In the Bathroom

Rehabilitation specialists are excellent resources as they can recommend many techniques that will help people with vision loss maintain privacy and independence in the bathroom.

Here are some tips to make the bathroom as safe as possible.

Bathroom Checklist:

• Use illuminated and magnifying mirrors.
• Use a coloured toothpaste so it shows more on the white bristles of a toothbrush.
• Use towels that contrast in colour with the bathroom décor.
• Use a rubber-backed mat in the tub.
• Float a brightly coloured sponge while running the bath water. The sponge will indicate how high the water has risen.
• Throw out old medication.
• Label current medication with a thick black letter on each bottle; keep a large print list in the medicine cabinet explaining what is what, e.g.,“A: blood pressure pills. Take one each morning.”
• Pick up the bath mat after each use and fold it over the edge of the tub to prevent tripping.