What are the difficulties involved in using the toilet?
WILLIAM BULMAN, MD: The strength required to stand from the sitting position from a low toilet is significant-it takes a great deal of strength in your legs to do that. If you have arthritis in your hips or your knees, going from a sitting to a standing position is painful. If you have muscular weakness in either one or both legs, it can be very difficult to stand using your legs alone. There are modifications that you can make to the toilet that make that easier.
What modifications?
CHRISTINA BALDASARI, LPT: There are different kinds of raised toilet seats that you can buy, or toilet chairs with rails that help the person to push up from a sitting position. And grab bars can be useful too.
WILLIAM BULMAN, MD: Very often with older persons with significant disabilities, getting from the bedroom to the bathroom is very important, especially since older persons often go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Sometimes we recommend a bedside commode so that they can get out of bed, use the commode next to their bed, and then use the bathroom for toileting during the day.
What are some safety considerations in the kitchen?
CHRISTINA BALDASARI, LPT: It is important to assess how they move about in the kitchen, especially if they have a walker or a wheelchair and they need to carry a plate of food from the counter to the kitchen table. We have to assess their mobility carrying, maneuvering the walker, and moving around. Sometimes, we recommend putting food on a tray if they are in a wheelchair or sliding the tray along a counter closer to the kitchen table.
