Hearing about an elderly person falling in the bathroom is unnerving, especially if showering or bathing had a major role in the story.

Bathtub safety should be a daily priority, especially when stamina, balance, endurance, and overall health change how easily a person can move.

One simple place to start is adding bathtub safety strips for better traction to the floor of the tub so feet are less likely to slip.

In this article, we will discuss how elderly individuals and their caregivers can assist with entering and exiting the bathtub safely. Plus, we will provide helpful equipment options you can use to make bathtub use and transfers safer for older adults.

Entering Your Tub More Safely 

Before entering the tub, think about your goal: Are you bathing lying down or bathing from a seated position on a bath bench?

This will impact the way you prepare for your transfer and the way your family member or caregiver assists you. 

Let’s get started:

• Remove all throw rugs and loose towels: As aesthetically pleasing as some throw rugs are, they do not belong in a bathroom because they are a significant tripping hazard. Do not substitute bath mats with towels because there’s no traction, and this will also cause trips and falls. 

• Ensure you have good lighting in the bathroom to see what you are doing at all times.

• Go ahead and start the water to fill the tub. However, dry your hands before transferring into the tub, and make sure you have a non-slip surface to work with inside the tub.

• Make sure all of your towels and soaps are within reach.

• Undress and prepare for your bath transfer.

• Keep your knees bent and place both hands on the tub’s ledge. Start one leg at a time, leading with the good foot first. If you have a grab bar in the tub, reach for the grab bar to steady yourself once you have one foot in. 

• Once you have both feet in the tub, carefully lower yourself into a lying down position using the grab bar and the tub ledge. Keep your spine straight and avoid plopping to the floor. 

• Do not lie down in the tub for a bath if your doctor orders against it, if you’ve had a recent surgery, or if you can’t get in or out without two-person or mechanical assistance.

Exiting Your Tub More Safely

Now that you’ve completed your bathing tasks, it’s time to get out. Here’s what we’re going to do:

• Drain the tub entirely before exiting the tub.

• Grab that towel nearby and dry your hands, feet, and limbs. Use another towel to dry the tub ledge and lightly dry as much of the tub floor as possible. Grab the tub grab bar and the tub ledge for support while pushing up to a semi-squatting position onto your feet. Recruit most of your strength from your legs.

• Don’t come to a full standing position until you are out of the tub. Lift one leg out at a time while still supporting yourself on the grab bar and tub ledge. Never grab door knobs or towel racks for extra support. Once you are out, continue with your additional hygiene tasks.

Taking Care of Yourself After the Bath

Getting out of the tub is not the end of the job. Your goal is to be completely dry by the time you step out.

If you could not finish drying off in the tub, do the rest sitting down outside it.

After that, you can decide what comes next based on how much energy you have left. Here are the things many people still have to get through:

• Dressing
• Combing and blow-drying your hair
• Shaving
• Brushing your teeth
• Using the toilet
• Putting on makeup
• Putting on lotion
• Taking medication

Decide which of these matter most today. Not every task has to happen every single day, and that is fine.

Then do most of them sitting down. Sitting saves your energy and lowers your chance of a fall.

The trade-off is that sitting for your grooming may feel slower or fussier than what you are used to. A bath takes a lot out of the body, though, so putting your energy where it counts is a fair deal.

Caregivers: A Few Body Mechanic Tips

Suppose you are an elderly individual who feels more comfortable having a loved one or a personal aide assist you with bathing tasks in the tub.

In that case, these folks need to consider a few body mechanic tips to protect their muscles and joints from injury:

• Anytime you help with a transfer (for any occasion), bend the knees and keep the back straight. You should use muscles in your legs, not your back, to provide support.
• If the elderly individual is forgetful or has limited cognitive capacity, don’t forget to give them reminders to grab the grab bars, bend the legs, dry off, etc.
• Be available in the home if the elderly individual has an emergency in the bathroom. Check on them every few minutes during their bath, but remember to give them their privacy as much as possible.
• If you find yourself providing support to the point where you need a second person, it may be time to consider some modifications to the bath routine.

