chair - no wires, self-powered, portable

Lift chairs are designed to help you get out of your chair if mobility is an issue. An expensive motorized one lifts you slowly to your feet. This design is pneumatic and sort of “pops” you up. You adjust the cylinder to be the right level of pop for your weight. (The chair works for people who are 80lbs up to 230lbs.

Many customers LOVE this product. The weight of your body sitting down on it primes the pneumatic pump, and when you’re ready to stand up you release the catch and it helps you get to your feet. Unlike a more expensive standalone version, this one can be moved from chair to chair, and there’s no need to plug it in. So it’s really convenient.

Designed for arm chairs and wheelchairs giving the assistance needed to raise or lower to or from a seated position. Hydro-pneumatic lift actuator lifts up to 80% of body weight 10″ high. Six different weight adjustments to choose from. No wires, motors, latches or switches required. Soft high density foam with removable, easy to clean seat cover. Size 18″ x 17″. Weighs only 8 lbs.

There are other products to help you get out of your chair, such as poles you can install between floor and ceiling.

Check out the full reviews on Amazon.

See larger image Duro-Med Seat Assist Chair Lift, Navy (80-230 lbs) (Health and Beauty) List Price: $198.00 USD New From: $79.88 In Stock Release date October 5, 2005.

Top quality German no-slip stickers

From the manufacturer:

These high-quality translucent stickers are easy to apply to your shower or bathtub and just as easily detached, even after many years. The anti-skid set contains 10 non-slip stickers which are 10cm (3.94 inches) in diameter and are made in Germany. No matter what colour your bathtub or shower is, the anti-slip circles are fully transparent and thus almost invisible. The material is limescale repellent. Mold and other fungi will not develop on the surface of the safety sticker. Hence there will be no discoloration. With less than one millimeter in thickness, the quality adhesive see-through stickers are ultra-thin. With these adhesive pads you will no longer fear slipping in your bathroom, they securely guard against serious injury. With sufficient amount of skid-proof stickers, there will be no more sliding in the bathroom, as they even bond to tiles. The slip-resistant effect will ease your worries when it comes to safety in the bathroom. Children, elderly or disabled people can stand or sit in a skid-resistant bathtub or shower basin.

As confirmed by all our customers, the foothold is outstanding. As this item will be sent from Germany, please allow up to two weeks for delivery.

Disclaimer: Anti slip stickers are proven safeguards against accidents on slippery surfaces. However, the manufacturer cannot be held liable should a slip accident occur.

Customer notes:

Customers agree these are top quality stickers, but advise that you might want to order two sets.

The cost of a slip and fall injury in your bath or shower is likely to be a lot more than the cost of two packets of stickers.

If you are able to make some of the changes listed below in your parents’ home environment, you will have peace of mind in knowing that you have provided Mom and Dad with the safety they need to continue living independently.

Be Cautious with Steps

The stairs are one location where accidents can easily happen. If your parents live in a ranch-style home, that is all to the good. But if they have stairs to climb, it can present a problem, especially if they have any limits to their mobility. Here are a few pointers on how to handle stairs:

* All stairways should have a handrail.

* Steps need to have proper illumination, with a light switch at both the top and bottom of the staircase.

* If the stairs are not carpeted, each step should have some type of tread for easy traction.

* Residential stair lifts are a great way for elderly individuals to safely ascend and descend the stairs.

Minimize Problems in the Kitchen

The kitchen is another location where proper precautions should be taken. A few simple pointers will help to make the kitchen area a safer spot for elderly parents:

* Cabinets should be easily accessible so that senior citizens do not need to reach up high in order to get an item.

* For those with arthritic hands, faucets that turn on and off easily will be a blessing.

* The floor should be of a material that is easy to clean, such as vinyl or linoleum. Never use scatter rugs, as they can slide and cause serious injury.

* Ovens, stovetops and all other kitchen appliances should always be kept in perfect working order and should be user-friendly, so that the elderly will not have a problem operating them.

Beware of Bathrooms

Accidents can occur in the bathroom even to those who are not elderly. Safety measures will need to be taken to ensure that senior citizens will have a safer lavatory.

* Walk-in showers are beneficial for older individuals, as there will not be a high tub to step over. There should always be safety bars in the shower and tub area for grasping and holding onto when getting in and out. These bars should also be by the toilet.

* Seats can be purchased that are designed for use in the shower. They will prove to be very beneficial for those who cannot stand in the shower for any length of time.

* Ensure that shower doors do not allow any water seepage onto the floor.

By properly age-proofing your parents’ residence, they will have a safe environment in which to enjoy their golden years, and you will have the peace of mind that you’ve adapted their home to minimize the risk of an accident.