Start by Looking at Your Tub and Your Routine

Before you buy anything or change anything, spend a few minutes asking yourself some plain questions. The answers will point you toward what actually helps.

What kind of tub do you have? Maybe it’s an old clawfoot tub with high walls, or maybe it’s a newer one with a low edge. How you climb in depends a lot on that.

Can you get into the tub without falling or hurting yourself? Think about both your body and your thinking. If you manage with a little trouble, a few small changes may fix the struggles. Plenty of folks love their bath routine, don’t want to change much, and can still keep taking baths with a few adjustments.

Next, look at how you bathe now. Do you wash standing, sitting, or lying down? Where do you keep your soap and shampoo? Do you have to bend at the hips to reach them or to wash your legs and feet?

Ask yourself, too, whether someone is home or reachable by phone or alarm if something goes wrong.

Then ask what you’re willing to change. Has your health changed lately? Some people need to switch to sitting on a bath bench because of a heart or breathing condition that keeps them from lying in the tub.

Once you accept that something needs to change, picking equipment gets much easier. The trade-off is that this takes some real thought up front, and it may mean giving up a habit you like.

Helpful Equipment Options

If you or your loved ones are considering making modifications to your bathroom to enhance safety during transfers, here are a few popular options depending on your goals and level of independence:

Bathtub Handrail

Ergonomic grab bars can be placed directly on the tub ledge to make transfers in and out of the tub easier.

Bathtub Lifts

These handy devices are elevated seats with backs that you sit on from the tub’s edge. It then lowers you into the tub at the touch of a button. Once you have bathed, the chair lifts you back up to the tub edge so you can exit the tub safely. See our list of the best bathtub lifts for seniors and the elderly here.

If you’d like a closer look at one of these, I wrote about the MAIDeSITe electric bathtub lift for independent bathing and how it feels to use.

Grab Bars 

Grab bars can be professionally installed inside and outside of the tub.

Non-Slip Mats 

Non-slip bathroom rugs can be placed outside the tub and combined with non-slip bath mats on the inside of the tub to prevent slippage, loss of balance, and potential falls.

Soap Dispensers

Soap dispensers can be suction cupped or screwed into the bathtub wall at your desired height for easy access and to prevent dropping bottles into the tub.

Bath Benches 

Bathtub transfer benches are draped over the tub ledge as an alternative to lying in the tub. This is especially helpful for folks with limited leg mobility but with decent torso strength.

Removable Showerheads

In combination with the bath bench, you can replace permanent shower head fixtures with removable handheld showerheads to give users more control over water flow.

Hoyer Lifts 

Elderly folks with great use of their upper body but limited function of their lower body and who wish to bathe lying down can still get transferred into the tub via the Hoyer lift.

However, these lifts are relatively large, and you need quite a bit of bathroom space and a dedicated personal aide to pull this off. 

RELATED: How to Keep Elderly Warm While Bathing

When the Tub Is No Longer the Right Choice

Sometimes a few changes are enough, and sometimes they are not. Knowing which one you are dealing with saves you a lot of worry.

If you are new to bathtub changes, talk to a professional before you start. That matters most after a surgery or a sudden change in your health.

If you have questions or concerns, your primary doctor is a good place to begin. An occupational therapist or another rehabilitation specialist can also help you work out a bathing routine that fits you.

Some people lose the ability to get in and out of the tub on their own, and it does not come back. The cause may be physical, or it may be a change in thinking and memory.

When that happens, you may need to look at bigger changes to the bathroom. A walk-in shower is one option. A commode is another, and so is a wheelchair.

The trade-off is that these changes mean giving up the tub, and for many people that is a real loss. Still, a bathroom that fits what your body can do now is safer than one you have to fight with every time.

Summary And Final Recommendations

Getting older doesn’t mean you have to give up your bathtub time, especially bathing in a lying-down position. In cases of poor health and mobility, there are alternatives to maintaining a safe and independent bathroom experience.

Just remember the importance of practicing safe transfers and protecting your body from unnecessary harm, whether you’re an elderly individual or a helpful caregiver.