Guest blogger Claire Bradshaw has written a number of articles offering advice to baby-boomers caring for aging parents. She has a website that provides information about straight stair lifts and advice on things to consider when carrying out home adaptations for elderly people with limited mobility.

Take a look at the video:

It turned out the women spent most of their time walking back and forth to a source of clean water for their families.

(Take just a moment to imagine having to walk several miles to get water for drinking and cooking: if that makes you freak out a little bit, go make a donation at http://www.charitywater.org/, a very cool organization working to bring clean water to the ONE BILLION people who don’t have regular access to it…)

The women didn’t have time to go to the doctor, and the other problem was that the doctors were mostly male. The women were embarrassed to go to the male doctors, and their husbands got suspicious, so the women just didn’t get medical care. Even if they did, the pharmacy was somewhere else, so they didn’t have time to walk to get their medicines.

This person my friend was talking about tried something new. He moved the clinics and the pharmacies. Where did he put them?

Right by the water.

Brilliant, right? Now when the women make their daily trek for water, they can have their needed medical appointments without their husbands even needing to know about it. The clinics are staffed with female doctors. And the pharmacies are right next door.

The outcomes from this simple change are increased maternal health, better outcomes for babies, and economic benefits from having healthier women in the population.

But what has this got to do with you and you aging parents?

I want to encourage you to see if you can find a way to “move the clinic” in your parents lives. Next time you visit, look for something small that is making life harder for them. It might be something that worked fine when they were younger, but no longer makes sense. Or it could be something that’s been wrong all along, but no one has noticed it yet.

The problems in our lives are not always obvious, and they don’t always get fixed. Sometimes they seem like intractable problems, such as the pre-existing problem with medical care for those women in Africa.

I also encourage you to look for the really big problems. Sometimes these are just as hard to spot. But think of the difference you could make if you can spot and remove a problem that’s going to plague your parents for the next 10-20 years.

Have you found things like this in your parents’ lives? How did you fix it? Please share your story in the comments.

We’re always searching for new ways to stay connected with our elderly parents. The trick is finding a way to do this without being intrusive. For each family, the balance will be different.

If you don’t want to be making daily phone calls to your parent to be sure they’re okay (or if your parent doesn’t want you hovering over them by calling every day), then one of the solutions is a Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) like a medical alert system that the person can press if they have a problem.

But of course, not everyone remembers to bring their panic button with them at all times.

Here’s a different (and complimentary) idea. The folks at FineThanx have developed a simple automated call system that allows an elderly person living alone to easily communicate to their loved ones, “I’m fine, thanks,” and go about their business.

Here’s how it works:

When you set up the system, you tell it what numbers to call, when, and how many times a day.

When the phone rings, the elderly person simply presses #1 if everything is fine. They press #2 if they need help. If they don’t answer the system tries back a few more times.

If the person presses #2 or the call isn’t answered, the FineThanx system starts calling the people you’ve set up in the “Care Circle.” This might be you, a neighbor or friend, another family member, etc.

Once you get this call, you can be in touch with your parent or send someone by to check on them.

One of the biggest benefits of a system like this is that it can catch problems passively. For example, if your parent forgets to carry their panic button and takes a fall, they won’t be able to alert you. But they would miss their next scheduled phone checkin and you would know something was wrong.

Because the calls originate from the FineThanx system, you don’t have the problem of your parent simply getting busy and forgetting to call you.

The FineThanx system works well with a medical alert system, though, because the medical alert can be used for urgent problems and the phone system gives you a level of assurance that everything else is okay.

The system is just $9.95 per month.

Photo by Atilla1000 via Flickr

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Falls are the biggest cause of injuries in people over 65. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control says that 1 out of 3 people over 65 will fall each year. Falls result in injuries and even deaths. For many, a drastic fall spells the end of their independence and puts a big strain on their health. Avoiding falls is very important for ensuring a long and happy life.

photo credit: tico24

Some of the ways of avoiding falls are expensive. For example, installing a stairlift on a staircase will make it easier to avoid falling on the stairs.

But there are inexpensive solutions, too. One of the best? Remove all throw rugs. According to an article by the Associated Press, removing throw rugs is the single most important thing you can do to reduce falls, particularly in the bathroom.

Here are a few more inexpensive tips from that same article.

• make sure all carpeting is secure and flat
• add non-skid adhesive in the tub. Use a plastic shower chair. Raised toilet seats also help
• Add handrails in trouble areas
• Don’t wax your kitchen floor
• Watch out for high thresholds in doorways
• Don’t leave clutter on the floor!